Alkaline Q&A: How Can I Get Rid of Caffeine & Sugar Cravings

How Can I Get Rid of Caffeine & Sugar Cravings

As many of you know, I run a small-group coaching program called The Alkaline Base Camp – and the members can ask me questions any time, access me as much as they like for advice, and of course, I coach them with guides, meal plans, action plans and more every week too. It’s great if I do say so myself 🙂 (you can join the waitlist to join the group here)

And this is a question I received this week from one of our newest members Genevieve about her early morning and mid-afternoon caffeine and sugar cravings:

Hi Ross –

I wanted to ask you how long it takes to get free of caffeine and sugar cravings. I have stopped all of both – except for no more than three pieces of fruit a day.

I had headaches, which I related to caffeine withdrawal, for nearly two weeks, but they have gone now. However, I am still wishing for black tea and (non-dairy) milk first thing in the morning, plus coffee and a sweet muffin or similar in the afternoon.

I hate feeling tetchy about these foods!! How long (approximately) before this unease disappears?

Thank you again for all your great help!

Genevieve

My Answer:

Hey Genevieve

So great you’re on this path and I’m stoked to be able to help you!

The cravings for caffeine and sugar in the afternoon will subside. This is less about the foods themselves and more of an hormonal response.

Let me explain…your body has had a long time of having your cortisol and insulin levels switched the wrong way around in the morning (due to caffeine and sugar when you wake up).

This sets you on a cycle of blood sugar peaks and troughs throughout the day (usually 90 minutes per cycle). You are having a dip in blood sugar mid-afternoon so the craving is for caffeine and sugar, which your subconscious has historically seen as the answer to fatigue and mental fogginess.

The solution is twofold:

1. to holistically, over the longer-term help your body to rebalance these hormones (by eating alkaline as I’m teaching you, getting lots of anti-inflammatory foods, healthy fats and so on) – over time this will help heal and rebalance your whole endocrine system so your body will have the correct response and levels of insulin, cortisol and more throughout the day.
2. in the shorter term my suggestion is to give yourself a small handful of easy, quick, transportable snacks you can grab when the blood sugar dips and the caffeine and sweet stuff craving kicks in. Something with healthy fats and fiber combined works well because it balances the insulin spike and dip and supports your pancreas to look after this. It also gives you a source of more sustained energy and the combo of fiber and fat fills you up for longer.Good examples can be found here, but I especially love the celery & almond butter and the bliss balls.

   For the tea in the morning, a superb swap here would be to one of my anti-inflammatory turmeric teas.

To get your hormones back in balance (and important to this particular goal) you need to focus on rebalancing what is known as your HPA-axis – your hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenals. And anti-inflammatory rich foods are really important, as well as the healthy fats.

For healthy fats, I always recommend supplementing because it can be tricky to get enough every day, especially omega 3 – and this is a great product I trust.

For food sources look to:

• Leafy greens
• Walnuts
• Flax & hemp seeds
• Chia seeds
• Brussels sprouts
• Oily fish (mackerel, salmon)
• Edamame and so on

If you do have any level of inflammation, the teas I mentioned will be a big help, but look to get turmeric & ginger in wherever you can – in your juices and smoothies, soups, salads, stir fry, curries etc. If you can get a cm of fresh root turmeric and/or ginger each day it will make a HUGE impact.

…and don’t forget you have access to my entire 14-Day Quit Sugar Success Program in the Alkaline Base Camp too!

I hope this helps!

By sticking with the meal plans & recipes in the Alkaline Base Camp, you’ll get those feelings of craving the sugar and caffeine sorted in no time 🙂

Ross