Citrus vs. sugar cravings. Why natural sugars are the smarter fix.
Anyone who has experienced a long, hard day knows how appealing a cozy couch session with Netflix can be. Especially when the nights are getting colder and shorter (i’m looking at you Australia). It’s on nights like this when sugar cravings are at their peak. Your body is physically reacting to the urge to either switch off (sleep) or find something to keep it awake.
Let’s take a look at why we crave sugar
Sugar (or glucose) is the body’s primary energy source. When you’re feeling tired, stressed or just “meh” you crave something to get rid of these feelings. And although sleep might be the best remedy for tiredness, sometimes getting through the last 30 minutes of your movie is easier with that donut you’ve avoided all day.
When you eat foods containing sugar, they cause a spike in your blood sugar levels, providing a surge of energy making you feel better. Like a little reward. That feeling is dopamine kicking in.
What is Dopamine?
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter which, in really basic terms, means it is a chemical messenger within the nervous system, and according to researchers is “considered an essential element in the brain reward system”. Feelings of pleasure, relief or motivation are driven by dopamine and there are many ways we can bring this feeling on like listening to music, exercising, laughing or pretty much anything that makes you feel good.
Dopamine is also the root of addiction. Nicotine, for example, artificially stimulates receptors within the brain bringing on a pleasurable sensation. This is why even those who want to stop smoking will ignore this feeling and continue to smoke or try to stop and experience withdrawals and cravings.
In a lesser sense, sugar can be like an addiction for some people. While the pleasurable sensation we feel while eating sugar isn’t artificial, it is a reward. For some, the urge for a sugar hit is a behaviour that is repeated over and over in order to chase the feel good vibes. But understanding why we crave sugar is only part of the story. The real impact happens when it enters your body.
How do we digest sugar?
The body is an amazing vehicle for getting what we need. Eating sugar and carbs provides our body with energy. When we eat these foods our digestive system breaks them down into glucose which gets absorbed back into the bloodstream causing a rise in our blood sugar levels. High levels of blood sugar cause a boost of energy within the body but the body can only cope with so much all at once. Our blood sugar levels need to be within a safe range at all times. For healthy adults a safe blood sugar range is between 4.0 and 7.8 mmol/L. Your pancreas detects when blood sugar levels are too high and then releases the hormone insulin to level things out.
Insulin and our cells have a pretty cool friendship. Insulin tells our cells ‘hey, we’ve gotta do something here before we go hyperglycemic’ so your cells start to absorb, or clean up, all of the glucose in your blood stream. Once absorbed, you cells will then decide what to do with it. Some of the glucose is used by your cells immediately so you can keep energy levels up. Some of the glucose is stored for later as glycogen in the liver and muscles (we’ll come back to that) and any excess glucose that can’t be used or stored is converted to fat. This process will drop your blood sugar levels back to a normal range.
When our pancreas detects that blood sugar levels are too low, that’s when our stored glycogen makes an appearance. The pancreas releases another hormone called glucagon that signals our liver and muscles to start converting glycogen back to glucose. The glucose gets released back into the bloodstream and our blood sugar levels rise to where they need to be.
It’s all pretty damn cool.
The dance between insulin and glucagon release of the pancreas is happening all day, everyday for most people. When this system fails, it can lead to conditions like diabetes and other pancreatic diseases.
Natural sugars vs added sugars
Natural and added sugars are exactly as they sound, some sugars are produced naturally within our food, while others are added to enhance sweetness. Added sugars include sucrose (caster sugar), high-fructose corn syrup, glucose syrup, and other refined varieties. Naturally occurring sugars, on the other hand, come in the form of fructose and glucose found in citrus. The primary difference between natural and added sugars lies in their nutritional value and how they are processed by the body.
Added sugars are rapidly absorbed and lead to quick spikes in blood sugar levels – aka the sugar-high. These sugar spikes are usually short-lived and followed by a crash, often leaving you feeling worse than before. You do get that dopamine hit during the spike, but once it has run its course, the slump is real.
Along with this, added sugars contain little to no nutritional value (vitamins, minerals or fibre) while natural sugars are often digested with the fibre that is found within wholefoods like citrus. This slows down absorption, offering a gradual release of sugar to the bloodstream that lasts longer.
Citrus fruit that contain natural sugars are also packed with essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. All of which have massive health benefits when it comes to cell repair, reduced risk of chronic disease and overall health.
Sadly the same can’t be said for added sugars. The rapid spikes in blood sugar levels you get from added sugar mean that the body decides what it needs to use immediately, what it stores as glycogen and what is turned into fat in a short space of time. Slower release of sugar allows your body to use glucose for energy gradually, reducing the likelihood of storing it as fat.
And then there is high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Unlike glucose, which is used directly by your cells for energy, fructose is metabolised almost entirely by the liver. When you consume large amounts of fructose, your body has to work harder to process it. In foods containing HFCS, your body may struggle to process fructose quickly, leading it to be converted to fat through a process called lipogenesis.
HFCS is in so much of the processed foods we have on the market like juices, biscuits and soft drinks. Continuous excess consumption of added sugars, especially fructose from HFCS, accelerates fat storage. It can lead to a bunch of conditions like fatty liver disease, weight gain and increased risk of metabolic disorders.
Curbing the cravings with citrus
Put down the donut and reach for the fruit bowl. The sweet and juicy navel orange or mandarin you eat instead is a much better alternative. And don’t be picky on which parts you eat. The more of the fruit you eat (juice, pulp, flesh) the better.
The natural sugars within citrus (fructose, glucose and sucrose) will give you the sweet hit you’re craving and, unlike the donut, provide a natural fibre (pectin) in the pulp and flesh. This soluble fibre slows down the absorption of sugars in the bloodstream preventing blood sugar spikes and crashes. Not only do you avoid the added-sugar rollercoaster, you also stay fuller for longer, curbing further cravings.
On top of this, citrus fruit is packed full of nutrients in the form of vitamin C, essential minerals and antioxidants that support immunity, cell repair and overall well-being.
The proof is in the peel
Sugar cravings are a real thing so the donut or can of Coke is going to win every now and then. But the proof is in the peel and the pulp (literally) when you compare citrus with added sugars. Citrus is a MUCH better alternative. They metabolise at a better pace, they contain life-enhancing nutrients and they deliver a sweet hit to curb your sugar cravings.
Make fresh citrus or any fresh fruit or vegetable your swap-out sweet treat. You’ll be amazed at how much better you’ll feel.
