Written by Jacqueline Alwill, Remedy Drinks Accredited Nutritionist @brownpapernutrition
Are sugar cravings hitting you hard each day, and you want to stop them in their tracks? Let’s look at some of the common culprits contributing to sugar cravings and how you can say goodbye to those cravings for good.
1. AIM FOR 2 + 5 EVERY DAY. Let’s get back to basics, friends. The foundations of a healthy diet begin with consuming two servings of fruit and five serves of vegetables (minimum!) per day. But did you know that most Australian adults don’t consume anywhere near this amount? Only 5% meet this target (Source: ABS). So why is this important for curbing those sugar cravings? Well, it’s pretty simple. Without a diet rich in fibre from fruit and vegetables, our blood sugar levels are peaking and dropping throughout the day. When we have fibre-rich foods, however, starting with fruit and veg (but also including all foods from the plant kingdom - nuts, seeds, beans, legumes, whole grains), this slows the rate at which sugar is released into the bloodstream, allowing our cells to absorb it more efficiently and keeping our blood sugar levels stable. So, if you’re struggling with sugar cravings but also struggling to eat your 2 + 5, then start here.
2. MAKE SIMPLE SWAPS: Love an afternoon soda but find you’re STILL craving sugar after the sugary soda? Time to swap that crazy sugar-coated can for something natural, guilt-free, satisfying, charged with goodness and without sugar. Meet Remedy Sodaly - your new fizzy friend that’s FULL OF FLAVOUR and contains beneficial prebiotics from apple cider vinegar. Why do I want apple cider vinegar in my soda, you say? Well, apple cider vinegar, with its juicy prebiotic pectin and acetic acid, helps to slow the rate your food is emptied from the stomach to the small intestine, allowing our body to regulate glucose better. PLUS, prebiotics provide the fuel for trillions of beneficial bugs in our gut so they can work their gut and health lovin magic, helping to regulate our appetite and blood sugar! Neat right? You’ll find Remedy Sodaly in all your favourite flaves, including Lemon Lime & Bitters, Raspberry, Orange, Lemon Squash, Guava and Passionfruit at your local grocer. Try making the swap the next time you're craving something sweet but want to make it right!
3. DON’T SKIP MEALS: Ever thought you were doing the right thing by eating a small meal or skipping a meal to save on calories? Mmmmm, what about when you eat double or more at your next meal, though? Or skip lunch only to find your sugar cravings are cranking after dinner. Those cravings are behaving this way because you haven’t given your body the fuel it needs throughout the day. The result? The sugar fiend emerges. The lesson? Don’t skip meals. Your body and your blood sugar levels will thank you for it.
4. FIBRE FIRST: If you feel like you’ve ticked all the boxes so far and wondering why you’re still craving sugar after your meal, try shuffling the way you consume your meal around ever so slightly. Start the meal with your most fibrous component – hello, big bowl of salad. Follow this with your protein and fats BEFORE you eat your starchy carbs such as potatoes, rice, pasta etc. (these break down to sugars in our body). Consuming your fibre first helps to buffer and slow the breakdown and absorption of the starchy carbs and their sugars, resulting in a more even delivery of glucose to the bloodstream. PSA. If you’re really clever, have a Remedy Sodaly with apple cider vinegar 20-30 minutes before your meal to reap the benefits!
5. HIT THE SACK: You’ve likely experienced a day of feeling hungry for sugar after a night of poor quality or not enough sleep. Sleep is the low-hanging fruit for health, but we’re increasingly battling to reach out and grab it, so we find ourselves seeking out those energy-dense high-sugar foods and drinks to combat low energy. Not only that, but reduced sleep can affect the production of hormones, including those involved in regulating our hunger. Ghrelin, our appetite-stimulating hormone, rises with poor sleep, whilst leptin, our hormone responsible for helping us realise satiety, is lowered. The changes in how each is regulated are the perfect storm for hunting down sugar from the minute we wake.
