BetterHelp offers affordable mental health care via phone, video, or live-chat. Join us through recovery realization & experience the power of self-realization, sobriety, & empowerment. He is passionate about helping individuals overcome addiction and achieve a life of sobriety and wellness. The latter factor explains, in part, why heavy drinkers are much more susceptible to hypoglycemia.
Alcoholics also experience sugar cravings as well, and the reasons behind this are multifaceted. Why are sugar cravings so common in people recovering from a substance use disorder? Of course, alcohol and sugar cravings can sometimes go hand in hand. If you find that it’s hard to control your drinking without resorting to sugar, there are new ways to limit drinking urges. In fact, some medical professionals believe solving hypoglycemia after quitting drinking is crucial to overcoming alcohol cravings. This is especially relevant, considering hypoglycemia also causes low mood, making someone more likely to seek relief through sugar or alcohol.
Effects of Sugar and Alcohol on the Brain
Alcoholic subjects preferred the sweeter sucrose solutions that were given. These days, there are plenty of mocktail recipes and nonalcoholic drinks meant to replicate your favorite boozy beverages. Drinking sparkling water with citrus or berries might also hit the spot.
They start with the brain and, in the case of a recovering addict, can be a sign of addictive behaviors. Once you quit drinking, your brain knows that it can receive the same dopamine rush you felt with alcohol through sweets, as they affect some of the same neural pathways alcohol does. Sugar cravings can pose a significant challenge for individuals in alcohol addiction recovery. However, there are effective strategies that can help manage these cravings and support long-term sobriety. When I quit alcohol and entered into recovery, I experienced not only cravings for the substance itself, but also for sugar.
The Impact of Alcohol on Sugar Cravings
Eating sugar can help to replenish these nutrients and help to restore balance in the body. Sugar is also high in calories, which can be helpful for people who have lost weight due to their drinking. But even in why do alcoholics crave sugar cases of expected sugar cravings, fueled entirely by alcohol withdrawal, psychotherapy tends to be the ideal tool. What has to differ is exactly where such therapies focus, but their merit remains the same.
- Deciding to stop drinking alcohol and pursue a sober life begins a lifelong journey.
- First, once we begin to loosen up from the first drink, our inhibitions lower, and we begin to feel relaxed.
- Eating sugary foods can also provide a temporary distraction that can help to reduce cravings for alcohol.
- Both alcohol and sugar stimulate the release of dopamine, providing a sense of pleasure and satisfaction.
Individuals with AUD may have a history of using alcohol as a means of coping with negative emotions. When they stop drinking, they may turn to sugar as a substitute, as it activates similar reward pathways in the brain. When exploring the reasons behind sugar cravings in individuals with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), it is important to consider the psychological factors that contribute to these cravings. Two significant factors in this regard are emotional eating and coping mechanisms, as well as the impact of stress on cravings.
Songs About Addiction & Recovery
Understanding the science behind sugar cravings in individuals with AUD can shed light on why these cravings occur and how they are influenced by various factors. Two key aspects to consider are neurotransmitters and reward pathways, as well as the impact of alcohol on sugar cravings. Dr. Weiss encourages people to engage in as many healthy, mood-boosting activities as they can to avoid reaching for candy (or back to alcohol) for a quick dopamine fix. You can reap the benefits of many different feel-good hormones without the use of substances or sugar. Understanding how alcohol affects our bodies is crucial when trying to overcome addiction as well as managing related symptoms such as intense sugar cravings. Sugar and other replacement rewards are not enough to break the destructive cycle of a substance use disorder.
Sweets are a decent snack occasionally, but recovering addicts should be more focused on combating their nutritional deficiencies with healthy snacks, meals, and drinks. So no, sugar cravings aren’t bad on their own, but they can lead to negative consequences, and other snacking options provide more benefits while recovering. For some individuals, seeking guidance from nutritionists or health professionals can provide further assistance in managing sugar cravings. These professionals can help develop personalized nutritional plans tailored to individual needs, offering additional support and guidance. Alcohol addiction affects the brain’s chemistry, causing changes in neurotransmitter activity and brain structure.
A person in recovery is susceptible to replacing their use of alcohol with sugar to receive the same “high” experience. Next, the alcoholic beverage will raise our blood sugar (also referred to as blood glucose)—both from the alcohol itself as well as any sugar and carbohydrates found in the beverage2. However, shortly after, that first drink begins to metabolize through our body, and blood sugar then drops. This happens with regular alcohol intake in both the short term and the long term4.