Sugar and Tiredness – Breaking the Cycle

I hear about feeling tired and exhausted more than almost any other sign during Menopause. And over the past year, I’ve noticed a big rise in the number of women feeling this way.

For some, this could be from long Covid, stress, and worry – all of which are important things to consider – but one part of your food choices might be the greatest risk.

Top food expert Patrick Holford shares his thoughts on the harmful effects our liking for sweet things can cause and gives advice on how to manage it.

What’s the problem?

A respected Research Professor in the US says that sugar can be as addictive as cocaine or heroin.

However, stopping sugar suddenly without any food to help might cause withdrawal symptoms similar to a drug addict suddenly quitting with no support.

Stopping sugar can lead to sadness and behavioural problems. Experts are increasingly worried because most people consume nearly three times the recommended amount of sugar, according to Public Health England.

Eating too much sugar leads to obesity, dental problems, and heart disease. It is not only the sugar in drinks but also the sugar found in chocolate, biscuits, sweets, and cereal.

Consuming too much sugar causes your blood sugar to spike and then drop. These low points can make you feel tired, so people who eat a lot of sugar often choose caffeinated drinks and energy boosters to improve their mood.

Sugar stimulates the release of dopamine and endorphins, which can create a feeling of not being rewarded and Dr Candace Pert, Research Professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington DC, says:

‘I consider sugar to be a drug, a highly purified plant product that can become addictive. Relying on an artificial form of glucose – sugar – to give us a quick pick-me-up is analogous to, if not as dangerous as, shooting heroin.’

Whether your sugar problem is big or small, using artificial sweeteners instead of regular foods or drinks won’t change your craving for sweets. Like any habit, it takes time and healthy food to balance the chemicals in your brain again.

What sugar does

Too much sugar can cause problems like weight gain, depression, cravings for alcohol and drugs, diabetes, heart disease, kidney issues, or even addiction.

If you suddenly stop eating all sugar and sweet foods without any nutritional support, you will likely crave it. You may also feel tired, unmotivated, and depressed.

It takes about a week for these symptoms to lessen, and it also takes about a week for your blood sugar levels to get used to not having a daily supply of sugar.

How supplements will help

On the other hand, if you also take supplements as Patrick Holford recommends, the results are very different. This is because a lot of people crave sugar due to an underlying serotonin deficiency.

By supplementing the right amino acids to correct this (mainly tryptophan and/or 5-HTP) sugar cravings often reduce substantially and, with that, excessive weight gain.

This also applies to progesterone as this helps both elevate mood and reduce weight as it acts as a diuretic.

Richard Wurtman, a professor of brain and cognitive science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, believes that some people will crave carbohydrates not because they lack willpower but because of an imbalance in serotonin levels than do affect people generally but specifically those who prefer protein-rich snacks.

Their extra-low serotonin levels leave them feeling anxious, irritable and craving a serotonin ‘fix’. The reason why sugar works is that sugar causes a release of insulin, and insulin carries tryptophan in the blood into the brain, where it can be converted into serotonin.

This is probably why you crave sugar when you’re feeling low, and feel better for it, and why we give upset children something sweet and they perk up.

Chromium, which helps insulin to work, also substantially reduces craving, as well as improving mood. It halves cravings in eight weeks and improves mood in people prone to depression in two out of three who supplement 600mcg a day.

Do you need to quit completely?

Sugar itself is not harmful, but it can be if you consume too much. Refined sugar lacks important nutrients, especially B vitamins, vitamin C, and chromium, which help turn it into energy.

To break the habit of consuming too much sugar, it is best to avoid anything with added sugar. Sugar can go by many names, such as: Glucose (syrup), Dextrose, Malt, Honey, Sucrose, Fructose

It’s best to stay away from these, but fructose affects blood sugar less than sucrose, which in turn affects it less than glucose. So fructose is the least harmful option.

This means you should also avoid chocolate because it is high in sugar. However, having a small amount of dark chocolate (with 70% cocoa solids and low sugar) is okay as long as you don’t eat a whole bar every day.

Instead, choose whole fruit, which provide fructose and nutrients. Good options include apples, pears, berries, cherries, plums, and peaches. Oranges are fine in moderation, but avoid drinking too much juice.

As a general rule, limit yourself to the juice of one orange per day or an equal amount of apple juice. When you drink juice, mix it with one-third water. After the first week, you can start mixing it half and half with water.

Try to have no more than two of these juices each day.

Sugar-free alternatives

One of the best natural sugars is xylose, also called xylitol. About two-thirds of the natural sugar in berries, cherries and plums is xylose, which tastes sweet but doesn’t raise your blood sugar level.

Nine teaspoons of xylitol has the same effect on your blood sugar level as one teaspoon of sugar or honey.

Nowadays, you can buy it easily in supermarkets, health-food shops and by mail order. It tastes like sugar and the only thing it won’t do is caramelise so you won’t be able to make crème brulee with it.

Extracted from  “How To Quit Without Feeling Sh**t” by Patrick Holford which offers a fast highly effective way to end addiction to caffeine, sugar and cigarettes.

Helpful information:

Feeling tired is a common problem during menopause, and there can be several reasons for it, such as low thyroid function, adrenal fatigue, and a poor diet.

Not drinking enough fluids can also contribute to tiredness. It’s important to maintain hormone balance for your body to work well, and improving your energy and mood can be beneficial too.

If you think you might have low progesterone then supplementing with Serenity – Wellsprings progesterone only cream – can help with weight loss.

Women do not often realise just how important having the right hormone balance is to help with not just menopausal symptoms but weight loss and bloating too.

This article can help give you some more clues as to why you may not be losing weight.

https://blog.wellsprings-health.com/are-your-hormones-blocking-your-weight-loss/