Diabetes FAQ » Diabetes Q&A » I am diabetic and I just can’t help my sugar and carbohydrate cravings, why do I have them and what can I do?

I am diabetic and I just can’t help my sugar and carbohydrate cravings, why do I have them and what can I do?

Sugar craving is often a problem with people suffering from diabetes. It is often the reason that people become obese in the first place. People who have had years and years of poor diet, eating too much sugar and carbohydrates such as sweets, and breads and pasta, snack foods, greasy foods and so on, often find that once they are put on a diabetic diet, they crave the foods they are used to eating. This is often the case even among non-diabetic people who go on a diet and are restricted the foods they love the most. Dietitians say that the sugar rush will fade over time. However, with some diabetic patients that does not seem to be the case. Quitting the foods you love cold turkey is just about as bad as quitting any addiction cold turkey, and yes in this case, sugar is an addiction.

However, giving into these cravings adds more stress to the body and serious diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, and more. The more sugar and carbohydrates you eat the more you want, and it just does not end. However, to control you diabetes and your blood glucose levels you need to cut out the sugars and bad carbohydrates.

Most laypeople think that overcoming your cravings for sweets and carbohydrates is just a matter of will power but it is not. Your brain is sending you signals that are based in the biological workings of your body. Carbohydrates convert into sugar, and certain carbohydrates are good and necessary such as fruits and vegetables, while others such as potato chips are just empty calories, which lack fiber and quickly break down into sugar in the blood stream and then attach to the cells as fat. The agent, which is responsible for regulating that blood sugar and seeing that sugar is converted into to energy and circulated to the various areas of the body, which needed is called insulin and insulin is a hormone.

Insulin is important in brain functions, carrying sugar to the muscles to make movement possible. Also, sugar is stored as glycogen, and that is preserved for future energy requirements. It is when there is too much sugar left over that it turns into fat.

Diabetics suffer from high blood sugar levels and low blood sugar levels. When the glucose levels are too high we get the proverbial sugar cravings. We can also have hypoglycemia (low insulin levels) diabetes, mental instability, bad cholesterol, obesity, and adrenal exhaustion (making us tired all the time).

To help balance the sugar cravings, you of course need to be on your medications that were prescribed to you by your doctor and you need to have a good diabetic diet filled with the good carbohydrates. You need low sugar fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. You also need good protein such as turkey, chicken, and eggs. You require a fat substance such as butter or avocado on a regular basis. To aid in getting your body nutritional healthy and to get yourself back on track. You may consult your doctor about dietary supplements and it is equally important to exercise.

If you do all this, you will lose weight, your body will be able to handle your insulin levels, and your glucagons levels will be sufficient to do its work in your body.

You will feel better and your sugar cravings will go away. You may not find that it happens overnight, as your body needs to repair the damage that has already been caused, but eventually it will happen. The sugar cell receptors will return to normal by requiring only the proper amount of sugar for healthy body functioning. You will find that you will feel healthier, more energetic and have a renewed zest for living.

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• I worry about my father, he lives alone and he has diabetes. He is 65 years old and stopped working a few years ago. He often forgets to take his medication and lately he seems to be forgetting more things. Sometimes when I call him on the phone, he forgets things he should know and just seems to be out of it, saying things that do not make sense. I live too far away too visit him every day so I was wondering is this normal memory loss or could he be showing signs of dementia?