Is it normal to crave sugar? I'm constantly asked by readers and clients why they're craving sugar and what that means. To me, the answer is obvious but to the general population not so much. Our society has gotten so far away from real food eating that what we believe is "normal" eating is now about as trendy as bell bottoms.
To understand what "normal" eating is you first have to ask yourself what is "normal" and how is it determined. If you look back through the history of time, a "normal" breakfast in the 1950's was eggs and bacon. A "normal" breakfast today is cereal which has about as much sugar in a cup as half a bottle of soda and is loaded with a ton of chemicals. Who said eating cereal for breakfast was "normal?" Food manufactures taught us this was "normal."
Food manufacturers know what sugar does to your hormones. Studies show over and over again that sugar increases dopamine, the feel good hormone in your brain. So of course, you're going to keep eating something over and over that makes you feel good. It's no different than a drug addict.
Cereal started out as a trend that food manufacturers marketed to the general population and everyone jumped on this trend because it made their lives easier and made them feel good. Today cereal's considered "normal" to eat for breakfast and feed it to your kids. But just because something's "normal" does that mean it's good for you?
Let's think about other moments in history when our society accepted something to be "normal" that we now know is bad for us like smoking. Today everyone knows smoking is bad, but there was a time it was "normal" to smoke in offices, on airplanes and in restaurants. I remember as a little girl going to Big Boy's and people smoking all over the restaurant. Later, there were smoking sections and eventually, smoking was banned altogether from restaurants. Crazy to think there was a time this was socially accepted.
I believe what's "normal" is eating real, unprocessed foods that don't have added sugar and mess with your hormones. But I am in the minority when I say this because most people don't question the norms of society. The key word here is QUESTION. You have to question everything about food!
It's scary to me how few people in this world are questioning the norms of eating and are just following what the rest of the world is doing.
When clients expression their frustration to me about being overweight and not being able to eat what "normal" people eat I ask them to reconsider what they believe is "normal." Someone who eat sugar and junk and gains weight is very "normal." Someone who doesn't gain weight is "normal" too. The difference is their genetics haven't caught up with them yet to cause them to gain weight.
Growing up my Mom used to tell me, "if everyone jumped off a bridge, would you?" She always taught me to think for myself. To question things. To not follow what other people were doing and to pave my own path. And boy, I'm glad I listened to her because it led me to where I am today.
So, is it "normal" to crave sugar?
Yes, it's normal. In fact, the brain's preferred fuel is sugar. However, the source of sugar should always be from real, whole foods. If you're eating a lot of added sugar or your macronutrients are out of balance, then you will crave more sugar than your body needs. The body also has a natural tendency to crave sugar because it used to be scarce, but now there's an abundance of it everywhere.
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