I have a friend who constantly craves sugar even after she has eaten her regular meals. She craves ice cream and cookies (anything with sugar in it throughout the day). Is she lacking something in her diet? If so what is it?
This person has a high metabolism. She works out a couple of hours at the gym almost every day. She has been checked for diabetes and she doesn’t have it. Any advice?
As for me, what causes cellulite? How do I get rid of it? I’m 5 foot 5 inches and weigh 125 pounds. I should not have cellulite.
People who crave sugar aren’t lacking some nutrient (vitamin or mineral). Sweets often are accompanied by fat, but sweets are not long lasting sources of energy (4 hours to absorb into the body). You say she eats sugar during the day. If so how frequently? Between meals and at mealtime? Does she eat other foods like meats, vegetables, fruits, and milk as well as complex carbohydrates like grains? Does she eat in front of other people or alone?
If her weight is proportionate to her height and she is not binging on sweets (bulimia), then I wouldn’t worry about it. However, you do mention that she works out a couple of hours in the gym. Compulsive exercising is another indicator of an eating disorder (anorexia). Could she be trying to exercise off the sweets she has eaten? Is she training for a sports competition? Athletes often eat carbohydrates though not usually foods high in sugar. Unless a person is training to compete in a specific sport, a couple of hours exercise a day may be a bit much.
Symptoms of diabetes are excessive thirst and urination as well as weight loss even when a person is eating enough food. There may be a fruity smell (ketosis) to their breath. Often people with diabetes wake during the nite to go to the bathroom. Pregnant women and men with an enlarged prostate wake up in the night to urinate, so it is not entirely indicative of diabetes.
Research has shown that women crave sweets the week prior to menstruation, but no other time. Often when women are pregnant, they express various cravings. However, it is very difficult to connect cravings to any biological or chemical need by the body at this time. Young children will express a preference for sweets especially if they are fed sweets from a young age.
Typically salty foods start a meal (appetizer) and salt increases the amount of saliva produced which we in turn swallow. This sends a message along with our sense of smell that our stomach should start producing digestive juices (hydrochloric acid) and get ready to digest food. Sweet foods usually end a meal which has the effect of turning off the appetite. Hence the parental admonition to children to not eat candy before a meal as it will spoil their appetite. Besides the fact that candy has enough calories and often fat to satisfy a child’s before a meal.
Perhaps she is eating sweets because of the endorphins they produce. Endorphins are the feel-good-me of the brain. Carbohydrates and in particular sweets appear to increase the production of these chemicals and lift a person’s mood.
Do any of these possibilities fit?
With regards to cellulite, there is no such thing. If you are referring to a dimpled (orange peel) appearance to your skin, you are looking at enlarged fat cells (hypertrophied). Basically, if you do regular aerobic exercise (at least 30 minutes 5 times per week) to reduce body fat, the dimpled skin should go away. You should also do regular weight lifting to increase muscle size while you are working to reduce body fat. Unfortunately, there is no cream, exercise or pill to reduce fat cells. It just takes healthy foods and regular exercise.
