Sometimes (or, um, many times), your body decides it wants a bag of Sour Patch Kids or a chocolate bar, stat. Whether you experience sugar cravings every day or once in a while, they are simply a fact of life. But the intensity with which they can hit makes us wonder: Where do they even come from—and what can they tell you about your body?
The first thing to know is that the science surrounding sugar cravings can actually be pretty thorny. That’s because they typically don’t have one single, easily identifiable cause. Rather tons of different factors can influence when, where, and why you might develop a sudden hankering, including your biology, psychology, and surroundings, Lindsay Malone, MS, RDN, LD, a nutrition instructor at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, tells SELF. What’s more, Malone notes, these factors often overlap and intersect, complicating matters further.
Having a tough time wrapping your head around all of this? We don’t blame you, but don’t worry; we’ll break it all down below. Read on to learn about the four big elements that may be behind your sweet tooth.
How blood sugar affects sugar cravings
Fluctuations in blood sugar are “one of the biggest” contributors to sugar cravings, according to Malone. “Your blood sugar is your body’s primary fuel source,” she says, so your body closely monitors it to make sure you have the energy to function normally. When your levels drop, alarm bells start ringing, nudging you to take action to return to baseline. And the fastest, easiest fix for a plunge? You guessed it: a dose of dietary sugar from a food or beverage. “Sugar is a carbohydrate, and carbohydrates are a very accessible and digestible source of energy,” Vincci Tsui, RD, a certified intuitive eating counselor based in Canada, tells SELF—which is why you might find yourself reaching for a supersweet item “like juice, candy, or soda” when you need a boost, Malone says.
While your blood sugar fluctuates naturally throughout the day, certain triggers can cause it to rise and fall rapidly, setting off those alarm bells (and thus those sugar cravings). Dieting or otherwise limiting your food intake is one example. “Having a sweet craving can be a way our bodies are telling us, ‘Hey, we’re not eating enough’” (or taking in sufficient fuel to keep going), Tsui says, so don’t skip out on meals: The hungrier you are, the more your body will push you in this direction and the harder it’ll be to resist that urge.
Sugar cravings can also be a response to the specific type of food you’re eating. Simple carbohydrates, for example, cause an immediate blood sugar and energy spike (the infamous “sugar high”) followed by a steep decline (the “sugar crash”), according to Malone. Bear with us, because this is where things become tougher to follow: Those simple carbohydrates include dietary sugar sources like fruit juice, candy, and soda (plus others like cakes, cookies, and candy). While the initial spike is why your body steers you toward these items in the first place, it can end up backfiring, as demonstrated: Yes, sugary stuff will raise your blood sugar and improve your energy in the short term—great for an acute plunge—but the subsequent nosedive will only renew those sugar cravings, creating a vicious cycle that’ll put you right back where you started (or in an even worse place).
To prevent this, make sure your meals and snacks represent a balance of all three macros: carbs as well as protein and fats. (Ideally fiber too!) One example would be a bowl of plain Greek yogurt with blueberries and almonds mixed in. Because the protein and fats will offset the effects of the carbs, “that would result in a much more steady, stable blood sugar where you wouldn’t have this kind of up and down,” Malone says. Fruit is an excellent case study in how this works. While most types of fruit are naturally high in sugar (though less so than processed foods that contain added sugar, like the aforementioned examples), fruit is also rich in fiber, so the blood sugar impact is muted. In fact, whole foods like fruit and dairy are a far better sugar option overall precisely because of this kind of dynamic.
Your eating habits aren’t the only factor that affects blood sugar fluctuations and, by extension, sugar cravings, however. Genetic differences, menstruation, sleep quality, health conditions like diabetes or hormonal imbalances, and lifestyle factors (say, chronic stress or limited physical activity) can all play a role as well. In the week or two before your period starts, for example, you might notice increased cravings as hormonal changes cause a blood sugar dip.
If you think any of these forces could be behind your sugar cravings, take countermeasures. Sleeping poorly? Try limiting caffeine after lunch, sticking to a strict bedtime routine, and avoiding screens around an hour to half an hour before bed (or sample one of these doctor-approved tips instead). Stressed out? Consider a stress management technique like box breathing, splashing cold water on your face, or counting down slowly from five (or even knitting).
