I don’t remember that first experience, but my dad says he found me looking blissed out and buzzing, with my eyes “like saucers”. It’s a deep, resonant dopamine hit I feel, or hope to feel, when I bite into anything sweet.
But it is not a healthy relationship. I grew up feeling beholden to it and then guilty for giving in: both for the physical nausea it made me feel when I ate beyond my appetite, and for the self-loathing I’d learned for eating so indulgently.
As I recovered from my most disordered behaviours, I knew I shouldn’t cut sugar out entirely again. My priority was to stay out of that self-destructive cycle. And so I tried to find that elusive “balance” – never cutting out entirely, just eating “mindfully” and intuitively.
I felt unable to stop myself and conflicted about my desire to in the first place. Eating that extra row was intuitive, it was mindful, and if I denied myself, would I become obsessive?
Life has now opened up for me without drinking, but my relationship with sugar still doesn’t always feel normal or happy. I’m far from the only one to feel this way: despite years of government campaigns and policies such as the sugar tax, Britons still spend billions of pounds each year on chocolate, biscuits, cake and ice-cream. So is it possible to get a sweet tooth under control, without giving up sugar completely?
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Read More“Overly restrictive diets can feel isolating and take up a lot of mental energy,” adds Laura Tilt, registered dietitian. “A healthy, balanced diet can absolutely include sweet treats like biscuits and cakes – they should just be a small part of our overall diet.”
Looking at three types of sugar consumption, the study found having the occasional pastry or topping your porridge with honey is better than having none at all (lowering your risk of stroke by 22 per cent and heart attack by 22 per cent), but consuming sweetened drinks was significantly worse for your health, increasing risk of stroke and heart failure.
How I got my sugar addiction under control
Last year, I set out to unpick my vulnerability with sugar and find a way to a happier relationship with it. With advice from the experts, I created five rules:
1. Making sure I was eating three filling meals a day, with plenty of fibre, and cooking from scratch as much as possible
2. Limiting unnecessary added sugars – sugars that are not naturally occurring in foods – for the daily treat, and aiming to stay within the recommended daily 30g limit
3. Paying attention to when a sweet food made me feel good or bad
4. Allowing myself sweet treats, but only ones I really enjoyed
But a few afternoon snacks (I’m currently on a ginger kick, particularly the dark chocolate and ginger biscuits from M&S) really works. I wouldn’t crash, or overeat, or resent myself: I just really enjoyed every biscuit, every time. I have no overeating impulses, fewer late-night cravings and still enjoy something chocolate-y daily.
Choose flapjacks, carrot cake, and dark chocolate with nuts
The latter are absorbed much more slowly, thanks to the other components that make up that food (protein, fibre, fat etc). This means a slower energy release and a longer sense of fullness. By contrast, Hazel Shore, a Weight Management dietitian at Phlo Digital Pharmacy explains that added sugars found in baked goods, sweets and stirred into tea “are rapidly absorbed, providing quick but short-lasting energy.” As a consequence they can be far easier to eat a lot of and they can have far more negative consequences.
This makes flapjacks, carrot cake, and even dark chocolate with whole nuts a better choice while still satisfying that sweet tooth.
With drinks it can be harder to find a nutritional counterbalance, which is why sodas and sweetened drinks can have such a negative impact.
“Make smarter drink choices by opting for water, unsweetened tea and coffee, or low-fat plant-based milks,” says Shore. “Also, be mindful of your alcohol intake, as many alcoholic beverages can contain added sugars.” In other words, avoid liquid sugar, particularly in energy drink form.
See sugar as a treat, not something to rely on
Try to stick to the recommended daily limit for added sugar, which is 30g or five per cent of your total daily calorie intake – this could look like four chocolate hobnobs and a teaspoon of honey on your porridge, as well as having the naturally occurring sugars found in fruit, vegetables, dairy and grains.
Knowing you’ll be having your daily custard cream with a cup of tea come 3pm, or looking forward to your Saturday almond croissant from the local bakery is far more manageable than going cold turkey. If you have any gaps in your day that were previously fuelled by the sweet stuff, see if there’s another “treat” habit you can adopt: 10 minutes guilt free scrolling, something savoury, a walk around or a power nap.
Be honest about your sugar intake
“Make sure you’re eating enough throughout the day, as undereating often leads to cravings for sugary foods as a quick energy boost.” Being honest about how you eat and the way it makes you feel can make it clear that you are over-relying on sugar to get through the day, and therefore need to consider pairing back.
And again, this should be a gradual process, but you’d be amazed by what your palate will adjust to in even a short period of time.
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