I decided to try a teaspoon of honey on a no-sweet muffin I made with coconut flour using applesauce to replace sweet. Result: I had major craving the rest of the day, and as I was drifting off to sleep thoughts of “treats” swam in my head. Abstaining from all sweet, sweet tastes, and starches is clearly my only option.

Honey is natural and it’s also a major trigger! At least now you know.

Honey is natural, but it is also a sugar, as is maple syrup, yacon and other “natural” sweets.  It’s clear to me there is a spectrum and you are a but above the middle and I am out on the high end (while my dad is at the other end). I also have cravings from high sugar/starch fruits like bananas, watermelon, butternut squash, etc. It’s my lot, hey, but it could be worse.

I don’t eat honey. I have maple syrup once in a blue moon in very limited amounts. Fruit for the most part is okay.

be mindful of all your sweetners you use in they day… Stevia is the lesser of the evils BUT even when your body tastes sweets, it will respond to the “sweet” taste and still release insulin… this includes GUM, CRYSTAL LIGHT anything sweetened.

I haven’t read your book. By your definition, I am already not sweet: I went solidly off sugar some years ago and now eat it in moderation.

One thing I would like people to know, though, is that sugar cravings and sugar binges are not only a matter of willpower. There are hormonal imbalances that can cause sugar cravings. Diabetes is a well-known hormone imbalance that causes sugar cravings, but one many people might not know about is hypothyroid disease. Hypothyroid disease is severely underdiagnosed in the west, so I always try to get this information out there.

I used to have sugar cravings so strong that they were unreal. I would eat brownies until I literally felt sick, but I would still want more. It wasn’t until I learned that I had hypothyroid disease that I began to research the condition and learned that it was the cause of my cravings: hypothyroid causes insulin resistance, which causes sugar cravings.

As long as my thyroid is adequately treated, I don’t crave sugar. If I get busy or distracted and forget to take my medication for a few days, though, the cravings start to rev up again.

If you are a person suffering from uncontrollable, severe sugar cravings, please please please get your thyroid hormones (all of them, not just TSH) checked by an endocrinologist who specializes in thyroid disease. It could save your life.

Thanks Priscilla!

Hi Priscilla,
Thanks for your info. We have hypothyroidism in our family and last time I was checked I didn’t have it. BUT I did get gestational diabetes when pregnant (this gives me a 50% change of becoming diabetic in the next 20 years), and am a (guilty as charged) sugar addict. I am trying to quit it with much difficulty. Perhaps it’s time I had another hypothyroidism check as I am sitting here gorging on chocolates now.
Cheers for the info.