Why Sugar Is So Hard To Quit

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If sugar is so bad for us, why is it so hard to stop eating it?

People are told that sugar is bad and they should be disciplined to quit sugar. But if willpower worked, sugar habituation would not exist. The real issue is not weakness—it is biology.

But first, let us define the term “sugar”. As commonly used, it can represent natural sugar (sucrose), added sugar (high-fructose corn syrup), or blood sugar (glucose).

Natural sugar

Natural sugar, sucrose, is found in fruits, berries, sugar cane, sugar beets, and other crops that can be boiled down to produce sugar. Many people believe that eating any natural sugar raises blood sugar. The fact is that small amounts of sugar used to sweeten coffee or tea are not sufficient to cause a significant elevation of blood sugar.

High-fructose corn syrup

High-fructose corn syrup is commonly added to soft drinks. Once you get used to the sweetness and the flavor of the preparation, it can be habit-forming to the point of prompting you to drink it each time you feel thirsty. This can unnecessarily increase your blood sugar and contribute to unwanted weight gain.

Blood sugar

In the modern diet, the main culprit contributing to high blood sugar is foods made with complex carbohydrates, mostly coming from cultivated grains, that, upon digestion releases a large quantity of glucose into the bloodstream. For example, many people make pastries with reduced sugar (sucrose), believing they can consume more of them without realizing that the flour used likely contributes more sugar (glucose) than the natural sugar they contain. This also means that eating a piece of fruit for breakfast or dessert doesn’t cause the same blood sugar peak as an equal amount of carbohydrate in a grain-based product such as toast, muffins, cake, or pie.

The role of sugar.

The sensation of sweetness coming from natural sugar reassures the brain that the energy needed for metabolic functions is on its way. However, if you get habituated to eating snacks that are deliberately prepared to enhance the visual appeal, mouth feel and flavor with the help of sugar, fat, salt, and additives, your brain releases dopamine, a chemical linked to pleasure and motivation. Repeatedly engaging in this activity trains your brain to associate sweetness with reward and to treat such food as a way to experience emotional relief.

But a major drawback is that most of these snacks may not contain vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids, minerals and micronutrients your body needs. When it does not get what it needs, your brain keeps sending hunger signals—not because you need more calories, but because you need more nutrition.

In short, most often, sugar cravings are either a cultivated coping mechanism or a biological response to nutritional imbalance.

In addition, grain-based snacks can cause blood sugar spikes. If blood glucose rises quickly, insulin is released, and blood sugar often drops too low. Your brain senses danger and demands fuel. The fastest fuel is sugar, so the cycle continues: spike, crash, crave, repeat.

After noticing weight gain, many people try to reduce sugary snack intake. But sometimes they feel irritable, tired, foggy, anxious, or low. The real solution is not deprivation—it is restoration. When you eat nutrient-dense food, blood sugar becomes stable, and the brain stops demanding sugary snacks.

Real food that contains nutrients such as essential fatty acids and essential amino acids, along with energy, minerals, micronutrients and fiber help with cell maintenance, repairs and regeneration. It also boosts the immune system, assists digestion and feeds healthy bacteria in the gut. When your meals provide a variety of nutrients, cravings quit.

In short, modern food teases the brain. It is pleasing to eat, but delivers little nourishment. That leaves you hungry even after eating to fullness. Sugar cravings drive overeating, blood sugar instability, fat storage, and metabolic stress. Looking this way, weight gain is a signal that something deeper is wrong.

Fix the nourishment. Fix the fuel. Fix the signal.

In Beat Unwanted Weight Gain, I explain how eating for nutrients—not numbers—restores control naturally. When the body gets what it truly needs, the brain no longer has to shout.

Next in the series:
Smart Food Choices to Prevent Diabetes

The author of the award-winning book, Diabetes: The Real Cause and the Right Cure, and Nationally Syndicated Columnist, Dr. John Poothullil, advocates for patients struggling with the effects of adverse lifestyle conditions.

Dr. John’s books, available on Amazon, have educated and inspired readers to take charge of their health. You can take many steps to make changes in your health, but Dr. John also empowers us to demand certain changes in our healthcare system. His latest book, Beat Unwanted Weight Gain, reveals the seven most essential strategies for shedding pounds—and keeping them off for good.

Follow or contact Dr. John at drjohnonhealth.com.

John Poothullil practiced medicine as a pediatrician and allergist for more than 30 years, with 27 of those years in the state of Texas. He received his medical degree from the University of Kerala, India in 1968, after which he did two years of medical residency in Washington, DC and Phoenix, AZ and two years of fellowship, one in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the other in Ontario, Canada. He began his practice in 1974 and retired in 2008. He holds certifications from the American Board of Pediatrics, The American Board of Allergy & Immunology, and the Canadian Board of Pediatrics.During his medical practice, John became interested in understanding the causes of and interconnections between hunger, satiation, and weight gain. His interest turned into a passion and a multi-decade personal study and research project that led him to read many medical journal articles, medical textbooks, and other scholarly works in biology, biochemistry, physiology, endocrinology, and cellular metabolic functions. This eventually guided Dr. Poothullil to investigate the theory of insulin resistance as it relates to diabetes. Recognizing that this theory was illogical, he spent a few years rethinking the biology behind high blood sugar and finally developed the fatty acid burn switch as the real cause of diabetes.Dr. Poothullil has written articles on hunger and satiation, weight loss, diabetes, and the senses of taste and smell. His articles have been published in medical journals such as Physiology and Behavior, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, Journal of Women’s Health, Journal of Applied Research, Nutrition, and Nutritional Neuroscience. His work has been quoted in Woman’s Day, Fitness, Red Book and Woman’s World.Dr. Poothullil resides in Portland, OR and is available for phone and live interviews.To learn more buy the books at: amazon.com/author/drjohnpoothullil

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