Carb Addiction

What is carb addiction and is it real?

Carbohydrates is one of the macronutrients that is incredibly important to include in the diet. Carbs include starches, sugar, and fiber. They should be the primary source of fuel for the body (unless there is a specific disease diagnosis or other condition present). While carbs have gotten a bad rep over the past couple decades, they are in fact not bad. They can be a challenge for health when too many of them are eaten (e.g., too much sugar is consumed), they are eaten in the form of ultra-processed foods, or they are consumed out of balance with the other macros (protein and fat).

If you have ever found yourself rummaging through your pantry at night or in between meals, searching for a carbohydrate snack to curb a craving, you are not alone. Carbs tend to be foods that are craved more often than not, and there are several reasons why.

When carbohydrates are consumed, especially those that happen to be higher in sugar, a chemical is released in the brain called called Dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter and hormone which plays a role in the brain’s “reward center”. It’s function as a neurotransmitter is slightly different from its function as a hormone. As a hormone, it is released into the bloodstream, and it plays a role in the fight or flight response. It is also the feel-good hormone and what is responsible for a sense of pleasure, as well as the motivation to continue doing something when feeling good. This is one of the reasons why sugar and junk foods are so addictive, because they trigger a large release of dopamine making someone feel like they want more.

Research has also found that repeated intake of sugar dampens the dopamine response, which in turn, makes someone want more sugar so they can get more dopamine. It’s a viscous cycle.

In addition to eating sugar, there are a few other things that can increase the addiction to carbs.

• Eating too many refined carbohydrates: In addition to dessert foods, eating too many refined carbohydrates in the form of pizza, soda, white bread, and snack foods can increase the cravings for those foods. The spike in blood sugar that these foods cause, because they are lacking in fiber, eventually results in a craving for that blood sugar spike and therefore the foods that will provide that.

• Not eating enough calories or carbohydrates: Cravings may occur if not enough carbs are eaten, or even not enough calories. The main source of fuel for the body should be carbohydrates. If someone is eating a high protein or high fat diet, their body will crave the one source of fuel from which it is being depriving.

• Seeking dopamine: Perhaps the body is seeking dopamine because someone is experiencing a lot of stress or anxiety. If there is a lot of emotional challenges or turmoil, the body will crave dopamine and one way to get that dopamine release is through simple carbohydrates.

• Eating a lot of sugar substitutes or sugar-free foods: If a lot of sugar-free foods are eaten, this can create a carbohydrate cravings. This is because the sugar-substitutes are anywhere from 200-20,000x sweeter than sugar and will promote the desire for more sweetened foods. In fact, research has suggested that those who eat sugar-free foods end up eating more sugar and carbs than their counterparts.

  • Aspartame & Acesulfame-K = 200x sweeter than sugar

  • Saccharin = 200-700x sweeter than sugar

  • Sucralose = 600x sweeter than sugar

  • Neotame = 7,000-13,000x sweeter than sugar

  • Advantame = 20,000x sweeter than sugar

  • Stevia = 200-400x sweeter than sugar

• Hormone changes: Last but certainly not least, experiencing shifts in hormones may contribute to the need to ingest carbohydrates. Hormone levels of insulin, cortisol, dopamine, serotonin, leptin, ghrelin, estrogen, and progesterone may all contribute to carb cravings.

There are real physiological explanations as to why people crave what they do, or why they feel addicted to carbs. There’s good news though, small changes in the diet and way of life that can help to curb these addictions.

Methods to address carb addiction

Check out the ideas below to help with curbing a carb addiction, and don’t try to tackle them all at once. Pick one for the next week or two and work on that alone. Then, when it has been adopted fairly regularly with ease, add another one. Before you know it, you’ll be eating healthier, likely have more energy, and be sleeping better.

• Eat high-fiber carbohydrates: Avoid the highly refined carbohydrate foods. Yes, that includes the white bread, white pasta, white flour, white rice, etc. Instead, choose foods that offer 3 grams of fiber or more per serving. And as a rule of thumb go for whole-wheat/whole-grain pasta, Quinoa, lentils, beans, chickpeas, and brown rice whenever possible.

• Eat whole fruit: avoid fruit juice, fruit by the foot, or other fruit-type of snacks that are not real fruit. Instead, eat a real piece of fruit, or cut up some fruit that can easily go in a lunch or be eaten as a mid-afternoon snack. Also be mindful of dried fruit. The sugar content is more concentrated in these so the serving size is smaller than the usual 1/2 cup. Also, check out the package label on fresh fruit alternatives. Dried and frozen fruit products often add sugar to improve the color, shelf-life, and taste. So, choose items that are just dried fruit or just frozen fruit for example, with no additives.

• Use lean proteins and healthy fats: include lean proteins and healthy fats with meals and snacks. For example, try to have a small piece of fresh fruit as a snack with a small handful of nuts.

• Follow the plate model: make ½ of the plate non-starchy vegetables, ¼ of the plate lean protein, and ¼ of the plate carbohydrates (whole-grain rice, pasta, quinoa, potatoes, corn, or other starchy vegetables).

• Snack smart: Use snacks that will be filling in nature rather than those that will encourage cravings quickly e.g., nuts, popcorn, whole fruit, veggies & plain hummus, etc.

• Try to avoid added sugar: on average US adults consume 20+ tsp of sugar per day, while the recommendation is for no more than 6 tsp per day. One way to avoid added sugar is to follow the tips given. The other thing we say is that if you’re craving something sweet, literally stewing over it, it's the only thing occupying your mind, then go get it. Don’t stew over it or wait until you know you’re going to overeat or binge. Go eat it and do so in a controlled serving. Then put it away and don’t touch it for a few days. Another good dessert-like food that is better than a typical dessert is dark chocolate. Get a high cacao percentage and allow yourself one or two squares when you’re craving something sweet. Again, try to avoid overeating as best you can!

• Practice mindfulness: When a craving comes on, question where it is coming from and why. Are you stressed? Were you just scrolling aimlessly through social media? Is your cycle coming on? Are you sick? Did you get enough sleep last night? Begin to link how you’re feeling to what you’re craving and you’ll become much more aware of your hunger cues and what will satisfy your needs.

• Stimulate dopamine in other ways: When cravings come on and if it's been a day full of sitting, get up and walk around. Perhaps, if you have time, get outside, and go for a walk. Get out in nature and simply distract yourself from the craving. Essentially, find ways to get yourself out of the environment you’re in when you begin feeling the craving come on. Movement is something that usually can help.

• Avoid long stretches of not eating: If you find that you’re starving you’re more likely to get a food that is not the best choice and overeat on it. Try to keep up with breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as snacks to avoid putting yourself into a craving situation.

Do you have something else that works for you? If so, drop us a comment, we’d love to hear about it and update this article with the tips you’ve found that work for you!

References

Cleveland Clinic. (2022). Dopamine. Retrieved from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22581-dopamine

Cleveland Clinic. (2022, May 25). How To Stop Your Cravings For Carbs. Retrieved from https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-to-stop-carb-cravings/

Hajnal, A., & Norgren, R. (2002). Repeated access to sucrose augments dopamine turnover in the nucleus accumbens. Neuroreport, 13(17), 2213–2216. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001756-200212030-00010

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (2021). Cravings. Retrieved from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/cravings/