Why Do I Always Crave Sweets When I Give Up Alcohol? MDs Explain

When they’ve had a hard day, a problem at work, or a fight with a loved one, opening up a bottle can feel like the salve for what’s wrong. Glutamine, an amino acid, may also help stop sugar cravings in some people (for others it may have no effect). Research has found that lack of sleep contributes to sugar cravings along with dozens of other side effects. Getting a good night’s sleep is critical for almost every aspect of your life, and your recovery. Sugar is similar to alcohol in the sense that it can become addictive if consumed too often.

This can become especially apparent when alcohol is removed from the equation. People who struggle with alcohol use typically have altered eating patterns. This is because drinking can impact your appetite, taste buds and nutrient absorption. For this reason, people who drink heavily may not consume regular meals, increasing the risk of low blood sugar.

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This is often the case when the addiction is fueled by an underlying mental issue to begin with such as PTSD. Essentially, sugar acts as a natural replacement, both physically and psychologically, why do alcoholics crave sugar for alcohol. That thing was replacing copious amounts of alcohol (not great) with copious amounts of diet soda (also not great). It was my last remaining vice, and I desperately wanted it.

• In this blog post, we’ll explore the biological mechanisms behind why recovering alcoholics crave sugar and how it can be managed in a healthy way.
• Scientists have discovered that children of alcoholic parents may be more likely to have a sweet tooth.
• Drinking sparkling water with citrus or berries might also hit the spot.
• That means that when you stop using alcohol, the brain needs something else that is going to make it feel the same way.

I haven’t perfectly mastered them all, but it’s getting better, and that’s the most important thing. It’s like that late 90’s film, Fallen, starring Denzel Washington, where he fights a demon that keeps jumping from one body to the next. Shortly after my daughter’s birth, I dropped to 145 pounds (because I never had time to eat), but I was slowly packing those pounds back on. When I first noticed the uptick in soda consumption, it made sense to me. About a year into my sobriety, I struggled to piece together what in the world was happening with me and soda, in particular, diet sodas.

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Yes there is sugar in fruit but it’s the unprocessed type so it’s not anywhere near as bad or fattening as the processed type found in the aforementioned offenders. Also fruit is packed with good stuff like vitamins and fibre. I’m not talking about fruit juice which is unfortunately fattening as juicing is a form of processing which turns the sugar in fruit into the high calorie variety. After a few days of no candy, chocolate etc. the fruit will taste even more delicious as our taste buds stop being overcome by the loads of sugar that is in chocolate, candy etc.

In other words, sugar affects the same neural pathways as alcohol does in the brain. These spikes and crashes make sugar cravings incredibly common in early recovery from alcohol use disorder. People who abruptly stop drinking may lose a significant source of their calorie intake and have disrupted their body’s blood sugar regulation. Recovering alcoholics https://ecosoberhouse.com/ often crave sugar due to the neurological changes that occur during long-term abuse of alcohol. While it can be challenging to break this craving, there are various strategies and lifestyle modifications that can help recovering alcoholics curb their cravings for sugar. At Southeast Addiction Rehab in Tennessee, we can teach you these strategies.

Is There a Connection Between Sugar and Alcoholism?

When a person decides to quit drinking, they look forward to ending the constant desire to drink. Often they begin to crave sugar and wonder why it feels like they have traded one obsession with another. It’s not just them; many people experience this phenomenon and there is an explanation for it. What you’re essentially doing in having sugar is manually taking control of these two mechanisms for a while, until your system is more balanced. It may seem as though developing a sugar addiction is relatively safe compared to alcoholism.

• People with alcohol use disorder tend to crave sugar because alcohol interferes with their body’s ability to produce dopamine independently.
• If you’ve never been a sweet tooth before, intense sugar cravings after quitting alcohol can feel overwhelming.
• Repeated use of alcohol and most drugs impacts the brain’s reward system by releasing larger-than-normal amounts of dopamine.
• Don’t let another difficult day or sleepless night pass by.
• And it took me a long time to break that cycle of craving ice cream.

Allowing yourself to indulge in sugary snacks can help you stay sober—especially in the early days of recovery. However, relying on sweet treats to curb your alcohol intake should only be a temporary solution, not a long-term one. The mindset some have in early recovery is “as long as I’m not drinking…”.

You’d be surprised at how some diet changes can help ease your sugar cravings. In fact, that’s part of the reason why the expert team at Silver Maple Recovery provides healthy meals for patients. As discussed above, sugar can be as addictive as alcohol for some people. Excessive consumption of fructose sweeteners, for example, can lead to fatty liver disease—just like alcohol.