Sugar Problems

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I have been trying to lose some weight, but am running into major difficulties with sugar. Every night, after around 8:00, I desperately crave sugar and anything sweet. How do I combat this?

avoid ice cream, try fruits and fruit juices whenever necessary

Sugar is sugar, doesnt matter where its from. Apple or orange juice contains just as much sugar as soda pop.

I actually had this very same issue that the railfreak is having.


I grew up needing to take a very large glass, (at least 1 pint) of Ribena or Apple juice to bed with me. I drank some before tucking in, and would have regular cravings during the night for more sugar. If I never had it I couldnt sleep! The cravings didnt really present themselves as cravings for sweetness, if I just had some candy it wouldnt work. I felt thirsty, but I needed to have a sweet drink.

I eventually forced myself to stop, I guess I was about 19 when I did. And it was hard work! The problem seemed to be connected to or at least sounded exactly like hypoglycemia. Basically, you need to eat regularly to maintain concentration levels, good mood etc.

The problem is often caused & aggrevated by poor eating patterns. Like having only one big meal in the day or going long periods without eating. Also by eating very carboydrate/sugar rich foods which cause sugar highs & surges of insulin which cause sugar crashes (lows) which make you feel groggy/tired/irritable/hungry etc.

Repeated elevation of insulin in this manner can eventually cause insulin resistance, which will leave you with type II diabetes!

The key to fixing it, is to minimize sugary foods in the diet. Make any carbohydrate portions small. But importantly to eat often! If you are desperate for something sweet, it is actually better that you choose something with a decent amount of fat in it as it will make the sugar be digested very slowly which will prevent the surge/crash problems.

A good bedtime drink is milk, this is currenlty the sweetest thing that I drink. I actually find plain milk as sweet as I used to find ice cream. This is quite remarkable for somebody who used to add several spoons of sugar on top of frosted cornflakes.

I'm a sugar junkie. I mean that quite literally. I sometimes just have a spoonful of sugar. (Not for medicine, either, before anyone says anything about Mary Poppins.)
I'm definitely not overweight, but I have some kind of issue with sugar consumption.
My parents don't buy soda for my sister and I, so I only have it when we go out to eat. (Otherwise I would probably be addicted because I love Sprite.)
I can't take medication with water; it has to be either just taken dry or with chocolate milk or grape juice.
I'm usually in a state of mild dehydration, according to my mother and doctor.
My mom mitigates this problem by buying seltzer water, which I will drink.
Anyway, if you find a solution to the sugar mania, let me know.

Bitter foods counteract the craving for sugar. Make sure you are eating green vegetables like spinach, kale, bitter gourd (an Asian vegetable - very bitter, btw), and drink unsweetened green tea. It will take a few days but it'll work if you stick to it. Sugar makes your body acidic and greens make it alkaline. The status quo in your system will try to maintain itself which is the cause for cravings.

I recommend Letha Hadady's "Asian Health Secrets" for more info. It completely changed my eating habits in a very positive way. I rarely catch colds any more and if I feel one coming on, I can manipulate my diet to minimize or prevent it.

Also, if you're vain like me and need a little encouragement away from sugar, maybe it will help to know that sugar attacks collagen and damages the interior walls of the arteries (which leads to the bad cholesterol working to patch the injury and then more cholesterol piles up and after an extended period of this kind of situation, blockages form).


Edited for clarity

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Some persons have found that switching to fresh, whole foods for daily nutrition and using a blender like the Vita-Mix which encourages the consuming of fresh, whole foods has helped a little. Whole foods contain more nutrients than processed foods. http://www.nutrition.gov/ That's my understanding. Good luck.

That's a great book! I currently own a copy, and use it to address several ongoing health problems.

Diet Coke works for me. Why don't you try it?

I would recommend talking to your doctor, and finding out if your blood sugar levels are stable or not. If you have any hormone imbalances (including thyroid, insulin, or other hormones), it can cause cravings for sugar, water, salt, etc. If you DO have an imbalance, you could cause yourself misery trying to fix it by diet alone.

Charles

As kx250rider said, going to a doctor for a check up would be in your best interest, you may need a full blood work up,
Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP), as there could be any number of issues occurring that you need too have looked into.

There is something desperately wrong here, and I hope you are not afflicted with this but what your describing sounds like Type 1 diabetes to me.