It’s hard not to be tempted by the massive assortment of sugary sweets readily available to us all day long. Fending off sweet cravings is possible, and you’ll soon discover what significant role CBD can play. Discover how CBD oil can provide direct and indirect benefits in the pursuit of a healthier lifestyle.
Contents
1. Diet and Health in the USA
1.1 The Consequences of Sugar Addiction
2. The Direct Benefits of Using CBD Oil for Sugar Cravings
2.1 Can CBD Help You Turn off Survival Mode?
2.2 How Can CBD Help You Live a Healthier Life?
3. The Indirect Benefits of CBD Oil for Sweet Cravings
3.1 Attenuating Anxiety
3.2 Improving Mood
3.3 Enhancing Sleep Quality
3.4 Reducing Discomfort
4. Final Thoughts on CBD to Stop Sugar Cravings
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1. Diet and Health in the USA
Sugar cravings are one part of a larger health problem in the United States. In general, Americans have diets and activity levels that are far too insufficient to be considered healthy. Obesity in the US is hitting epidemic levels, becoming one of the biggest health care burdens since WW2 ended. [1]
Many Americans appear stuck in “survival mode,” where our bodies figure we may as well eat as much as we can. As far as our bodies are concerned, they don’t know if the food supply is going to dry up any day, so load up while you can. The ever-consistent access to junk food and fast food makes it hard not to get stuck in this survival mindset. [1]
But here’s the kicker:
Improving one’s diet is not easy, but there are simple improvements that can have a drastic effect. Reducing sweet cravings and sugar consumption is one factor. Other important habits include getting more activity, sleeping better, and eating more nutritious foods. [1]
RELATED: Why You Should Take CBD with You on Your Weight Management Journey
1.1 The Consequences of Sugar Addiction
Sugar has been shown to have highly addictive properties in animal studies. It’s not all that hard to see how this would be the case. For example, sugar cravings can be intense and lead to binge eating. Moreover, people develop a tolerance to sugar that leads to increased consumption. Finally, going without sugar can lead to withdrawal symptoms. Evidence supports the notion that sugar addiction is a real-world experience. [2]
Artificial sweeteners, unfortunately, cause problems of their own. For example, they have been found to disrupt the diversity and balance of your gut microbiota. This includes all the microorganisms that normally live in our gut. These little creatures react to what we eat, and artificial sweeteners can throw that whole environment into disarray. [3]
These changes to our gut microbiota lead to more intense future cravings. Instead of helping us consume less sugar, this increases our sweet cravings. Likewise, when we consume excessive sugar, it can shift the balance of our gut microbes. Increased craving for sugar is often the end result, compounding the bad habit.
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2. The Direct Benefits of Using CBD Oil for Sugar Cravings
There is very little direct research to help us understand the effects of CBD on sugar cravings. There are, however, studies that have explored topics like diabetes, blood sugar levels, and the use of CBD.
Studies on mice with type 1 diabetes have found that CBD can have therapeutic benefits. The inflammation-reducing effect of CBD on critical organs like our pancreas appears to be the mechanism behind this benefit. [4]
Moreover, CBD appears to shift the balance of immune systems in mice. Reduction in the immune response appears to explain the benefits of CBD on mice that have both arthritis and diabetes. [5]
RELATED: How CBD Works
With reductions in inflammation, the human pancreas can function more optimally. This organ plays a critical role in blood sugar management and the development of sugar cravings. Future research will add more support for the benefits of CBD oil for dietary habits. At this point in time, we know that consuming CBD is safe and has plenty of therapeutic promise.
The Endocannabinoid System (ECS) is known to play a role in the regulation of hunger in humans.
This is why CBD is thought to provide numerous benefits for the wide range of disorders associated with metabolic syndrome. The metabolic syndrome involves dysfunction in insulin production, lipid levels, high blood pressure, and more. [6] (Click to tweet)
2.1 Can CBD Help You Turn off Survival Mode?
The numerous benefits of CBD may just help your body get out of survival mode. Once survival is assured, humans can switch to their “maintenance mode.” This state is better suited for digestion, repair, and overall maintenance of our mental and physical health. It also leads to better activity levels, mood, and sleep habits. CBD may just provide the boost your body needs to get out of survival mode.
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2.2 How Can CBD Help You Live a Healthier Life?
CBD can play a role in the overall development of a healthy lifestyle—one with fewer sugar craving episodes. Instead, you will find yourself eating better, more regularly, and with a purpose. Improving other domains of life can synergistically support the pursuit of good health outcomes.
There are myriad practical benefits of adding CBD to your daily routine. Many of these will have an indirect role in reducing your sugar cravings and improving your diet. (Click to tweet)
Discover how CBD can indirectly help you below.
