Why you want sweets under stress and how not to overeat it with junk food — 7 methods

A lot of people in a stressful situation start eating. They especially want to eat sweets in such cases.

The problem is that you have to eat more and more sweets every time: the body gets used to the fact that sugar-containing foods really calm down quickly. Research confirms that such behavior can lead to &171;sugar addiction&187;.

Eating everyday stress leads to the fact that excess calories are deposited in the form of excess fat, metabolic processes are disrupted, which can subsequently lead to serious diseases, which is also is confirmed by research .

In this article, you will learn how to avoid this addiction.

Why do people eat up emotions with sweets?

Confectionery, honey, fruits, dried fruits and sugary drinks contain sugar and fructose, which are attractive to humans not only in taste, but also in their properties: they  Improve mood, quickly restore strength, help Fight depression , relieve anxiety, anxiety and fear.

This happens because carbohydrates, sucrose and fructose:

• Provide energy to the cells of the body, without which they cannot exist;
• Promote intensive the production of hormones of joy and happiness &8212; dopamine and serotonin.

What can this mean?

It would seem that reducing stress levels is good for the body and mood. But the problem of sucrose assimilation lies in two nuances.

1. Lack of control. It is difficult for a person who enjoys sweets to control the number of calories from the food he eats. Therefore, the consumption of sweets is usually associated with significant overeating, which causes excess weight and other health problems.
2. Insulin dependence and addiction. The hormone insulin is necessary for the absorption of glucose, which is formed from sucrose. The more carbohydrates enter the bloodstream, the more insulin is produced, which lowers blood sugar levels. Even if a person is not yet in danger of insulin deficiency, the mechanism of its operation is such that it helps to quickly lower blood sugar levels. And lowering the percentage of sugar content means again fatigue and loss of strength . The body reacts to the rapid absorption of carbohydrates by the need to get it back as quickly as possible. It turns out to be a vicious circle: the more sugar enters the body, the greater the need for it is formed. The consequences in the form of excess weight and the appearance of hormonal problems are not long in coming.

Is it better to consume fructose?

A fair question arises: if sweet as an antidepressant and an energy source is still necessary, but in stressful situations there is a strong dependence that threatens serious health problems, so artificially obtained sucrose can be replaced with a natural carbohydrate &8212; pure fructose?

It is contained in fruits, vegetables and sold in its pure form in pharmacies and dietary departments of grocery stores shops.

And for its assimilation, insulin is really not required, which means there should be no sudden drop in energy , addiction and obesity should not appear.

Until recently, fructose was considered an unambiguously useful substance, and nutritionists advised diabetics to fearlessly eat sweets and other foods cooked with fructose.

But consuming this carbohydrate in large quantities is just as dangerous to health as sugar, and here's why.

1. The habit of eating. Going over with sweet fruits or pure fructose as a sweetener is almost as easy as with regular sugar, if a person is used to having fun consuming a lot of sweets. Therefore, it is also quite likely to get obesity from fructose.
2. Overeating due to lack of satiety. Fructose suppresses the production of the hormone leptin, which signals to the brain that a person is full.
3. Obesity of the liver. Fructose is processed only by liver cells, so if there is an excess of carbohydrate, then fat is deposited in the liver, which is extremely dangerous.
4. Metabolic syndrome. Fructose causes metabolic problems, causing the same concomitant diseases as alcoholism: liver problems and cardiovascular pathologies .
5. Aggravation of the stress response. Fructose increases the production of the stress hormone cortisol. as a result, the nervous, circulatory, and cardiovascular systems experience increased stress, and obesity occurs in the waist area.

The natural fructose contained in fruits and vegetables enters the body in limited quantities, and although it requires compliance with certain rules of consumption, it is much safer than sugar and fructose in powder or tablets.

What to replace — Top 4 options

We have figured out what is definitely harmful. But is there any food that can cheer you up, but at the same time not harmful to your health? Below we will look at useful products.

1. Fresh fruits and dried fruits

Most of them are quite sweet in taste, so they can easily replace sweets and cakes.

There is only one condition: when preparing a menu containing fruits and sweet vegetables, it is advisable to follow the same rules as when using sugar:

• Do not overeat, especially dried fruits, as they are more high in calories. than fresh fruits;
• Eat them mostly in the morning.

