Serotonin: part 1. Why you crave sweets so much during anxious times and what to do about it

Today I am opening a series of articles devoted to the “hormone of happiness” - serotonin. As part of these articles, I will write about:

• relationship between serotonin and sweets
• serotonin and migraine treatment
• serotonin and alcohol
• serotonin and treatment of depression

Let's start with the most common question: eating anxious thoughts and states with sweets and other foods that have a high glycemic index (that is, they contain a lot of readily available glucose).

Sweet foods that we tend to use to solve problems include:

• all candies
• all sweet baked goods ( even “sugar-free” , with dried fruits, syrups and other sweeteners)
• chocolate with less than 70% cocoa content
• sweet soda (even light type with sweeteners)
• jam and marmalade
• ice cream - even raw food without added sugar
• white bread and baked goods made from white flour (by the way, bread can be gray! It’s just that rye flour is added to gray, which makes its color not so snow-white)
• pasta - even whole grain
• porridge (with the possible exception of buckwheat and quinoa)
• White rice
• “wrong” smoothies and juices - made mainly from fruits and berries
• honey and all syrups
• marshmallows (I highlight them separately because many still believe in the story that marshmallows are good for health... This is not so! Marshmallows contain a LOT of sugar, zero fiber, and what are their benefits for me, who knows all the biochemistry of food , it's hard to say)
• potatoes and corn (mainly products made from corn flour)
• dried fruits

You probably also noticed: when you feel bad, you are NOT drawn to salmon salad. You don't just want to eat.

What to do if you want sweets, what is missing in your body, and how to deal with it?

Doctors vying with each other about the dangers of sugar. It causes diabetes and obesity with hypertension... And let's talk about why you want sweets, and what is missing in the body if you crave unhealthy desserts.

Until recently, I ate boxes of candy, buckets of ice cream, and kilograms of halva and sherbet. One day, my love for sweets brought me to a hospital bed. A large portion of halva served as a trigger for a severe migraine attack. This, in turn, caused an abnormal heart rhythm. Well, they were treated, as usual, “for blood pressure”

Source: https://100polezno.ru/ecozhisn/lajfhaki/pochemu-hochetsja-sladkogo-chego-ne-hvataet-v-organizme-prichiny.html

You want exactly sweet and starchy things:

• pasta and fried potatoes,
• roasted meat in chocolate
• and a raisin bun.

It doesn’t matter how you felt about sweets BEFORE this. It is quite possible that you were indifferent to it, but during periods of increased anxiety and stress you cannot be recognized: you cannot tear yourself away from all this harmfulness, no matter how conscious a person you are.

I know from myself that when I am sad and lonely, I suddenly remember where I have chocolates and sweets brought from Russia “for children.” For example, now, during quarantine, it was, to be honest, very difficult to resist the sweets that I carelessly bought at Sheremetyevo airport: Belochka, Chocolate Grillage, Kozinaki, Bears in the North... Oh! Nostalgia can overpower reason. Then, on the day of buying sweets at the end of February, I could not even imagine what awaited me in a couple of weeks: sitting locked up alone with these sweets, in anxiety and without the opportunity to hug a living person...

Then my dislike for sweets disappeared.

I didn't recognize myself! I promised myself not to eat sweets tomorrow, and when tomorrow came... I found myself with candy in my hand. And already from the third! Then I promised myself that at least I would only eat 2 candies a day. The magical tomorrow came, and, alas, I could not stop at two candies, but ate all five: two after breakfast, two after lunch and one more in the evening... Then I assumed that I “just have a late breakfast” and the result of this is my strange craving for candy. The next day, according to all the rules, I prepared myself a wonderful, healthy and, most importantly, satisfying breakfast... and again I found myself with wrappers from two sweets in my hands. Right after breakfast: proper, healthy and satisfying...

