Q&A: Can craving sugar be a bad sign of health problems?
November 24, 2011 by admin
Filed under Sugar Cravings
Question by janice R: Can craving sugar be a bad sign of health problems?
I have been craving sugar everyday and it only has been getting worse. I wonder is this normal or a phase a person goes through? I am concerned due to it turning into a health problem.
Best answer:
Answer by Chris Mcquarrie
That craving for suge is a symptom of diabetes, but on its own, diabetes is not likely the cause. Are you also thirsty a lot? Urinating a lot? Dry skin? Those other three are key signs of diabetes. Other signs include fatigue and blurry vision.
What do you think? Answer below!
Craving sugar is a fairly common occurrence. Sugar tastes good, and we get a little mental boost from it…a sugar “high”. So craving sugar, if that is your ONLY symptom, is not necessarily a problem.
Sugar cravings are also more common during hormonal cycles, particularly menstruation.
One thing about sugar: if you FORCE yourself off of it, you can get off the craving cycle in a week or so. The thing about sugar is, even if you aren’t diabetic, your body’s natural insulin will jump in there to force the sugar into your cells. If it does so too enthusiastically, you’ll have a “crash,” or hypoglycemia, (low blood sugar,) which makes you crave sugar. It’s like a roller coaster ride…a sugar high followed by a sugar crash, which gives you sugar cravings.
If you are concerned about it, try a low carb diet for a couple of weeks to even out your insulin & sugar levels, which will reduce cravings.
Sugar cravings can be the sign of an underlying health condition such as low blood sugar or type 2 diabetes. However, sugar cravings can also come about when a person has gone without eating for too long, or when he is on a diet and is simply told he cannot have sweets. Whichever the case, going through sugar cravings can almost be as bad as going without an addiction such as alcohol or tobacco.
Check with your doctor for glucose testing if these cravings intensify or continue as you can overcome these cravings by changing your diet to slowly ease off the sugar. It will take about a week in order to stop the cravings and again, it needs to be done slowly as if you try to stop all at once it wont work it must be done slowly with less and less sugar everyday.
Hope this helps.