What to do about sugar cravings when you stop drinking

Now that you’ve made the courageous decision to quit drinking, the future looks brighter. But why did sugar cravings replace the alcohol cravings? The truth is, it’s common for people who quit drinking to, out of nowhere, start craving sugar or sweets. If you’ve never been a sweet tooth before, intense sugar cravings after quitting alcohol can feel overwhelming. While a little do alcoholics crave sugar sugar in the early days of sobriety is normal and can be part of the process of going alcohol-free, too much of the sweet stuff just isn’t good for you. Here’s why sugar cravings feel out of control – and what you can do about them. It is common to crave sugary foods and drinks after quitting alcohol, but excessive sugar consumption can create a variety of health concerns.

As such, individuals in recovery from alcohol should prioritize their nutrition and pay attention to their sugar intake. Addiction specialists and addiction treatment centers are placing more focus on the nutritional component of recovery.

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In other words, if it takes a pack of cigarettes and a pint of ice cream a day in order to not drink, do whatever it takes. “I’ll deal with the food issue later once I’m more stable in my sobriety.” It’s easy to overlook the dangers of sugar or overeating when you were a blackout drinker. Drugs, socializing, and sexual activity also release dopamine into the system. Because sugar is so prevalent in American diets, our dopamine receptors are overstimulated, causing individuals to go to greater lengths to seek that sugar high.

• Maybe you’re reading this with a donut in one hand, nodding vigorously.
• This is partially a result of alcohol’s effects on the pancreas, which is primarily responsible for blood sugar levels.
• Blatner and Dulan have plenty of food options they recommend to help fight sugar cravings.
• The following provides an overview of why this occurs, how it affects the body and ways that people in recovery can prevent it from happening.
• Many people who’ve recently ditched the booze have never experienced sugar cravings, and then suddenly have powerful urges to eat anything sweet in sight.
• Sugar affects the brain like addictive drugs⁴, which makes sugar particularly tempting for people with a substance use disorder.

If you’re worried you’re going to relapse or if you’ve already relapsed, remember that it doesn’t https://ecosoberhouse.com/ mean you’ve failed at recovery. It just means that you need to get back up and try again.

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Further, detox itself can change your nutritional requirements andcause your body to require more nutrients. Like alcohol, sugary foods can be addictive and trigger the brain’s reward system. In essence, it is shown that sweets are a known side effect of quitting alcohol – but certainly not one of the worst ones.

Many people in recovery report having a craving for sweets during their first phase, and often, over the course of their lives. Could it be true that sweets can actually curb the craving for alcohol? Within moderation, and within reason, it seems the intake of sugar and high-carbohydrate sugar foods such as fruits, can help to curb cravings.

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Before getting sober, I had the exact same arguments with myself about cigarettes and alcohol. Several times a day, I would argue with myself about my soda consumption. We become psychologically dependent on sugar to help us feel better because we no longer consume our former feel-good substance – alcohol. When I first noticed the uptick in soda consumption, it made sense to me.