Quiet Your Sweet Tooth with These 5 Foods

Are you having trouble controlling your sweet tooth? Are you consuming too much sugar? Add these foods to your diet.

Reviewed and approved by the physiotherapist Sofía Quintana Alonso.

Written by Daniela Echeverri Castro

Last update: 15 December, 2022

There is a remarkable group of foods that has the power to calm down a sweet tooth.

While sugar has been a part of human diet for a long time, now people would rather cut it out because of its negative effects on their health.

However, cutting it out overnight isn’t as easy as it may sound. Although willpower matters a lot, people who try often feel a strong urge to eat sweets again. That’s why you need a strategy to fight your sweet tooth. Do you know which foods are your friends?

Today we’ll talk about the 5 best options.

Why do I have such a strong sweet tooth?

Your sweet tooth acts up because your body experiences blood glucose drops at certain points in the day. Then your brain sends signals to your body to replenish the sugar.

Consequently, your sweet tooth is triggered; you want to eat anything sweet.

Another thing that triggers a craving for sweets is stress. When you’re in stressful situations, more cortisol is secreted, which is the hormone that prepares you to react to danger. So, since your body now requires more energy, it wants glucose again. What does that mean?

You crave sweet foods.

What happens in my body when I eat sweets?

After your brain gets sugar, it produces a feeling of well-being or hyperactivity because it also produces more endorphins. However, it’s a very short-lasting effect because foods with refined sugar contain carbohydrates that are quickly absorbed.

The excess sugar in your blood causes hyperglycemia, your body then reacting my producing insulin. This process lowers your glucose, putting you back to where you started.

The problem is that it’s a vicious cycle. Over time, insulin gets less effective at stabilizing blood glucose levels. As a result, you may end up dealing with insulin resistance, diabetes, or obesity.

Foods with the power to quiet your sweet tooth

The nutritional composition of certain healthy foods can help calm your sweet tooth without harming your health. In fact, they help regulate blood glucose, thus lowering your risk of developing problems related to consuming refined sugar.

1. Cinnamon

This wonderful spice contains essential oils and antioxidants that protect your body from many different disorders and diseases.

For a long time, people have known about cinnamon’s ability to prevent diabetes and other metabolic disorders. That’s why we recommend drinking cinnamon tea when you’re craving sweets.

2. Pumpkin

Both pumpkin pulp and pumpkin seeds can counteract strong cravings for sweets. The main reason is that they contain a good amount of dietary fiber, a nutrient that slows down carbohydrate absorption and keeps your glucose from spiking.

3. Carrots

The famous carrot turns out to be excellent for cravings. Carrots don’t just keep sugar from accumulating in your blood; they also encourage your cells to use it as fuel.

4. Oats

One of the most complete foods for any diet is oats. In fact, some people call oats the “queen of the grains” because of how nutritious they are.

Having them at breakfast or for a snack will give you energy, but also quiet your sweet tooth.

5. Nuts

Are you having trouble controlling your sweet tooth? Are you consuming too much sugar? Add these foods to your diet. You can see how nutritious and delicious they are, and instead of causing sugar highs and lows, they regulate your glucose.