Excessive alcohol consumption can impair the body’s ability to absorb and utilize essential nutrients, leading to deficiencies. This can disrupt normal bodily functions, including the regulation of blood sugar levels. Fluctuations in blood sugar levels can intensify cravings for sugary foods as the body seeks a quick source of energy. This too factors into why recovering alcoholics crave sugar, as we’ll see soon.

Cayla Clark grew up in Santa Barbara, CA and graduated from UCLA with a degree in playwriting. Since then she has been writing on addiction recovery and psychology full-time, and has found a home as part of the Guardian Recovery team. Changing lives by providing comprehensive support and rehabilitation, empowering individuals to overcome addiction and regain control of their health and well-being. Getting help from a dietician, nutritionist, or other health professionals may be beneficial to improving the relationship with food. We can focus first on eliminating alcohol and then worry about sugar later. If you need to pause and go scoop yourself some ice cream or grab yourself whatever sweet snack you like, it’s OK!

Creating a Supportive Environment

Guardian Recovery is a specialized addiction treatment center prepared to address the causes and effects of both alcohol and sugar addiction. We offer comprehensive, evidence-based programs, therapies, and other services signed to meet each individual’s unique needs. If you are struggling with alcohol misuse and powerful sugar cravings, reach out to us to learn how we can help you reclaim the healthy life you deserve. These low blood sugar reactions cause us to crave sugar and carbs in the same way we crave alcohol. This piece of information clarified for me that regular, chronic alcohol consumption could be linked to our blood sugar levels.

• Consuming sugar triggers the release of dopamine in the brain, similar to the way alcohol does.
• And I want to let you know it is possible to quit alcohol without picking up a different addiction.
• \u2022 In the long term, research suggests a high-sugar diet can affect mood, digestion and inflammation in the gut.
• This is because your brain is used to the dopamine rush of alcohol, and sugar provides a similar rush.
• Depending on your drink of choice, alcohol can be rife with simple sugars and rapidly absorbed carbohydrates, boosts your blood sugar levels swiftly.
• As your tolerance increased, your cravings and need for alcohol to function normally also increased.

There is a simple answer to this; alcohol and sugar share a unique connection, both physical and psychological. This connection causes this essential transfer, where recovering alcoholics may substitute alcohol with sugar. In contrast, foods high in sugar and low in nutritional value can undermine mental and physical well-being. (10) This can result in reduced sugar cravings and urges to drink alcohol. Recovering from alcohol addiction can be a challenging journey, and it’s not uncommon for individuals in recovery to experience intense cravings for sugar. Understanding the potential consequences of excessive sugar intake and learning strategies to manage these cravings are essential for a successful recovery.

What are the Stats On Rehab and Recovery?

This is because the body craves a quick source of energy to compensate for the low blood sugar levels. Turning to sugar-rich foods or beverages provides a rapid influx of glucose, temporarily satisfying the craving. It is crucial for individuals in recovery to recognize the potential pitfalls of replacing one addiction with another.

• These include disruptions to your body’s blood sugar regulation, and mood swings due to a drop in serotonin.
• Glutamine, an amino acid, may be helpful to reduce sugar cravings.
• When individuals abstain from alcohol during recovery, the brain’s reward system may be dysregulated, leading to a decrease in dopamine levels.
• 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.

Some other substitutes people might turn to include food, nicotine, marijuana or other drugs. By adopting these practices, you can stabilize your blood sugar levels and minimize the intensity of sugar cravings. Instead, they can involve foods, behaviors, or any activity that boosts feel-good brain chemicals like dopamine and serotonin.

Tips For Overcoming Sugar Cravings

Research has shown temporary abstinence from alcohol can reset your health meter and may even support long-term well-being1. Keeping the benefits in mind might not make the journey any easier, though. If you experience withdrawal symptoms, like anxiety, agitation, sweating, or hallucinations, it’s best to talk to a healthcare provider, according to the American Addiction Centers. Other smaller why do alcoholics crave sugar studies have observed similar relationships between abstinence and sweets cravings in people with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Recovering alcoholics often develop a strong emotional association with sugar. This association can be attributed to several factors, including the role of sugar in the brain’s reward system and the desire for a substitute for the pleasurable effects of alcohol.