Diabetes is on the rise not only here in the US, but all over the world. There are a couple of reasons why people crave sugar and sweets so much. If you have a better understanding of the roots of this disease, then you can improve or avoid this condition. This article is especially important for those with a family history of diabetes. We will also discuss the connection between Hypoglycemia and Diabetes in this article. Because sugar consumption increases serotonin levels and gives one a euphoric feeling, many people are simply addicted to it. Now that need for a sugar fix is often rooted in a stressful or unhappy lifestyle. Sometimes you can see how people seek sugar when their most unhappy or maybe you’ve seen a coworker or friend under stress crave a cake or cookie. This is because they are looking to get a sugar high. I have one patient that simply pushes herself too much. She is under enormous pressure from being a wife, mother and working. She uses sweets to cope with things and she describes sugar as giving her a temporary buzz in her crazy day. So we must conclude that one of the best ways to decrease our cravings for sugar is to live a more balanced life. This often means changing how we live. It means decreasing stress and that can mean changing jobs or getting out of bad relationships and these things can be difficult to do. It can also mean learning when enough is enough. For example, working 80 hrs/week is an overload on the body and puts it under extreme stress and fatigues the body as well. Many times, people seek a temporary energy boost with sugar in this case, which makes your pancreas shoot out high levels of insulin to counter the excess sugar in your bloodstream. This often leads to a crash and the need for more sugar. This a terrible viscous cycle that needs to be stopped otherwise high blood sugar will be inevitable.
Another reason that many people crave sugar is because of poor eating habits. This means not only watching what you eat, but also how you eat. If you are a person that likes to eat excessively seasoned food or spicy food, you may notice that you crave sugar after your meal. You may also notice that you crave sugar if your stomach is a little upset after eating too fast or eating too much in one sitting. The sweet flavor has a calming action on the stomach and that’s why people crave it. So in order to decrease the need for sugar you should eat slowly and don’t over eat. Avoid eating highly seasoned, spicy or oily foods. Anything that upsets your stomach will make you crave sugar so pay attention to your eating habits and find out what that is for you. Drinking excessive alcohol or smoking marijuana can also increase your cravings for sugar.
Low blood sugar or Hypoglycemia often times turns into Diabetes despite what many people may think. The connection between the two is intimate. Now people who have Hypoglycemia often times consume too much sugar to begin with. They may crave sugar for emotional comfort or due to improper eating as discussed above. Because they consume too much sugar, their pancreas releases a whole bunch of insulin to get rid of all the sugar in the blood. This causes them to crash after their sugar high. So once they get the symptoms of low blood sugar like trembling, dizzy, weakness or excessive hunger, they need more sugar which causes their pancreas to release insulin again and then they crash yet again. It’s a viscous cycle that’s never ending. Eventually, the pancreas becomes overloaded and that compromises the insulin output or the body’s ability to use the available insulin is decreased causing Diabetes.
Of course, if your in insulin shock or suffering from severe Hypoglycemia, consuming sugar is advised. However, long term lifestyle changes need to be made to improve your condition. Decrease stress, improve eating habits as advised above and exercise. Change to a more fats/protein based diet and stay away from sweets and simple sugars. As you make these changes your blood sugar will rebalance and your body will no longer be on this roller coaster ride of sugar highs and lows.
Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs can be very beneficial in treating and preventing Diabetes. Of course, this works best with lifestyle change. Acupuncture and Herbs will take the edge off and help to relax the body decreasing sugar cravings and promote better sugar metabolism. Herbal Medicine also promotes sugar metabolism. These therapies are powerful along with lifestyle change to manage, treat and sometimes even cure Diabetes all together.