When one merely tastes sugar impulses are sent through our nerves lading to the base of our brain. Along the way our pleasure center is activated causing a release of natural opiates. This is all quite natural. Mother's milk is naturally sweet to comfort and soothe a baby.

However the refined sugars that are common in the Western world are not natural and are messing with your natural sweet tooth. We all have this sweet tooth for our need for mother's milk but also our need for fruits as we grow. Fruit is one of the most important foods for our diet. It has nearly all the nutrients our body needs, is easy to digest and gives the body exactly what it needs - simple carbohydrates.

However refined sugars are being eaten instead. These are eaten purely for the pleasure and not for any nutritional need because refined sugar is nutritionally deficient. It is an empty calorie. Not only does this refined sugar trigger the release of opiates in the brain giving us pleasure, our appetite is also triggered, hence why you can never just have one bite of sugary goodness.

We can overcome this addiction to sugar and curb those cravings. We just need to eat more naturally sweet foods like fruit (which will help eliminate any physical craving the foods we have) and also to overcome any emotional issues we have surrounding these sugary foods. Once we achieve these two goals refined sugars will no longer be a problem.

Here are a few steps to get you started:

1. Eat a nutritious breakfast. I always start my day with fruit - 4 or 5 pieces or more. Fruit is nutritious and will satisfy your nutritional needs. Getting a good breakfast in will help prevent and curb sugar cravings later in the day.

2. Don't give in to temptation even a little. Many people advise to treat yourself once in a while to a sugary snack but I would advise against this. The reason for this is that sugar activates the release of opiates in the brain that not only makes you feel good but also increase your appetite. So one little taste of sugar will increase your appetite making it very difficult to say no to second or third bite of your junk food snack. Before you know it you will be binging!

3. Keep a journal and note down the triggers to your cravings for sugar. Observe yourself throughout the day and see what triggers you to crave sugar. Note down whether it is because you have went too long before meals, or whether your meals were not satisfying enough. Also note down whether sugar cravings were triggered by emotion. If you do find that you comfort eat and use food to emotional numb then this is something that needs careful attention. Emotional eating can make or break you.

4. Don't beat yourself if you give in and practise being present. Take each day as it comes. If you end up caving to sugary treats don't feel guilty about it. Just try to learn from it. Note how you felt before, during and after and make a plan of action to overcome and tackle any future incidence. The incident may simply have occurred because you were not aware of the trigger. It takes time to be "present" in life when we are rushing around all the time in another world. Sometimes we are so caught up we don't realize what we are doing until it is too late. Just practice being in the present moment and the more you do, the more often you will be able to catch your triggers for sugar and overcome them.

For some people curbing sugar cravings is as simple as eradicating the physical craving for them. Others have complex emotional ties with food that need to be addressed and this can take time and patience. We must learn to appreciate the process and not feel guilty with slow progression or setbacks. Learn to love and cherish yourself and you can overcome anything.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kelly_Aziz