by Roxanne Anderson

Created on: November 24, 2008

It's about 3:00pm, lunchtime is over at the cafeteria, and you are craving something sweet. It is nearly impossible to concentrate on your work because all you can think about is the sweet craving taking over your brain! At this point, what are your options? A quick run to starbucks for a venti mochachino, a snickers bar from the vending machine, or a piece of leftover birthday cake from your co-workers birthday party; nothing good. Sure any of these things might satisfy your craving in the short term, but all of these will lead to more and more insatiable cravings.

It is possible to eliminate your cravings whether they are sweet, salty, cold, or crunchy by understanding why you are feeling this way. The craving itself is not the problem; it is a message from your body. Many people see cravings as a weakness or a lack of will power, but this is not the case. Your body is a remarkable bio-computer. Your heart never forgets to pump, your eyes don't stop blinking, and your lungs will always keep breathing. A message from your body is important. This is not something that is rationalized in your head it is a biological need for something that is missing. When you start to feel a craving stop and think for a moment before you inhale that chocolate chip cookie. What is your body really asking for?

Sweet Cravings. It is natural to crave something sweet. The biggest problem about this craving is the type of sweet food that is accessible to us everyday. The easiest things to grab are candy bars, cookies, doughnuts, etc. These items are made refined white sugar or high fructose corn syrup which are a couple of the least nutritious foods on the planet. When you eat one of these items your blood sugar spikes quickly giving you that instant sugar high followed by a crash, leaving your blood sugar lower then it was before your sweet treat. This crash will then trigger your next craving, contributing to the endless cycle. There are better alternatives to satiate a sweet craving as well as foods that will help to stop them in the first place.

A sugar craving is your body asking for energy from glucose. The rate at which the glucose enters the bloodstream depends on the type of carbohydrate simple or complex. Complex carbs enter the bloodstream more slowly and create long lasting energy as opposed to simple carbs like refined sugar. Examples of complex carbohydrates are whole grains like oatmeal, brown rice, or quinoa (pronounced keen-wah). Some vegetables have sweet flavors when

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