At my next meeting with a psychotherapist, I complained: “Sergey, save me from sweets! This is some kind of nightmare! I do not understand what is going on. Everything seems to be fine, but like a man possessed, I am sweeping away the stocks of candy in the house. This hasn’t happened to me for six years: usually we could have sweets lying around for YEARS, and no one would eat them. And then... I just don’t know what came over me!”

“So nothing is happening? Really? What's going on in the world now? Is everything the same as before?

And then it dawned on me. Well, of course! Why didn’t I think of this myself? After all, yes, now everything is changing in the world, and even sitting at home in what seems to be the same environment, you still feel with your skin that the world is no longer the same. At least now (We don’t know what will happen next. However, as always!). This means that our anxiety increases, and as a result, our craving for sweets increases. After all, you can’t isolate yourself from the whole world and say: “I’m in the house. Everything is the same for me: peace and quiet at home. I don’t see anything, I don’t hear anything.”

Yes, in my “house” everything was the same - the same curtains and the same work from home. There were also a lot of meetings and tasks, but... There was an unusual silence outside the window. It was the first week of quarantine, and people hardly left their homes. Usually, like today (yay!), cars constantly pass by the windows and passers-by walk. But during that “candy-eating week,” the street was so quiet that all you could hear was the howling of the wind. Try to pretend that nothing is happening here! Try to trick your brain! Hell no!

«But what does all this have to do with serotonin?”, you ask. The most direct!

I lost 52 kg. Why did I always want to eat? And how to overcome severe hunger

Me before and after.
Photo by the author. I'm Masha, I'm 41 years old now. At 35 years old my weight was 115 kg. Then I began my struggle with excess weight.

I lost weight, gained weight, and again embarked on the path of struggling to be slim. At the beginning of my journey, I managed to reduce my weight from 115 to 70 kg in a year and a half. Then I got pregnant and gave birth to a child at 38 years old.

I gained weight again while on maternity leave. In the summer of 2021, the scales weighed 86 kg.

Photo by the author.

I didn’t repeat the mistakes of my youth. No hunger strikes or extreme diets. I followed the proven path. Proper nutrition, regime, fitness, calorie deficit and now 23 kg are behind me. Now my weight is 63 kg. Less than it was before giving birth.

Photo by the author.

Why am I always hungry?

I get asked this question very often. I had to figure this out myself in order to lose excess weight.

Constant hunger is not an innate quality. He has his reasons.

Initially, the cause of increased appetite may be hormonal disorders or the use of certain medications. For example, increased appetite is observed in polycystic ovary syndrome. I had such a disorder. Increased appetite can also be caused by hormonal contraceptives, antidepressants, drugs for diabetes and hypertension, and cerebrovascular stimulants.

In my case, food addiction developed against the background of a hormonal disorder. I started going on diets to lose weight. I sharply cut my diet, or even went hungry. The body's response was to slow down metabolism and increase appetite. After each diet, I was attacked by hellish gluttony. And the food seemed unusually tasty.

I overate and berated myself, promising to go on even stricter diets and lose everything.

Nutritionists say:

to fasting and diets of less than 1200 kcal, our body reacts by slowing down metabolism and increasing the feeling of hunger for several years! The body interprets the feeling of hunger unambiguously - a threat to life, a lack of nutrients. The first reaction is to compensate for the deficiency from reserves (I was losing weight), the second is to replenish reserves more actively and spend more sparingly (I gained weight just by looking at food and did not lose weight even on meager diets).

Strict diets and fasting are the first reason for constant hunger.

Photo by the author.

The second is food addiction.

I used food for pleasure. And if something gives you pleasure, you want to do it more often, right? Food calms, comforts, entertains, and causes the release of endorphins, happiness hormones. And it's so simple and accessible. One problem is that the body is not adapted to eating a lot; its capabilities are limited. No problem! I'll adapt!

How to do it? There are ways.

