Through my Google research I discovered why I NEED sugar...particularly in the afternoon.
It is commonly known that our body takes a dip in many hormones and in blood sugar in late afternoon. For me the time when I most CRAVE sugar is between lunch and dinner...the AFTERNOON.
Eating sweets gives me a short spike in blood sugar (and serotonin according to Mood Cure). It soothes me and bumps me up to where I feel comfortable again. The thing with simple sugar is that though I get that rush, it falls FAST. This fall releases my stress hormones and makes my body alert and ready to handle the stressor. While a lot of people eat sugar to cope with stress, their stressors are not something that can be handled by a quick fight or flight type response. Because there is no bear to fight or no battle to flee, I just end up irritable, angry, sensitive and very tired. I had become so accustomed to feeling that I never tied it to eating sugar or simple carbs.
Well, I am trying to wean off of sugar now. So to help me over my little afternoon slump, I have put the following things into place...
1. I eat a snack that has a mix of protein, fat, and complex carbs...today I will have an apple with little slices of cheddar on it.
2. I take my amino acid.
3. I brew a cup of chamomile tea...which has been used medicinally for centuries...but might raise feel-good chemicals in the brain called dopamine...worth a shot right?
Some afternoons I am still irritable and easily stressed...it's still a process. I am, however, happy that I at least have a game plan.
NOTE: I am giving anecdotal information...I am not a doctor...this is NOT medical advice.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/273839-foods-that-trigger-anxiety/
Life Less Sweet: Documentation of my struggle with depression and anxiety.
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