Sugar Craving: Addiction?

Sugar addiction is a hot, hot topic.  Plentiful reasons abound to reduce inadvertent sugar consumption. You know the sugar in bbq Sauce, teriyaki Sauce, crackers, cereal and coffee beverages, just to name a few.

Sugar is a hot button because craving something sweet feels so intense that people easily classify it as an addiction.

Too much sugar is obviously and most certainly not good for us – when I grew up the only concern about sugar was whether we would get cavities!  Now we know more about sugar and heart disease for example. But craving sweets is not in the same category as smoking, illegal drugs or alcohol dependency.  Sugar is a comforting habit!  You likely have solid memory associations with particular sweet treats and when and where you enjoyed them. Just knowing that you actually may be craving comfort can loosen the intense desire for sweets that feels out of control.

The less sweet treats I consume the less I crave. For me that means I have a sweet of some sort every other week or so.  I’m not into the “healthy” dark chocolate. I speak from experience as a Cookie Monster in Remission that for me having cookies around means I will eat the cookies.  I truly miss baking cookies for My Monster. This summer I am going to bake cookies and enjoy 2-3 and give the rest to appreciative friends who aren’t Cookie Monsters in Remission!

Several other strategies exist to eliminate cravings but first clean up the added sugars and see if your cravings begin to subside. I truly believe we should savor every morsel of a sweet treat because we made the choice!