Checked - don't eat longer. You don’t have to have breakfast, limit yourself to a snack at lunch, and by the evening you’ll have a ravenous appetite. Then you can eat a lot of delicious high-calorie food and even more than once. Another way is to eat a lot of sweets. A large intake of glucose causes a hormonal reaction - the release of insulin, which converts glucose into fat. And then comes a strong feeling of hunger!

If you have sweets, you can eat them with almost no restrictions. Cake, pastry, chocolate. The hunger will only get worse. And the pleasure is continuous. Just what a food addict needs. Naturally, this happens unconsciously. Nobody says: “What should I eat to make me sick?”, they just “want something sweet.”

Photo by the author.

Another way to increase hunger is salty foods and monosodium glutamate.

I ate a lot of salty, smoked food. Chips, snacks, crackers. Monosodium glutamate is found almost everywhere. A striking example is the food of the gods, Doshirak. Why we love it so much - a killer dose of monosodium glutamate. Do you remember this intoxicating aroma? No steak can compare to it.

All foods contain high salt content. Even healthy ones. I calculated that only 180 grams (three slices) of whole grain bread from VkusVill contain the daily requirement of salt! And it's a healthy product that tastes unsalted! What can we say about ordinary sausages and sausages?

Why do we love them? Salt is a flavor enhancer and appetite stimulant. It helps you eat more, which means you get more pleasure from food. You can eat at least twice as much salty food. Take unsalted food and do the same, but with salt.

Which one will you eat more?

Photo by the author.

Apples greatly increase your appetite.

By the way, all overweight people love to snack on apples. And I even went on an apple diet.

What else makes you feel hungry?

Dehydration.

Lack of normal consumption of clean water is a frequent companion to obesity. Instead, tea, coffee, sweet juices. That is, anything that increases dehydration and hunger.

Often, overweight people categorically do not want to pass this milestone - anything but drink clean water. If you want a guaranteed diet break, drink several cups of coffee throughout the day.

In the evening, you will find yourself eating spicy teriyaki strips from KFS (based on a true story) despite the quarantine.

Photo by the author.

Lack of sleep! Another way to stimulate hunger.

If you want to eat more, go to bed after 12 and sleep less than 8 hours. Live in overwork and stress mode.

To overcome food addiction, I had to understand all these reasons for hunger. Understand that I have the power to eliminate them from my life. Give up the feeling of hunger and stop doing what causes it.

And this means:

• Avoid long breaks in eating and feelings of hunger. Eat according to the schedule. Minimum three times a day. Only a regimen and a well-balanced diet can calm the body over time and turn off the reserve accumulation mode. Avoid eating three hours before bedtime so you can wake up with an appetite and have a hearty breakfast.
• Sleep for at least 8 hours from 23:00. At this time, the fat-burning hormone and all the others that regulate our weight are produced.
• Drink at least 1.5 liters of clean water, do not drink sugary drinks, limit drinks that cause dehydration.
• Reduce salt intake. I strive for the norm - 5 grams of salt per day.
• Avoid fast carbohydrates. I excluded cakes, pastries, and white sugar. My carbohydrates are porridge, whole grain bread, vegetables, fruits, and sweets in the first half of the day.

Photo by the author. Healthy sweets can be delicious. Cherry strudel with oat yogurt.

• Avoid all foods high in salt, monosodium glutamate, and any flavor enhancers. And this is a very large list of food. Choose simple and healthy foods. Without GMOs and antibiotics. Buy village and farm products.

Ideally, remove tea and coffee, at least for a while. Can be replaced with chicory and herbal decoctions.

The consequence of eating unhealthy food is poor intestinal microflora. I eat fermented foods. If necessary, I drink lactulose (a prebiotic that improves intestinal function by feeding beneficial microflora).

Photo by the author. Lots of vegetables - and I'm full.

• Eat low-calorie foods (those with a calorie density of 1 or less) to get a large meal and feel full.
• Avoid stress and overwork. Look for sources of joy, inspiration, endorphins.

