I’ve gone into battle with my sugar cravings for a second time. I’m on day 20 (of 30) of a no sugar diet – that means nothing with any added sugar (of any kind), no alcohol, and no natural sweeteners like honey or maple syrup either. It shouldn’t be this hard, but it is. ‘X’ marks the spot – how I stopped my sugar cravings.
Why now?
I’ve had a chronic left foot skin and nail problem for years and as a result, I’ve come to really dislike my left foot. When I mentioned this to a Naturopath recently, she suspected it might be due to a candida (1) overgrowth in the gut – candida thrives off sugar, “candida are like bullies that push their way into the intestinal lining, destroying cells and brush borders” (2). But it’s more than that.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved sugar. Whenever I’m feeling emotional or triggered, I reach for something sweet, usually chocolate, and usually at night, to soothe (or is it numb?) the senses – it’s comforting and familiar and puts me back in control, especially when things feel out of control.
Oh, the irony! But now I can’t have any (well I can but I’m not going to), I’m starting to notice where my over fondness for sugar may have begun and why soothing rather than confronting my emotions is not helping anymore. I need to regain control and balance again.
What I'm noticing..
For me, sugar represents a need to feel emotionally safe and secure. I never liked primary school and hated the first 2 years of secondary (I changed schools in year 9, age 13). School was a time when I often felt lost, lonely, and inadequate; I’d often indulge in sweet treats on the way home from secondary school for comfort. And sugar served its purpose well because it activates reward pathways in the brain and releases feel-good chemicals like dopamine (3).
Sugar wrapped its arms around me at a time when I needed it and didn’t want to face difficult emotions…but I don’t need it anymore. The trouble is, breaking up is so very hard to do, especially in a world that drip-feeds us the sweet stuff at every turn, it’s everywhere, even unsuspecting places like bread, yogurt, and sauces. And of course, old habits die hard and the “brain doesn’t make changes easily”(4).
Sugar has a stronghold over me and unsurprisingly it’s not going down without a good fight. I’ve noticed more headaches, brain fog, and irritability lately. At times, it felt like my stomach had been cut from my throat, a bizarre sensation. Although perhaps not surprising given the strong gut-brain connection.
A Sparky Sympathetic Nervous System
The other problem that sugar isn’t helping with is anxiousness. Ever since childhood, I’ve experienced feelings of nervousness – I was shy at school and awkward much of the time. And I’ve always had a sparky nervous system, the part responsible for “fight or flight”, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), fires all too easily.
A single thought can sometimes spark a stream of cascading reactions in my body – heart racing, adrenalin pumping, blood coursing through my veins. It’s what the Incredible Hulk must feel like as he bursts out of himself. Maybe you recognize the feeling too? And sugar isn’t helping because it can contribute to SNS activity further (5).
SNS controls blood pressure and heart rate too and given my overactive nervous system, it’s unsurprising that I’ve been suffering from heart palpitations and high blood pressure.
A Sluggish Parasympathetic Nervous System
It’s easy to see how candida may have been allowed to take a strong foothold in my gut. The other part of the nervous system, the part which controls “rest and digest” is the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS). If my SNS fires all too easily, my PSNS has to switch off and take a back seat. And even if I think back to lunchtime at school, I carried that feeling of nervousness when I ate too. And in order to properly digest and absorb nutrients from our food, it’s best if we’re relaxed.
It’s not surprising that I’ve experienced digestive issues since my teens. I’d allowed the “bullies” (candida) to probably start their attack on my poor digestive tract as far back as primary school. Over the years I’ve been feeding them plenty of ammunition too – sugar. Interestingly, when I do Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing) in my yoga practice – a technique to help balance the left and right-hand sides of the brain, I find the left nostril is always blocked and the left refers to the PSNS. Battling my sweet habit was never going to be easy, but I won’t give in, not this time.
'X' Marks The Spot
X marks the spot – Marking each day that passes with an ‘X’ feels like a good achievement and I’ve put the sheet up on the fridge to act as a deterrent. 100% dark cocoa chocolate, which tastes nothing like chocolate, is doing a good job of tricking the brain too….that is until it realizes there’s no sweet hit coming whatsoever; I really wasn’t keen at first but even that’s starting to taste ok. I’m also keeping dates handy for when I’m really desperate; they’re naturally sweet and pack a good nutritional punch.
I’m now 20 days in and the sugar cravings are starting to lessen as I confront the emotions driving them. ‘X’ marks the spot does help. I suspect it might take longer than 30 days to break this habit but that’s ok. I’ll keep striking off ‘X’ marks the spot until I do. Perhaps, by conquering my sweet habit and facing myself head-on, I’ll finally resolve my left foot problem, improve my digestion, reduce feelings of anxiousness, and feel more balanced. It’s possible that sugar cravings were holding onto a part of myself that I wasn’t ready to face. That is, until now. I will regain control and find balance again.
Are you in control of your sugar cravings or are they in control of you? Could you take sugar out of your diet for a day? What do you notice when you do?
Sources
- https://londonclinicofnutrition.co.uk/nutrition-articles/candida/
- https://londonclinicofnutrition.co.uk/nutrition-articles/candida/
- https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/01/15/262741403/why-sugar-makes-us-feel-so-good?t=1652087322712&t=1652262741168
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/how-to-break-a-bad-habit-202205022736
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022399912002851
Josey Crane Burrows
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