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3. The Indirect Benefits of CBD Oil for Sweet Cravings
There are many reasons to eat. Some of us tend to eat, particularly junk food, when we are anxious. Other people eat junk food when they are sad or depressed. There are, however, more preferable reasons to eat.
For example, it is good to eat when our energy levels are low and our brain is pumping out appetite-enhancing hormones. It is less productive overall to connect the act of eating and attempts to reduce the discomfort of being sad, anxious, or bored. Other unproductive habits include frequent snacking and eating when you should be sleeping.
Now:
The simple satisfaction of eating tasty food is certainly an understandable moment of respite from these uncomfortable feelings. That said, it can also increase our overall caloric consumption and decrease the quality of the foods we consume. Both of these can cause other downstream negative outcomes.
And so, if we can reduce the association between food and attempts to counter negatively perceived feelings, we may break the habit. CBD has demonstrated some fascinating properties that may increase its utility in this regard. For example, CBD is known to: [6] [7]
- Alleviate anxiety
- Attenuate negative feelings
- Decrease discomfort
- Improve sleep quality
- Attenuate inflammation
RELATED: Here's Why CBD Is Inflammation’s Worst Enemy
Learn more about how each of these benefits can enhance the journey toward a better diet and lifestyle. Combined, they may just help you stop sugar cravings for good.
3.1 Attenuating Anxiety
A group of researchers decided to test whether CBD would be beneficial for anxiety. They decided to put participants through one of the most social anxiety-inducing activities out there: public speaking. The researchers gave participants doses of CBD prior to having to speak publicly and assessed anxiety levels compared to a control group.
This is crazy:
CBD has been shown to reduce anxiety around events like public speaking. The pre-administration of CBD oil appears to enhance resiliency against the pressures of anxiety. The benefits of reducing anxiety can have widespread health benefits. [8] (Click to tweet)
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Related: Can CBD Help With Addiction Recovery?
3.2 Improving Mood
When we are in a better mood, it is easier to pick healthier food. It is easier to avoid snacking and binge-eating. When our heads are in the right place, we can decide to go to the store and cook a healthy meal—instead of ordering delivery yet again this week or grabbing poor choices from the shelves.
What’s the bottom line?
Living with a better mood can help us fend off bad habits. CBD has shown plenty of potential to help us fight off addictions, including alcohol and nicotine addiction. As far as sugar addiction goes, improving your mood can help make good habits stick. (Click to tweet)
RELATED: Study Shows CBD May Help Opioid Addiction
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3.3 Enhancing Sleep Quality
Attaining better sleep can produce a cascade of benefits for your health. From a literal standpoint, the more time you spend asleep, the less time you’re awake eating. But the benefits go so much further. When we are rested, we have the energy to shop and cook food. We can also increase our activity levels and burn more calories each day.
Countless consumers have discovered how CBD oil can help them get better sleep. In times like these, anything that can help us sleep is a good thing. When you are rested, you have the energy to exercise as part of your healthy lifestyle. (Click to tweet)
Our Advanced Sleep Formula with CBD was designed specifically to help you sleep better. See what our customers say for themselves.
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RELATED: Using CBD for Insomnia: What You Need to Know
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3.4 Reducing Discomfort
When it comes to fighting off cravings, the goal is to support healthy choices. Making such choices is far easier when we are content. On the other hand, discomfort can cause stress and make it harder to stick with healthy habits. The study mentioned earlier that looked at CBD and public speaking found another interesting result. Participants reported less discomfort. [8]
Want to know the best part?
If CBD can help reduce those little daily discomforts that cause so much strain, the benefits can be dramatic. With less discomfort and discontent, we can avoid negative eating habits, including snacking and sugary junk food. (Click to tweet)
RELATED: CBD Oil May Help with Digestive Issues
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Pleasant Feeling
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4. Final Thoughts on CBD to Stop Sugar Cravings
Poor dietary habits and sugar addiction in America are ongoing crises. In the battle to stop sugar cravings, anything that can support healthier choices is a good thing. Today, we discovered how CBD can have widespread beneficial effects that make a difference.
Here’s the deal:
Fending off sugar cravings goes a long way when it comes to creating healthier dietary habits. When it comes to resisting the temptations of sugary foods, we demonstrated how CBD has plenty to offer. Direct benefits of CBD include the potential to improve blood sugar levels. Using CBD oil can also help turn off survival mode and encourage rest and recovery.
The indirect benefits of CBD oil combine to support your pursuit of a healthy lifestyle by alleviating anxiety and discomfort while enhancing positive mood and better sleep. Combined, these benefits turn the tides in your favor.
Sources:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6234835/
- https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/52/14/910.abstract
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031938416301640
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0028390807001888
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08916930500356674
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753332220310817
- https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/10/11/1575
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3079847/
