Breaking Free from Sugar: 5 Effective Strategies to Curb Sweet Cravings

By Caroline Thomason

Key Takeaways

• Understanding the physiological and psychological drivers of sugar cravings can help you make informed choices about your diet.

• Simple strategies go a long way—eating balanced meals, staying hydrated, and incorporating natural sweeteners can support reduced sugar intake.

Breaking Free from Sugar: Effective Strategies to Curb Sweet Cravings

If you've ever felt like you are addicted to sugar, you're not alone. While “sugar addiction” is just a combination of lifestyle factors that make us feel out of control around the sweet stuff, the good news is that there is a lot that you have control over to curb sweet cravings.

Sugar is found in many foods in our modern diet. It's hidden in processed options, beverages, and many conventionally “healthy” snacks. Reducing your sugar intake can be difficult, but we all know that cutting back can help our health.

The American Heart Association recommends that women consume 24 grams of sugar per day or less and men consume 36 grams of sugar per day or less to prevent heart disease and .1

Understanding Sugar Cravings

Sugar cravings are a very real phenomenon that is influenced by our internal physiology, psychology, and the environment we find ourselves in. If you've ever been at your grandma's house, where you grew up eating cookies, that is a great example of the environment triggering a sugar craving! On the other hand, if you haven't had anything to eat all day and you can feel your dropping with the feeling that something is the only way you'll feel better quickly, that is also a real physiological explanation for intense .

Plus, eating sugar activates our brain’s reward system, releasing feel-good chemicals like dopamine that create a feeling of pleasure and reinforce the desire to eat more sugar to feel good.2 Over time, this can lead to ingrained habitual behaviors where sugar becomes the go-to for comfort or a quick energy source.

Practical Strategies to Reduce Sugar Intake

Eat a Balanced Diet

Reducing sugar cravings doesn't just have to do with what you're not eating, but also what foods you add to create balanced nutrition habits. Ensuring you eat a balanced protein, fiber, healthy fat, and fruit and vegetables can help produce your sugar cravings alone.

Don't Skip Meals

To prevent this, aim for three well-balanced meals throughout the day and establish a consistent eating schedule for your meals and snacks. Typically, having breakfast within an hour of waking up is a good idea. From there, aim for every 3 to 4 hours to include a meal or snack to keep energy levels stable, hunger at bay, and cravings to a minimum.

Even mild dehydration can cause sensations similar to hunger, leading you to look for quick energy sources, including sweets. Drinking enough water throughout the day helps Top off your hydration levels, may help manage appetite, and can help maintain proper bodily function.

If you still want to enjoy sweet flavors, sometimes, learning to incorporate natural sweeteners or sugar substitutes can help satisfy your sweet tooth without the .

If you’re not sure what sugar alternatives or artificial sweeteners are right for you, we recommend working with a registered dietitian to understand the you’re consuming, address any in your current , and learn how to .

Healthy Alternatives to Sweets

• Fresh or frozen fruit: Naturally sweet and packed with fiber and antioxidants.

• Greek yogurt with cinnamon and berries: A protein-rich option that stabilizes blood sugar.

1. Added Sugars. American Heart Association. Accessed March 19, 2025. 

2. Rada P, Avena NM, Hoebel BG. Daily bingeing on sugar repeatedly releases dopamine in the accumbens shell. Neuroscience. 2005;134(3):737-44.