Sugar Cravings after Quitting Alcohol: 10 Dietitian-Approved Tips

Part of the cravings that individuals new to abstinence from alcohol face are actually sugar cravings, not alcohol cravings. Giving in to sugar cravings during recovery from alcohol is commonplace. Rehabilitation centers often offer high-sugar foods as do mutual-help groups. Even the primary text of Alcoholics Anonymous, known as “The Big Book,” encourages those in sobriety to keep candy on hand in order to curb cravings for alcohol. It’s not uncommon for individuals who once struggled with alcohol to turn to food in recovery, especially sugary foods.

This includes hallucinations, excessive sweating, confusion and agitation at a worrisome level, fevers, fast respirations, and at times passing out. Cravings for both food and alcohol are common when you are newly sober. Cravings occur because your body is still adjusting to sobriety and may be sending you mixed signals. People who struggle with alcohol use typically have altered eating patterns. This is because drinking can impact your appetite, taste buds and nutrient absorption. For this reason, people who drink heavily may not consume regular meals, increasing the risk of low blood sugar.

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You can choose any fruit of your liking to drop into glasses of water to infuse their flavors, or you can mix in larger batches to keep in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Other hydrating beverages include coconut water and chlorophyll water. Experts say that increased sugar cravings after giving up alcohol are «very common.»

In this article, we’re going to go through the causes for your sugar cravings. We know that it can be challenging going from why do alcoholics crave sugar craving one substance to another. But by understanding the cause, you’ll be better equipped to handle it and move forward.

Can You Overcome Sugar Cravings?

First, variable distributions were evaluated for normality and skewness, and missing data were imputed. Relying heavily on sweets, many persons in recovery can put their health at risk by swapping their drug and alcohol addiction for sugar addiction. However, it is often followed by a dreadful crash or “coming down,” leading to emotional disturbances and extremes. Watch any child eat a plentiful amount of candy, then come off the sugar high later and be reminded of a drug addict detoxing from drugs.

• There are other naturally-occurring sweeteners such as monk fruit extract and sugar alcohols like erythritol.
• Therefore, it’s common for someone in early addiction recovery to crave sweets and other sugary foods to try and produce the large amounts of dopamine they need to feel good.
• High-calorie, high-sugar, low-nutrient foods are frequently a go-to in early recovery, and are frequently served at some rehabilitation centers and mutual-help groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous.
• While I was on a nutrition-focused episode of the Landmark Recovery Podcast, host Michael Walsh said that some rehab centers would even serve dessert first during meals.
• Almost like a shadow, it seems to follow you throughout your day.
• This is similar to the dopamine rush you’d feel when drinking alcohol.

Of course, alcohol and sugar cravings can sometimes go hand in hand. If you find that it’s hard to control your drinking without resorting to sugar, there are new ways to limit drinking urges. Instead of participating in the highly destructive pattern of substance misuse or becoming dependent on sugary foods, you can substitute other behaviors, actions, or thoughts that are also rewarding to reduce the intensity of your cravings. Eating sweet foods can reduce the intensity of these drug cravings by giving a short dopamine boost, which could be the difference between remaining in recovery or experiencing a relapse. A chocolate bar is far less harmful than returning to active addiction. You expected discomfort and intense cravings when you quit alcohol, but not this.

Ways To Manage Sugar Cravings In Recovery

Participants rated their craving experience over the previous 4 weeks on a Likert scale to 0 (not at all) to 10 (extremely), with omega coefficients of 0.98 at baseline and follow-up. Choosing recovery close to home means your support system is just a few miles away. Different types of alcohol contain varying amounts of carbohydrates. Some types, including distilled spirits like whiskey, do not contain any carbohydrates at all.

Too much sugar and caffeine can also alter one’s mood, creating anger, energy, and rage, which should be better placed elsewhere. Having tried to give up drinking a numer of times without help,,and failing, this time have sought medical help and therapy which are definitely helping,but couldn’t understand why I suddenly had this craving for sugar. So when I read your article makes perfect sense,only day 5 but substituting sweets and chocolate are taking away my cravings. It’s not easy to maintain your recovery from alcohol addiction. This is especially true if you are struggling with sugar cravings. A sugar addiction can develop much in the same way that a person develops an alcohol use disorder.

Sweet-cope may in turn increase likelihood of sugar craving, consumption, and both alcohol craving and use (Hansson et al., 2019). These risk sequelae may be particularly salient under conditions of stress or negative affect, an interesting avenue for future investigation. Patients in early recovery with substance disorders (including AUD) have reported substitution of sweets for substances to improve mood and soothe cravings (Cowan & Devine, 2008).

Not only does sugar’s long-term effects on the body – like cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes – pose a problem, but the goal of sobriety is to not be reliant on any substance. If you’re prone to addictive behaviors, then you may be more likely to turn to other alternatives, such as https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/what-is-the-life-expectancy-of-an-alcoholic/ sugar, to stay sober. Now that you’ve made the courageous decision to quit drinking, the future looks brighter. The truth is, it’s common for people who quit drinking to, out of nowhere, start craving sugar or sweets. The sugar cravings after quitting alcohol are deeper than that, though.