But not junk food! Photo by the author.

By

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that sends signals to our nervous system and affects:

• our appetite
• mood
• sleep quality
• memory
• learning ability
• sexual desire

That is, we absolutely need serotonin in order to feel great both mentally and physically. That is why people have dubbed it the “hormone of joy.”

If your serotonin levels are normal, you will feel calm,

as well as a surge of enthusiasm, a desire to live and create. Serotonin also reduces appetite, and thus helps normalize weight: and this is why most people in stressful situations begin to eat more, and not only sweets and flour, but in general everything that comes into view. Problem eating is a known fact.

In order for serotonin to work as it should, and at the same time you would be peaceful and happy, you need a number of substances, as well as their correct interaction. Namely:

The primary material for the production of serotonin is tryptophan (an essential amino acid that we can only get from food). Next, with the help of vitamins B6 and B9 (folic acid) we obtain serotonin from tryptophan. Moreover, if a person lacks vitamin B3 (niacin), then all tryptophan is spent on its production, leading to serotonin deficiency.

It is important to note here: it is the increase in insulin that provides “access” of tryptophan to brain cells. And it is the increase in insulin that gives rise to the chain of reactions: activation of insulin - activation of serotonin.

Tryptophan usually accumulates in the body, but to ACTIVATE serotonin, we need SIMPLE FAST carbohydrates! That is, if you are sad, then chicken breast rich in tryptophan will not save you. You need a surge of insulin to activate serotonin! And that’s why you are drawn to sweets and starchy foods!

So what do you do with dessert after your meal?

Energy balance rule.

If, after eating sweets, we spend the amount of energy that the carbohydrates received from them gave us, then this does not make our body worse. Simply put, if a person ate a chocolate bar and went for a walk or did some chores around the house, then all the carbohydrates will be used as energy to complete these tasks.

It’s completely different when a person, after eating chocolate, lays down and falls asleep, for example, or simply sits in front of the TV. The balance is disrupted and the energy turns into fat deposits.”

You can't give up sweets.

“Nowadays it’s very fashionable to have six-pack abs, even among women. The image of the so-called fit girl. And it is precisely these girls that resonate today. For example, I don’t have abs and don’t strive for them, I have a good figure thanks to proper nutrition, but I’m not of interest to girls who want to lose weight. From the outside I look like everyone else. Just a girl with a good toned figure.

And girls who exhaust themselves with workouts and diets, deny themselves sweets and achieve the coveted six-pack are interesting, but until they pass the tests.

By denying ourselves anything, we make things worse for the body.

And even though everything looks beautiful and fit on the outside, tests most often say the opposite, even if the girl feels great and does not complain about her health. Therefore, there is no need to strive to become like the girls from Instagram and deprive yourself of sweets.”

It becomes clear that sweets after eating are harmful only for those who do not waste the energy received from them. If you are one of these people, then these tips are for you.

Smoothie

Make vegetable and fruit smoothies with a little nut butter - this will not only improve your diet, but also help you cope with sugar cravings. When you drink a smoothie, it feels like a delicious dessert cocktail, but there is no sugar in it. Your stomach will become slimmer and your metabolism will be more efficient. This is a great way to forget about desserts, so be sure to find your smoothie recipe.

Nuts

If you're craving dessert, simply finish off your meal with Brazil nuts or almonds. They have a sweetish taste, and they also contain a huge amount of useful minerals. Brazil nuts are high in selenium, which is good for the brain and thyroid gland, and almonds are rich in fiber, magnesium and vitamin E. Watch your serving size—nuts are packed with benefits, but they also contain a lot of calories.

How to stop eating sweets after meals:

• Rid yourself of stressful situations.
  The sweet = relaxation scheme that has ingrained itself in us works against us. Try to exert as little strain and stress as possible and you will feel a decrease in interest in sweets.
• Don’t neglect a sufficient amount of cereals, legumes and pasta
  made from durum wheat or whole grains and you will notice that you start visiting confectionery shops less often, since the body’s needs are met with the right products.