How your environment affects sugar cravings
Habit and custom can be powerful forces, so you can inadvertently train your body to expect sugary foods in certain situations. In this case, your sugar cravings are the result of “a routine that gets ingrained,” Malone explains.
Here are a few examples. If you always swing by a Starbucks drive-thru to pick up a mocha latte on your way to work, you might start to experience sugar cravings in the morning. If you always eat dessert after dinner, they might show after you finish your evening meal. Finally, if you always have eggnog or cutout cookies at Christmas, they, like Santa, could pay a holiday visit.
Basically, your body learns to associate specific locations, times, and occasions with a sugar hit, according to Malone—so when those crop up, your body starts to anticipate that sweet treat.
How your emotional state affects sugar cravings
Many people have strong positive or negative feelings about sugar that can influence their cravings, according to Tsui. Sugar, after all, occupies an unusual niche in the food sphere—simultaneously revered for its enticing taste and demonized for its close ties to “junk food.”
On one end of the spectrum, some folks think of sweet stuff “as comforting, as being a treat,” Tsui says. In response, they may crave sweet foods when they’re feeling down because it can bring on a temporary mood boost, she says. Sometimes, these cravings can even amount to a form of self-medication—a way to “manage difficult or intense emotions,” Tsui says. (Note the term “comfort food.”)
On the other end of the spectrum is the widespread perception that sweet foods are “bad” for your health, which can drive people to avoid them or even cut them out of their diet completely. Even though this might seem like the healthiest strategy, it has plenty of pitfalls. While, sure, there’s plenty of evidence to back the “bad” claim up—diets high in added sugars are linked to a wide range of chronic health conditions, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, not to mention premature skin aging—taking an all-or-nothing approach to any one type of food is seldom a helpful or sustainable practice, because the absence leaves a hole that can paradoxically encourage cravings. If you’ve ever pined after a boy who ghosted you, you probably know that we tend to want what we can’t have.
How your palate affects sugar cravings
Fundamentally, we crave and eat sugar because it tastes good—and this is no coincidence. In fact, we evolved to like sugar because it signifies “something that can give us energy,” Tsui says—a huge consideration in prehistory when starvation was a constant threat.
This inherent attraction is reflected in your brain chemistry. Sugar actually stimulates your brain’s reward system, triggering the release of feel-good chemicals like dopamine (the so-called happy hormone) and serotonin (a neurotransmitter that regulates mood and appetite), according to Malone.
Simply put, sugar not only tastes good—naturally appealing to your palate—but it also makes you feel good on a physiological level. “Not only are you enjoying the taste of whatever you’re eating, your brain is really liking it,” Malone says. And what happens when something tastes good, whether it be a Milky Way or a slice of lava cake? “You want more.”
What to remember when sugar cravings hit
Now that we’ve explained how your blood sugar, environment, emotional state, and palate can all play a role in your sugar cravings, a quick reminder: Cravings tend to be triggered by a complex interplay of these factors rather than one alone. “Often, I find it’s a combination,” Tsui says.
Say you develop a sudden sugar craving after eating lunch in the office. Depending on the specifics, a multitude of different causes could be contributing. Maybe you’re used to ending a meal with a little treat. Maybe your blood sugar took a nosedive because your food choices skimped on protein. Maybe you’re starting to feel sleepy or developing some mental fatigue after grinding away at a task for hours and want a little pick-me-up to lift your spirits. Of course, the exact combo will vary on a case-by-case basis, but typically a sudden confluence of forces makes the 2 to 4 p.m. window a prime time for sugar cravings, according to Malone.
Even though sugar cravings can leave you feeling worse than you did originally, and diets high in sugar can have long-term negative health effects, it’s important not to pathologize sugar cravings too much. Barring extreme cases, sugar cravings are actually a normal and natural experience—a fact of life. Without the nutrients (yep, the sugar!) provided by the fruit your ancient ancestors ate, and the resulting energy boost, you may well not exist. Even babies show a preference for sweet flavors, suggesting an attraction is biologically predisposed, according to Tsui. Seen in this light, feeling drawn to that sleeve of Oreos doesn’t mean that you’re “weak” or “self-indulgent” or signify any other kind of character flaw—it’s part of what makes you human.
Related:
- 9 Foods That Might Seem Ultraprocessed—But Actually Aren’t
- Is It Possible to Be Allergic to Sugar?
- Do You Really Need to Care About Your Daily Sugar Intake?
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