Sugar Emotions: The Positive Effects Of Sugar Cravings

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Sugar cravings, most people have them, but few know why. If more people knew some of the common reasons these occurred, maybe it would be possible to avoid or distract from these temptations. Many different scientists have researched the causes for sugar cravings over the years. The research shows that some of the causes are physical, while others are emotional. The physical response to consuming sugar is the brain releasing chemicals. The two endorphins released when sugar is consumed are serotonin and beta- endorphin. Both have positive effects that make us feel better on the body and mind. These positive effects are what we want, therefore we crave and develop addictions to sugar (Pick). Serotonin is a neurotransmitter which Many people tend to eat sugar when they are upset or in a bad mood, hence its common title as “comfort food.” An example of a conscious connection would be how teenage girls tend to treat each other with junk food or suggest it when one of their friends is upset, this is a very common connection between emotion and craving. Due to the response of the neurotransmitters that help with mood this actually helps with negative emotion, but what people do not realize most of the time is that when you consciously choose to use this as a comforting tool eventually your brain will automatically crave sugar and the action will become Both of the neurotransmitters that create good physical and mental feels can be released with other, healthier, supplements. The body’s craving for sugar to make quick energy can be fixed by eating little amounts throughout the day or by replacing the craving for sugar with another high energy food. Hormones and genetic causes for cravings are not quite so easily tackled, but still possible with replacement foods. Emotional cravings for sugars might be the easiest to divert, it does not even need a replacement food, and it simply takes distraction (Minich). Distracting from whatever mood causes a person to crave sugar not only does exactly what they expect the sugar to do- improve their mood- but also obliterates the crave for whatever type of sugar they want. A good replacement for bad sugar is good sugar, such as fruit and berries. Sugar in fruits have fiber and proteins which slow down the digestion process to keep that immediate “high” the brain gets from sugar and keeps it from being addictive or from craving

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