How To Treat Symptoms Of Sugar Withdrawal

Sugar is seemingly in everything we eat, whether naturally or artificially. It's easy to discuss what eating too much sugar does to your body, but it's harder to eliminate sugar from your diet completely. The truth about sugar cravings is that they happen to everyone, and it's hard to not give in to them, especially because the human body requires sugar at its most basic level to survive. That's not to say that eating a pumpkin pie or a coconut cake is healthy, but natural sugars are essential to bodily functions.

People struggle with discovering the best ways to break sugar addictions, but once you do, you'll be faced with sugar withdrawal before you establish your new consistent sugar levels in your body. According to Medical News Today, symptoms of sugar withdrawal include anxiety, muscle aches, sapped energy levels, cramps, nausea, headaches, and intense sugar cravings. These will subside once your body completes its adjustment to a diet with less sugar, but in the meantime, you'll have to find ways to curb these symptoms.

The good news is that our bodies can adjust rather quickly, but in the interim, there are a few specific things you can do to ease your transition.

Going through a sugar withdrawal can lead you to being exhausted and irritable, but there are a few practices you can implement into your daily routine to help avert its symptoms. According to Greatist, one of the best things you can do is pay close attention to your food triggers. If stress causes you to crave sugar, for example, you'll want to find a new way to handle stress, because your symptoms will be stronger if you become stressed while in withdrawal.

Moreover, you should take a magnesium supplement daily, per Medical News Today. Magnesium helps regulate the body's functions and can be particularly helpful in curbing headaches. If you want to ingest magnesium naturally, increase your consumption of spinach, black beans, nuts, milk, and beef.

At the same time, if you want to curb strong cravings, which get worse during withdrawal, you can snack on fresh fruit and eat more protein. Fruit will give the body the natural sugars it needs to survive, and protein can help both cravings and muscle aches that can come from withdrawal, too. Furthermore, ensure you're adhering to a sound sleep schedule. A lack of sleep can worsen cravings (via Medical News Today). Finally, avoid processed foods if you can. Verywell Mind explains that processed foods are often packed with hidden sugars, so these can sabotage your journey and even cause your withdrawal to last longer.