• Don't overeat on sweets.
  Glucose, which enters the body in excess, is a breeding ground for the appearance of bacteria, which cause the subsequent desire to eat sweets. Reduce the nutrition of these bacteria, balance the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, and cravings will be reduced.
• Choose the lesser evil.
  If you can’t get rid of the desire to eat sweets after a meal, then eat marshmallows, marshmallows, and marmalade. They are easier to digest and have less calories.

How sweets affect our body depends only on us and our lifestyle. The main thing is that daily energy expenditure exceeds the number of calories absorbed. Don't let food become the meaning of your life and learn to look for pleasure in something other than sweets.

Does everyone know that by snacking on something sweet after a meal, you can increase your daily caloric intake by about one and a half times? Further in the article is about how to wean yourself from eating delicious breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Many people don't enjoy a hearty lunch or dinner unless the main course is immediately followed by dessert. Is eating sweets after a meal really something seditious? After all, mothers and grandmothers teach children from an early age that soup and mashed potatoes with a cutlet should be followed by an appetizer. This issue needs to be considered in more detail.

Spirulina

If you find yourself constantly hungry late at night, it may be your brain, rather than your stomach, that is sending the hunger signals. The brain needs a burst of energy that sugar could provide. You can boost dopamine levels and eliminate sugar cravings in a number of ways, including the amino acid found in eggs, spirulina, cheese, milk and sesame. This amino acid helps the brain produce dopamine and norepinephrine.

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Berries

Berries contain polyphenols, which prevent the negative effects of sugar consumption without affecting the taste. However, they should still be eaten in moderation—only non-starchy vegetables are safe.

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Brown rice syrup

Use rice syrup instead of sugar, honey, corn syrup or molasses. In recipes, you can replace sugar with approximately the same amount of syrup. It has a wonderful caramel flavor that complements baked goods well. Due to its low glucose content, this syrup will not affect your energy levels too much, so it is much healthier than sugar.

Sources of Healthy Fat

Eat more nuts, seeds, avocados, olives and salmon whenever possible. These foods are not only good for your heart and help control your blood sugar, but they also keep you feeling full for a long time so your energy doesn't crash. A simple, healthy diet, rich in fiber, with a minimum of sugar, preservatives and unhealthy fats is what your body needs.

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Vegetable fats

Plant-based fats are a delicious way to combat sugar cravings. For example, coconut oil will help a lot. If you can't give up sugar and milk in your coffee, try replacing them with a pinch of cinnamon and coconut oil. You'll get an energy boost from caffeine and healthy fats, and cinnamon is a great source of antioxidants.

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Chemical equilibrium

Having received a huge dose of food, the body immediately throws out the corresponding amount of insulin - since there is a plate of potatoes with chicken in the stomach, and even two pieces of bread (you can’t eat without it! (c) mom), then you need to calculate insulin for all this wealth on the table. Alas, the organism was invented at a time when mashed potatoes had not yet been invented and bread had not yet been baked. Therefore, the body gets a little confused and, seeing food that is not quite “original”, throws out a loading dose of insulin - so that it is definitely enough. Well, he misses slightly, which causes that same state of “blood hunger”. You are physically full, but your body simply screams that it is hungry and needs a dose of sweets after eating! As if you are an Arab and your Ramadan has just ended.

What to do to get rid of constant cravings for sweets after eating

Avoid hunger strikes. Yes, chew constantly. Bite, terrifying my mother and grandmother. But do not allow long breaks in food and “blood fasting”. Every three hours, throwing in 100 grams of food, let it be half a carrot or a handful of dried apricots, you ensure a uniform supply of insulin and the uninterrupted operation of the energy plant located in your body. And you won't need an ambulance in the form of a Snickers.