2. Products containing &171;hormones of joy&187;

One of the benefits of sucrose is that it raises the level of hormones of joy and pleasure. If you give up a dangerous large amount of carbohydrate, you can take advantage of this by increasing the number of foods in the diet rich in the amino acid tryptophan, which increases the amount of serotonin in the brain, or products that stimulate the nervous system and improving natroenie. These products include:

1. Dairy and fermented milk products. especially cheese;
2. Fish, primarily marine;
3. Chicken eggs;
4. Poultry meat: turkey, chicken;
5. Lean pork, beef, veal, lamb;
6. Seeds and nuts;
7. Legumes: beans, peas, soybeans;
8. Many spices: for example, pepper, saffron, thyme, turmeric, rosemary, cinnamon;
9. Bitter chocolate .

It cannot be said that seafood or spices completely replace sugar. But the fatty acids, essential oils, amino acids, alkaloids, minerals, vitamins and other useful substances contained in them make the diet more complete, and the person happier. Therefore, the need for sweets will decrease markedly.

3. Natural honey

It is a natural substitute for refined sugar.

In the absence of intolerance to bee products, honey is better for the brain than sweets and cakes. But due to its high calorie content, its consumption is limited to 30 g of honey per day.

Another limitation: it is undesirable to heat-treat it, since in this case it loses its many useful substances, but forms carcinogens.

Therefore, it is undesirable to use honey for baking and hot desserts. Drinks, such as tea, also need to be cooled to at least 60 degrees in order to dissolve honey in them.

4. Stevia

This plant also gives a sweet taste. But not at the expense of sucrose or fructose, but at the expense of glycosides.

Of course, this sweetness can replace sweets only at the level of taste, and not in its composition, like honey or dried fruits.

But psychologically it will be easier to overcome the craving for sweets by using stevia, for example, to sweeten drinks or cereals.

Sugar substitutes should be handled as carefully as fructose as a sweetener: some of them contain the same sucrose or fructose in large quantities, and the effect of some of them has not been sufficiently studied.

But it is well known that they can cause problems with the gastrointestinal tract, disrupt the acid-base balance in the body, or, for example, birch sugar xylitol, &8212; cause obesity. This is due to the lack of a feeling of satiety when using them.

Also check out the other options:

And now let's look at other relaxation methods that are not related to food.

7 More Relaxation Techniques

Addiction to sweets is a big psychological and physiological problem that must be solved. There are many ways to get away from an addiction.

1. Permanent employment. To get rid of gluttony, you need to remember that in most cases people get stuck with nerves, boredom or inability to occupy themselves. Even when very tired, a person is usually busy with something. It is better if these are healthy things. If you plan your day tightly, saturating it not only with work, but also thinking over the hours for doing household chores, for rest, then there will be no time left for uncontrolled eating of sweets.
2. Full sleep. Lack of sleep affects the desire to overeat, especially foods containing fast carbohydrates. An adult should sleep an average of 7-8 times a day, preferably at night and continuously: thus, a sufficient amount of the sleep hormone melatonin is produced and, as a result, the hormone of joy serotonin, which is necessary to combat stress and which will not have to be compensated by overeating sweets.
3. Physical exercises. Pleasure hormones are formed not only through food, but also during sports activities that you like. It doesn't matter if it's weightlifting or Nordic walking. Favorite activities are great distractions from depression and help you get out of everyday stressful situations.
4. Sunlight and light therapy. Craving for sweets may be dictated by a lack of hormones of joy. Vitamin D, which is formed under the influence of ultraviolet light, increases the amount of dopamine, and light therapy, especially in the morning, improves the quality of night sleep and raises the level of serotonin in the brain. Therefore, in order not to want sweets with every nervous breakdown, in some cases it is enough to start getting up at dawn and go out into the open sky at least once a day.
5. Lack of temptations. Not wanting to eat sweets, you do not need to buy it, walk through the confectionery departments once again, or at least keep harmful products in plain sight. Sweets put away in the cupboard may remain unclaimed altogether, and those in an accessible place are likely to be eaten as soon as possible.
6. Popular relaxation techniques. You need to stock up on several techniques in the arsenal of dealing with stress and depression that will help prevent an acute reaction to stimuli. To develop immunity to stress, you can regularly drink herbal teas that restore mental and physical balance, conduct aromatherapy sessions, visit a cosmetologist, etc. Then you will want sweets less often and less.
7. Awards. You can think of a reward system for yourself for every day that has passed without sweets. Even the expectation of a pleasant one will distract from the problem that caused stress and from the most unhealthy habit of eating it sweet.

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Conclusion

Sugar &8212; is, of course, not &171;sweet poison&187;, as the heroine of the famous film claimed. Provided that sweets are consumed on a case-by-case basis and in moderation.

In stressful situations, it is common for a person to turn to such a pleasant and fast-acting antidepressant as sweets. But gradually this technique ceases to help, but the bad habit of abusing sugar-containing products remains even if there are no nervous shocks. Therefore, at the slightest sign of such dependence, you need to start actively fighting it.