The other morning a friend turned to me in the middle of a spinning class in between sets and asked me, “why do I crave sugar when I am stressed?” Knowing that she had finished a huge essay like 10:30 am yesterday I understood that she was coming off a stress cascade of hormones that drove her hard and left her reeling in a measure fatigue. I attempted while cycling a recovery set 🙂, to give her the short answer which was something like:
The brain is the biggest chewer of sugar (and fat-i left unsaid) in the body. Stress turns on the flight or flight Centre of the brain and puts hunger in the back ground but to survive a hormonal cascade takes place where adrenaline is increased. Triggering other hormonal cascades which I will explain a little later but the consequence is – generally we want something rather quickly and many times we reach for the nicest, yummiest most available thing- which is sugar- we aren’t always hungry we just crave something to make us “feel Better. This trigger’s a downward spiral that can quickly form bad habits that are hard to break.- The end and then some things she could do to help her gain control of the situation-this went down in 30 seconds max.
So now for the in depth look as to what is really going on that we reach for the sugar treat instead of a healthy snack? There are Many reasons – sometimes its the built in reward subsystems developed from young that when we have achieved something we want a reward- or when we want comfort… did Mom or Dad ever say. “Here’s a treat – it will help you feel better?” Habits are difficult to recognise and even more difficult to undo.
The Hormonal Cascade:
Cortisol levels rise when are stressed out- usually they return to normal following the event, which is healthy but under prolonged times of stress something else happens. It overpowers your natural appetite settings, causing you to crave sweet sugary things… On a brain scan, we can see addiction to sugar hitting the same Centre of the brain as those substances like narcotics.
According the Psychological Association of America, “stress is a an important factor to addiction development an addiction relapse.” It also makes us seek out comforts in Sugar or fat rich foods resulting in fast habit forming neurobiological adaptations which become hard to break. Studies have for this reason connected weight gain and stress.
It is completely plausible why sugar cravings can hit us any time of the day-It really boils down to dopamine. This is the reward hormone which is also the MORE hormone. When we have what rewards us we want more of it – (this is not always food) – Can you see a habit forming?
Under stress, the adrenal system is encouraged by the nervous system to tell the kidneys to up its production of epinephrine (adrenaline) – which kicks the fight or flight state into high gear which puts eating front and centre in ones state of mind…
As I said earlier, if the stress subsides there is no problem but in today’s age with Covid and its many repercussions, it has made abnormal, emotional & physical stress a part of everyone’s life – thus catalysing cortisol. This and other Hormones, is what makes us hungry and motivates us to find food- the high sugar / high fat kind. This promotes neurobiological adaptations that promote compulsive behaviour-in other words you don’t think too hard about your choice of a sugary treat- you just grab it (instinctively) and carry on without thinking- but long-term in this vein, it will affect how the axis of the hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal glands work in tandem with glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity, which left unchecked leads to obesity.
Why do people handle stress differently?
According to a study, done in America, they came upon a concept called “Gender Stress”. This means that men and woman handle and snack on different things and do and say different things to “treat” their stress. Woman cope better with stress when their connections to friends and loved ones are in tact- men don’t always, they generally play it down, internalising the stress-and find themselves reaching for alcohol more often, where woman generally for sweets and high fat comforts. Interesting right?
Another study in Finland showed that emotional eating was a result of stress.
This brings us to the Sugar Craving Cycle:
As mentioned the dopamine hormone is the reward hormone and it’s in play anytime we are looking to satisfy a craving-especially preceded by something emotional or physical- it could be tea, coffee, sugar, sodas or burgers right down to drugs gambling and other things. Its the hormone of more – like I said, once activated and used in this way under stress – often enough, form patterns fast, which are difficult to break – people who smoke employ the exact same hormonal cascade.
What also happens when sugar or the substance or food of choice hits the blood stream- insulin is released because the brain said, “Okay – there’s a load of sugar that needs neutralising and storing- Insulin get out there and put that away in the fat stores so as not to mess with the clean, clear, blood in the vascular system”
However when its metabolised you-hit another low- fatigue begins to rear its ugly head and the cycle begins all over again. When large amounts of sugar are left unmetabolised and insulin sensitivity is low- that is to say the gate keeper of the fat cells is not well received by the “fat stores manager” at the gate- it sends the sugar away-the sugar remains in the vascular system leading eventually to many diseases like Alzheimer’s, Heart Disease and Diabetes to name a few.
There is a RULE that I live by:
Have your Carbs in every case last. Have them with Good Fat or HIGH FIBRE choices or Good lean Protein sources. IN THAT ORDER – in other words: Eat the lean protein first or the Good FiBRE / fats FIRST – THEN the carbohydrate or moderately high sugar treat. This allows the sugar to metabolise at a slower rate into the blood stream thus minimising the fatigue that reinstates itself after a sugar loaded or pre-packaged meal like a burger or what ever.
I hope that this has been insightful and made you more aware of your own tendencies when you are stressed out. If you would like to consult on your specific situation, we can gladly help. Simply drop us a line on connect@madetothrive.co.za and we help you manage your stress (and stress eating) in a way that supports your Health and Wellbeing goals.
