Combat your sugar cravings with these healthy alternatives

Sugar cravings are a routine experience for many of us, since as a society, we do associate sugar with celebrations and comfort eating. Sugar craving is the strong urge to have something sweet. According to Healthline, 97% of women and 68% of men report experiencing some sort of food craving, which also includes cravings for sugar.

A lot of us have found ways around managing our cravings, including lessening sugar intake or finding healthier substitutes to processedsugar. As reported by Healthline, there are also foods that you can eat which can help your combat sugar cravings.

Here are some of the foods that can help you manage your craving for sugar while making healthier choices.

Berries

Berries and fruits in general are better alternatives to eating processed sugars. Berries are high in fibre but low on sugar. Berries have anti-inflammatory properties and also great at reducing risk factors for chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

Dark chocolate

Although dark chocolate is a great way to indulge in your sugar craving responsibly, you must be cautious because you need to limit yourself to only a couple squares and not go overboard. Dark chocolate contains more than 70% cocoa and has been found to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Dates

Dates are super nutritious and also have enough sweetness to be able to satisfy any sweet cravings. They are a great source of fibre, potassium, iron. Healthline advises to not go beyond a single serving of 3 dates at a time since they have a high sugar content.

Trail mix

Trail mix is a snack which consists of mixing a variety of dried fruits, nuts and sometimes, seeds. It can be a much healthier alternative to processed sugar when you are craving something sweet. Nuts contain healthy fats, proteins, fibre and a variety of other nutrients. Here again, do not overindulge since trail mix are high on calories.

Yoghurt

Yoghurt is rich in protein and calcium. Studies have also shown that it is great at regulating appetite and controlling food cravings. A study even found that healthy-weight women who ate high-protein Greek yogurt for afternoon snack felt less hungry later in the day.

Sources used:

- Healthline: '19 Foods That Can Fight Sugar Cravings'

- NBC News: 'Spate of new research points to the potential harms of artificial sweeteners'

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