Is there a link between fatigue and sugar cravings?

[Momof3Girlz]

I have this insatiable desire to eat sweet foods. I have to force myself to eat anything healthy. I prepare healthy foods for my children but, all I want to do is eat cookies and cakes and drink tea and cofee. I get very little sleep or rest and I find that when I get up with the kids in the morning I'm making oatmeal for them and all I want is a cup of strong tea or coffee and some oreos! What can be causing this sugar and caffine craving? Could it be fatigue? addiction? lack of will power? I just feel like such a hypocrite pushing all these healthy foods on my kids while I don't live by it. I want to lead a healthy lifestyle too.

Somebody please provide some insight/experiences into this.

PS: I should also mention that I'm not overweight (except for a few extra baby pounds) and have never had an eating problem.

Thanks,

Nadine

[Ame]

Well I got no answer for you...just a ME TOO ! I have often wondered this, but never asked. Hopefully someone has some answers for us.

[Aster]

Sounds like Syndrome X. There are lots of books and scientific studies about this syndrome.

What you're defining as a good healthy food may actually not be a good healthy food for you if you have syndrome x. If you google syndrome x and hyperinsulinemia you'll find lots of interesting info that will explain better than i could the relationship b/n a high carb diet and fatigue/hypoglycemia.

Here's a link to 39 pages of a book on amazon about syndrome x that you can read online http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...ow#reader-link

[merpk]

Isn't there also the idea that eating too many carbohydrates or some such will inspire cravings for stuff like that? The Atkins thing? Or is that totally irrelevant to this?

:

- Amy

[Ackermama]

I believe there is a direct correlation. I haven't heard of syndrome X (but I'll check it out!), but I know from personal experience about this. With ds1, I lived from sugar high to sugar high. I didn't know how to get through the day without the help of sugar; I relied on it completely, as I got very little sleep at night. Then when I was pregnant with ds2, I became very sensitive to sugar. All my diabetes tests were fine, but I could NOT eat it. It made me feel just awful if I had any more than 17g at once, including natural sugars in fruit, etc. I basically had to give up all refined foods, sugar, and fruits. It was so unbelievable difficult except that I had no choice because of how it made me feel. What I discovered was very interesting. First, I slept a whole lot better and felt a whole lot more well rested (not at first, but after only a few days). Also, I ate SO much food. I didn't realize how many of my calories were coming from little bits of junk that I threw in here and there. I always thought I had a good diet with an excess of junk food thrown on top, but once I gave up the junk, I was hungry all the time and eating a LOT of really good food that I had been derpiving my body of before. This really amazed me and made me think. Now ds2 is six months and I am not as sensitive as I was while pregnant (although I still can't come close to pounding the amounts I used to). I am trying very hard to stick with the low-no sugar rules I got used to. One piece of encouragement I will share is that the less I ate, the less I wanted. Once I started, it got easier and easier all the time. Now I cannot eat a lot of my favorite candies, etc. They just taste gross to me.

I really think it is worth trying to give up if you can. Start small, but give it up completely. Just trying to cut back never worked for me, but if you give it ALL up, say, for one week, you will be surprised the changes it makes in your life. Pick a week and just live to gorge on Saturday and I'll bet by the time Sat rolls around, you won't be half as interested as you think you will and might even want to tack on another week. And if not, what have you lost? A week. I know it's hard, but it will help you see what you are really doing to your body. I know from experience.

[Another thought: Sugar addictions and the metabolism it creates in people and in their brain chemistries set them up for alcoholism, as well, so if you are prone to be a sweet tooth, watch out for booze.]

[adventuregirl]

Syndrome X and lots of carbs can both really feed what you are experiencing. Cutting down on sugar and anything refined or high carb will help.
Are you taking any kind if vits? Sometimes sugar cravings can be a sign of vit/mineral deficiency, so try adding a mutivit if you don't already take one.
Also, the supplement GABA can be extremely helpful in curbing cravings and addictions, if you can get a hold of that, try taking it till the cravings subside, then wean yourself off of it.
Good luck and hang in there, sugar is a more powerful drug than any narcotic out there. You can overcome this!

[Momof3Girlz]

Thank you so much! I am really going to make a go of it. The thing that concerns me also is the possible effect that this is having on my breastmilk. I am producing a more than adequate amount however, I am concerned about the sugar content in the bm.

Anyhow, I am going to try and follow a diet of veggies, water, and beans and meat for the next few days, lol...

I'll keep you all posted if you're interested

Nadine

[adventuregirl]

You go, girl! Let us know how it goes!

[Ame]

If you succeed , I'll try it.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you !

[Aster]

If you're nursing, you do need to include complex carbs in your diet. And make sure you're drinking LOTS of water.

Also, please read this LLL article on lowcarbing.

I hope that you got a chance to read some info about syndrome x, etc... I think it's beyond the scope of a thread on MDC to go into all the specifics that a person should know before they alter their way of eating. I do follow a lower-carb eating plan, but i did a lot of research first to make sure that i wasnt going to be harming myself or my nursling. And i'm still finding new info all the time. Please take care!!

[Moon]

Hi.

There is a direct correlation between sugar cravings and fatigue.

When your body is tired (out of fuel), it *thinks* its out of fuel (glucose), so it signals you to eat. Sugar and/or carbs are more quickly turnt into energy, so that is what body central tells you to eat...........so you eat more sugar/carbs, which in their turn get used up, so you eat more, so you eat more, etc etc etc.

I did the Atkins diet once, and I was astounded at how badly, I mean really BADLY, I craved sugar until I broke the cycle, about day three. You could try a sugar/fruit/carb fast for three or four days and see how you feel, IF YOU KNOW you are otherwise in good health.

The only other thing I will mention is that you might want to rule out hyperglycemia or diabetes.

[MysticHealerMom]

What you describe is something that I've been dealing with for a long time. My dh had it, as well. We are still dealing with it, but it's gotten easier.

It is a form of hypoglycemia. The problem with diagnosing hypoglycemia, is that it's a multi-causal symptom, not a disease like diabetes. Hypoglycemia can be a precursor to diabetes, as well. It's definately related to your ability to regulate your blood sugar properly.

If you have a glucose tollerance test, be aware that most doctors don't know how to evaluate the results. Giving the test is easy, if you can get a doc to administer it - it's not easy on you, because it requires so many blood samples and a crazy fluctuation in blood sugar - but the bottom line is the degree to which your blood sugar changes over each period of time, not whether it is within a specific range start to finish.

There is so much information, you may feel inundated.

Researching Syndrome X is a good resource.

but be aware that these symptoms are precursors to diabetes, not a definate path, but something to be aware of.

Also, consider researching chromium (with picolinate) as it helps your insulin regulate your blood sugar. When your pancreas gets over worked, it produces malformed insulin that has trouble attaching to your cells and moving sugar into and out of your blood and cells. When I discussed chromium with someone, they said it's been proven not to help with weight loss. That's true, it doesn't help with weight loss, specificly, it helps regulate blood sugar by supporting your insulin hormones. It also helps w/increasing muscle. But, I urge you to research it before blinding adding it into your regimine. It has helped me out a lot and I notice when I stop taking it. Picolinate is sort of a catalist that helps your body absorb it properly, any other catalist won't be as readily absorbed.

Here's a list of book reviews on my naturopath's website. She's reviewed Atkins, Syndrome X and a bunch of other books related to nutrition, a lot about diabetes and blood sugar issues, as well.

Best wishes,

Lori