Replacing Alcohol With Sugar in Early Recovery

The key to understanding why going sober is accompanied by sugar cravings is in understanding addiction. For details visit: https://www.worldsbest.rehab/replacing-alcohol-with-sugar-in-recovery/
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The key to understanding why going sober is accompanied by sugar cravings is in understanding addiction. For details visit: https://www.worldsbest.rehab/replacing-alcohol-with-sugar-in-recovery/
About esmeriley4uin

I love innovation. Creating something and share with public
Sugar crave Sugar crave wil addict Alcohol body
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Replacing Alcohol With Sugar In Recovery
Many people wil feel intense sugar cravings after they stop drinking. For some, the cravings are so strong they 
feel like the need they once felt for a drink, leaving them binging sugary foods in much the same way they once 
binged on alcohol. While many are surprised by these cravings, it’s a common, and predictable, side efect of 
going sober.
Why do people crave sugar when they go sober?
The key to understanding why going sober can be accompanied by intense sugar cravings is in understanding 
the mechanism of addiction. The previous alcohol addiction was a result of changes in the brain’s reward path-
ways, which would start requiring alcohol to trigger the creation of chemicals like dopamine and serotonin. 
When someone goes sober, their brain ceases production of these neurotransmiters, and the brain, instead 
identifies sugar as another way of stimulating their production.
Sugar is linked with stimulating several feel-good chemicals, it’s one of the reasons that many people enjoy 
chocolate so much. In efect, the sugar craving is replacing the alcohol craving. However, this is not unique 
to those recovering from alcohol addiction, reading any diet book wil highlight that many people, even those 
who have never drunk in their lives, can have problems with sugar cravings.
What people shouldn’t do about sugar cravings?
One thing a recovering addict should not do, is wory about replacing alcohol with sugar in recovery. Going sober 
is and incredibly dificult process, there is very litle to be gained by adding a wory about sugar cravings. For most 
people simply accepting those cravings and giving in to them wil be the best thing they can do, and wil help help 
them beat their alcohol addiction by stimulating the production of neurotransmiters.
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For many, these cravings wil, over time, reduce and disappear. The human body, like any living organism, 
seeks a state known as homeostasis. Homeostasis is when the body is at its optimal state, and variables 
like body temperature, mineral levels, energy are al at the right levels; essentialy, it’s the balance the body 
tries to find.
Almost anything a person can do wil cause a change as their body reacts and adapts. Whether it’s eating and 
drinking, exercising, or just moving between areas with diferent temperatures, the body wil unconsciously start 
processes to adjust. Sometimes, these manifest as cravings.
Because alcohol withdrawal is a major change for the body, it wil have significant efects as the body adjusts. A 
former addict, by listening to those cravings, can help the body restore its natural equilibrium. And going sober 
is dificult enough without having to resist sugar cravings too.
Are there any risks from replacing alcohol with sugar in recovery
A recovering alcoholic should focus on their recovery first. There are, of course, some risks with the sugar 
cravings, but the risks from relapse and alcohol addiction are significantly worse.
One danger is from addiction transference. Because al addictions work on the same reward pathways in the 
brain, addicts can recover from one addiction only to find they replace it with another. This is one reason why 
rehab centers wil usualy not alow any substance or behavior associated with addiction, even if it’s not the one 
they are treating. The most obvious is developing an addiction to sugar, but because those reward pathways 
are kept active the risk of other addictions remains.
There is also the short- and long-term risks of a poor diet when replacing alcohol with sugar in recovery. Having 
excessive sugar can have a near-immediate efect on quality of life, with rushes and crashes afecting energy 
levels and mood, and, through that, social relationships. A sugar-rich diet wil also have wel-known long-term 
health efects, from tooth decay to obesity.
However, despite these risks it’s important to note that the risks of continued alcohol addiction are far greater. 
And, if the body does not eventualy stop craving sugar, it stil causes much less harm and is far easier to 
manage than a continued or renewed addiction to alcohol.
How to manage replacing alcohol with sugar in recovery
If a recovering alcohol addict feels they need to address their sugar cravings, then the steps they need to take 
are, by and large, the same as anyone going through the same problems.
An important part is understanding what is happening to the body when it processes sugar and how this afects 
the cravings. When consumed, sugars in food are converted into glucose which is transported in the blood; this 
is reflected in your blood sugar levels. An increase in blood sugar wil stimulate the generation of dopamine, a 
feel-good chemical, and insulin, which wil lower the blood sugar level to regulate it. This is why people have 
sugar crashes, their body responds to a spike in blood glucose with insulin, leaving them with low blood sugar 
but also a drop in dopamine.
The best route to managing cravings is, therefore, to help the body maintain a stable blood glucose level. And 
the best way to do this with through diet.
One of the most important approaches is to avoid refined carbohydrates. Because these are already refined, 
the body can quickly turn them into glucose, causing crashes and intensifying subsequent sugar cravings. 
Instead, strive for a diet that includes foods that are harder to digest, such as fiber, or whole foods, that wil 
ofer a slow and steady release of sugars.
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Eating regularly wil also help the body. Avoiding long gaps between meals wil help maintain a consistent blood 
sugar level, avoiding it faling too far before the next meal. Idealy, something should be eaten approximately 
every four hours.
Breakfast is an important meal, especialy as it wil come after a prolonged period without food. Trying to focus 
on protein in this meal wil help, creating a sense of fulness as wel as avoiding an immediate sugar-rush. It’s 
also helpful to ensure it folows a ful, and good, night’s sleep.
Finaly, whatever efect the sugar cravings have had on the waistline, it is not a good time to diet. Ensuring 
that the diet contains enough calories for the day, rather than a dieting deficit, wil ensure that the body can 
adapt to sobriety and managing cravings.