Real Reason #4 for Sugar Cravings: Stress by Joan Kent, PhD

No doubt you have some stress in your life right now. Hmm? And you may have experienced some cravings for sugar because of it.

 

Craving sugar under stressful conditions is natural. In fact, animals experience it, too.

 

When researchers want to stress lab mice, they pinch their tails. (Yes, it’s mean, but stay with me.)

 

The first thing the mice do? Run to their food bowls and eat. Endorphins (beta-endorphin) are released in response to either pleasure or distress. And endorphins increase appetite.

 

But there’s more. When the stressed mice have a choice between ordinary mouse chow and crumbled cookies, they choose cookies. Endorphins make sugar (and fat) more appealing.

 

People are more complex, of course. Some are highly susceptible to endorphins and react to any stress by eating.

 

For others, short-term stress decreases appetite.  An important morning presentation at work, for example, could bring on a stress-chemical cascade that leads to skipping breakfast.

 

Once the presentation is done, a different hormone – cortisol – takes over. That increases appetite.  Lunch that day might make up for the skipped breakfast, and then some.

 

What If the Stress Doesn’t End?

 

In long-term stress, cortisol plays a prominent role. It stimulates appetite. It decreases serotonin, and that may cause anxiety or depression. Those moods — or any negative moods — can cause cravings, mostly for carbs. Often junky ones like sugar.

 

Low serotonin also reduces satiety (that’s the feeling that we’ve had enough food and don’t need more for a while). So we may start wanting more food, more frequently.

 

Serotonin also makes us more impulsive. What an interesting combination! It makes it more likely that we’ll not only crave junk foods, but find them tougher to resist.

 

Over time, high cortisol also decreases 2 other brain chemicals:  dopamine and norepinephrine.  Now we’re dealing with lower levels of 3 brain chemicals:  serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. That can lead (almost inevitably) to cravings — and a preference for carbs and sugars.

 

If cortisol stays high, it does more. It decreases endorphins, for example.  When endorphins are chronically low, that affects quite a few eating and food behaviors. But those are best left for a separate article.

 

Stress Management Is the Solution

 

• Find several ways to manage stress: work out, meditate, walk, talk with a friend, garden. Be creative and be consistent. You’ll reduce cravings and sleep better, too.
• Eat protein throughout the day. It will boost your mood and help you decrease cravings and stress eating.
• Avoid junky foods, especially sugary ones, which can make stress and cravings worse.

 

And now may I gift you with more information on getting past sugar cravings? Just visit LastResortNutrition.com and grab your free copy of “3 Biggest Mistakes People Make When Trying to Quit Sugar.” It’s on me.

 

Brought to you by Dr. Joan Kent, best-selling author of Stronger Than Sugar:  7 Simple Steps to Defeat Sugar Addiction, Lift Your Mood, and Transform Your Health.