11 Steps to Kick Sugar Cravings and WHY They Happen (page 2)

Sugar cravings involve multiple brain regions and neurotransmitters, including:

• Dopamine: Consuming sugar triggers the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is involved in motivation and salience.
• Nucleus Accumbens: The pleasure and motivation center of the brain, the nucleus accumbens is located within the basal ganglia. The nucleus accumbens provides the passion and motivation that is one of the main drivers of behavior. Think of the nucleus accumbens as a pleasure button. With every bite of the sweet stuff, the button is pressed. And the same way it can happen with cocaine or other addictive substances, if the pleasure button is overused, it gets worn out and you need more to make you get the same sweet satisfaction.
• Deep Limbic System: The emotional centers of the brain also play a role in sugar cravings. The memories you have that are associated with, for example, ice cream—birthday celebrations and other happy moments—cause you to seek to repeat this experience. It’s as if the ice cream will help you recapture that wonderful moment in your life.
• Prefrontal Cortex (PFC): The PFC, which is involved in self-control, impulse control, and judgment, is the brain’s brake. It reminds you that eating ice cream doesn’t fit in your goals and that you’ll feel bad after you eat it.
  When cravings hit, there’s a sort of tug of war that happens inside your brain. The pleasure centers, emotional centers, and the neurotransmitter dopamine compel you to head to the freezer for the ice cream. Meanwhile, the PFC tries to put on the brakes.

Which Part of Your Brain Do You Listen To? It depends!

In a healthy brain, a strong PFC provides good judgment and emotional control so you can say no to the ice cream. When the PFC is underactive, however, the pleasure and emotional centers can hijack the brain and take control. When this happens, you cave to the sugar cravings again… and again… and again.

Even if your brain’s pleasure centers and emotional centers have wrestled control from your prefrontal cortex, you can learn to strengthen your PFC and train your brain so you can overcome sugar cravings. Follow the tips listed above.