Written by
Stacy Miller
Do you find yourself craving sugar constantly? Maybe a sweet treat is the only way you can feel satisfied or deal with stress and anxiety. Sugar cravings are an all too common issue for many women, leading to frustrating weight gain, fatigue, and anxiety. While you may think your sweet tooth is due to your love of sugary treats, did you know that in some cases it could actually be caused by a nutritional deficiency and hormonal imbalance?
That’s right, there are certain medical reasons for sugar cravings that, when addressed, can help you say no to sweets and take back control of your diet. Let’s explore what deficiency causes sugar cravings and what you can do to curb the cravings and take control of your health journey.
Sugar cravings are something many people experience, and they can pop up for a few different reasons. One of the most common reasons is simply habit – if you regularly eat sugary foods, your body starts to expect them. Another big factor is your mood and stress levels; sugary foods can temporarily boost feel-good chemicals in your brain, making you crave them when you’re feeling down.
Your gut may play a certain role as well. Certain types of gut bacteria thrive on sugar. An imbalance where these sugar-loving bacteria dominate can literally send signals to your brain, influencing your cravings to get more of what they “want.”
Restrictive dieting or completely abstaining from certain foods, such as rich in carbohydrates, can lead to cravings for those very same foods. When you drastically limit your intake, your body and mind may perceive a deprivation, triggering hormonal and psychological responses that amplify your desire for what you’re missing.
Hormonal changes, especially in women during their menstrual cycle, can also trigger sugar cravings. Less commonly, sugar cravings might be a sign of nutrient deficiencies or underlying health conditions, but it’s usually one of the more everyday reasons.
Understanding what vitamin deficiency causes sugar cravings is one more step to overcoming them. We often believe that craving sugar is only about wanting a sweet treat, but for some women, there’s a deeper cause. There is a connection between sugar cravings, hormone imbalances, and deficiencies in certain nutrients, like chromium, and vitamin D.
The question is, why do we crave sugar when our nutrient levels are low? The answer is tied to how they work in our bodies. We rely on nutrients for numerous things, like mood support, blood sugar regulation, and energy production. When your body doesn’t have the support it needs, it looks for help in other ways, namely sugar.
Sugar can provide a quick energy boost and can temporarily improve mood, giving you a “high” feeling. However, this reaction is short-lived, and you’ll soon experience a “crash.” Once that happens, since you haven’t provided the nutrients necessary to treat the root cause, your body will once again crave the quick fix that made it feel better—sugar. As you can see, this cycle will continue until you address the nutritional deficiency.
When looking at how to curb sugar cravings, it’s not enough to just look at your diet. Your hormones can also play a key role, including cortisol, ghrelin, leptin, serotonin and estradiol.
Having a hormone tracker like Hormona will help you monitor your hormone levels and track them over time. With these insights, you can identify patterns and take proactive steps to tackle cravings and improve your overall health.
While it’s tempting to ask how to stop sugar cravings instantly, if they’re due to nutrient deficiencies, it could take time. The first step is identifying the possible nutrients your body needs and understanding their link to craving management.
Vitamin D is increasingly recognized for its role in mood regulation and insulin sensitivity. Low levels are often associated with low mood or seasonal affective disorder, which can lead to comfort eating and sugar cravings. It also impacts how the body processes glucose.
Chromium is linked to insulin sensitivity improvement and blood sugar regulation, and may also aid in appetite management. When levels are low, you may crave sugar to combat brain fog, fatigue, and low energy.
Fatigue is frequently associated with certain nutrient deficiencies. While low energy resulting from deficiencies in vitamin B, iron, or magnesium may contribute to different cravings, including a craving for sweets, this symptom is not the leading one.
When looking at how to stop craving sweets, you can follow the law of addition, not subtraction. Instead of limiting yourself and cutting off all sugary foods, try adding in the nutrients your body needs to combat the cause of the craving.
Eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fiber, and lean protein can help you fill nutritional gaps and provide hormonal support. Focus on foods like:
You can get creative with your meals, adding healthy fats, complex carbohydrates, and vegetables to ensure they are satisfying and filling. You can also take supplements to curb sugar cravings and help raise vitamin and mineral levels. Just be sure to talk to your doctor before starting any supplemental routine.
As we discussed, along with eating a nutritionally dense diet, balancing your hormones is a key contributor to combating sugar cravings.
Stress, as we’ve described earlier, can wreak havoc on your hormones, causing cortisol levels to rise. Managing your stress levels will help you feel better overall and aid in reducing cravings. There are numerous ways you can lower stress, including:
With proper stress management techniques, you can better handle the everyday issues that cause anxiety and steal your peace of mind.
Exercise is essential for feeling your best, and it can help keep your hormones in balance. You don’t have to spend hours a day at the gym; just 30 minutes of light to moderate exercise, three days a week, can offer huge health benefits.
Regular exercise helps with hormonal balance by improving your insulin sensitivity, promoting serotonin and endorphins, the “feel good” hormones, and reducing the stress hormone cortisol. There are numerous types of exercises to try for women at all fitness levels, including:
Daily exercise makes it easier to choose nutrient-dense foods by reducing sugar cravings and helping boost metabolism.
Sleep is crucial for your health since it allows your body to repair and restore itself. Sleeping allows your body to regulate numerous hormones like melatonin, cortisol, and growth hormone. When you’re sleep deprived, you may have more sugar cravings and are often less likely to make healthy food choices.
Overcoming sugar cravings can be challenging, which is why it’s important to have a tool that makes the journey easier. Hormona is the award-winning hormone tracking app that allows you to track your hormone levels. With Hormona, you get valuable insights into your hormonal health and scientifically-based resources to help you better understand your body. There are personalized recommendations to help you make informed choices and be your own health advocate. There are numerous benefits of hormone tracking, like:
Hormona makes it easy to take control of your health and understand and manage sugar cravings.
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Dr Singh is the Medical Director of the Indiana Sleep Center. His research and clinical practice focuses on the myriad of sleep.
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