Can you TRAIN your brain to quit sugar? Health hack to stop your sweet tooth

SUGAR has been branded by nutritionists and medical professionals as one of the most damaging items in the modern diet.

Scientific research has linked sugar to obesity, diabetes, heart failure and even dementia.

Brits are well aware the substance is rampant in cakes, chocolate and sweets. Thanks to recent health campaigns, the nation also knows to be weary of ‘healthier’ food items like cereals, yoghurt and salad dressings where high levels of sugar may be hidden.

While everyone knows the substance isn't good for us, we just can’t stop reaching for the sweets when the sugar craving calls.

Recent research from Yale University found sugar is highly addictive due to a reaction in the brain.  But is it possible to break this addiction?

According to Nutrition Therapist Naomi Mead, who has been accredited at the Institute of Optimum Nutrition, the answer is yes.

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Naomi said: “A small but widely cited study, published in Nutrition & Diabetes in 2014, suggests that…  by changing our eating behaviour, we can, over time, teach our brain to actually prefer these healthier foods.”

Here, Naomi shares eight simple steps to help stop sugar cravings for good.

1. Make healthy food swaps

Switching junk food for high-fibre, moderate protein, and low-glycaemic index foods plays an important role in regulating food intake and appetite. Think lean meat and fish, pulses, nuts, wholegrains, fruit and vegetables.

2. Keep a food diary

This will encourage you to think about your food choices throughout the day, and make more conscious food decisions. In addition, a 2008 study found that keeping a food diary can actually aid weight loss.

3. Reengineer your food environment

For some individuals, palatable junk and sugary foods invoke such a strong response in the ‘brain's reward centres’, that willpower is unlikely to be enough to resist these foods if they are in sight. It is therefore recommended that you banish these foods from the house completely. If you have to buy them for a special occasion- give away the leftovers straight away!

4. Add more flavour and variety

You will get more pleasure out of your food if it looks good, tastes delicious, and leaves you feeling satisfied. The more you enjoy your healthy meal (rather than endure it!), the more your brain will associate these foods with the ‘brain reward centres’ and want to repeat this experience. 

5. Carry healthy snacks with you

Such as fresh fruit and raw nuts. This takes away the element of choice when you are out and about and faced with temptation. It also gives you something to snack on and distract you if you get a craving for cake!

6. Break habits

Many of us feel that we need to eat dessert or chocolate after a meal. Rather than a physiological sugar craving, this desire occurs because it’s habitual, and we’re used to ending the meal with something sweet. Breaking this routine is the only way in which your brain will stop making the association that dinner always needs to be followed by pudding.

7. Slow down your eating

Focusing on every mouthful and practicing mindful eating will help you to be better in tune with your hunger and satiety signals. This will give you the chance to realise when you’ve had enough, and can prevent you both from overeating and post-meal snacking.

8. Don’t replace sugar with artificial sweeteners

According to a study published in the journal Obesity in 2008; individuals who regularly consume artificial sweeteners are more likely to gain weight. Gram for gram these sweeteners can be up to 13,000 times sweeter than sugar, driving sweet cravings in the brain that can lead you to eat more overall.