Dear Teentalker,
Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns.
Craving for sweets is quite natural, since that's how we, as human beings have been wired. Our ancestors, historically would eat fruits (which contains fructose-sugar) and store it in the form of fat. It was also considered a form of survival mechanism and reduced the likelihood of a person starving to death. However, times have changed and so, has our lifestyle. Our ancestors were physically active, but the variety of food available was limited and surviving each day was a challenge. In our mode.....
Dear Teentalker,
Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns.
Craving for sweets is quite natural, since that's how we, as human beings have been wired. Our ancestors, historically would eat fruits (which contains fructose-sugar) and store it in the form of fat. It was also considered a form of survival mechanism and reduced the likelihood of a person starving to death. However, times have changed and so, has our lifestyle. Our ancestors were physically active, but the variety of food available was limited and surviving each day was a challenge. In our modern lifestyle, sugar and sugary related foods of all kinds (right from chocolates to Indian sweets-mithai) are available in abundance, but we're not as physically active as our ancestors. We sit more, walk less, stand less and therefore, all in all have lower levels of physical activity; but the craving for sweets is still the same or probably even more, due to the variety of processed items that are easily available in the market. Here's what you can do in order to resist the urge to have sweets:
- Consume sweets, but in moderation. Keep a track of when are you more likely to have them. Maintain a food diary as that will help you to keep a check on your eating patterns, including your sweet consumption patterns. To begin working on the tool, 'Food Diary', by visiting the explore tab on eating disorders.
- Try to replace eating sweets high in sugar content with healthier options. For example, instead of having chocolates or other sweets, you can try having a fruit such as an apple or a banana.
- Craving for sweets once in a while is okay, but if you find yourself repeatedly having them when you're feeling low, then you are indulging in emotional eating, which is unhealthy in the long run, so addressing the root cause of such feelings becomes necessary. To know more, please read through the following article on 'You might eat more, if you are feeling sad or lonely.'
- Having a healthy balanced diet that is rich in protein (for example, having a glass of milk or boiled eggs and fish, if you eat meat) is also healthy and is said to reduce craving for unhealthy foods.
- Include exercise in your schedule. If you find yourself eating more sweets than usual, then you might want to exercise that much more, in order to burn those extra calories. For additional information, please consult a qualified nutritionist to know more.
In the meantime, you can watch some videos by renowned celebrity Anjali Mukerjee in order to get some additional insights on diet and healthy eating by exploring through the segment on eating disorders.
