Sugar Keeps You Hungry

Have you noticed that when you eat *refined carbs or sugar, you want more and more and more?

There's actually a biological reason.

Refined carbs and sugar break down quickly into glucose, triggering a dopamine response in the brain and a rapid blood sugar spike in the body.

Here's what happens:

When you eat something high in refined carbs or sugar, glucose floods your bloodstream quickly. Your pancreas senses this surge and releases a correspondingly large amount of insulin to clear that glucose out of your blood and into your cells for energy or storage. The bigger and faster the spike, the bigger the insulin response tends to be.

The problem is that insulin doesn't always time itself perfectly — it can overshoot. Because so much insulin is released to deal with the spike, it often clears glucose out of the bloodstream faster and more thoroughly than needed, pushing blood sugar below your baseline (a state called reactive hypoglycemia). Your body briefly has more "glucose-clearing" capacity in circulation than it has glucose to clear.

This sudden drop is what triggers crash symptoms — fatigue, shakiness, irritability, brain fog, and cravings (often for more sugar or carbs, since your body is signaling it wants quick glucose again). It's essentially your body over-correcting, then needing to correct again. Over time, frequent spikes and crashes are linked to:

• Increased hunger and overeating

• Energy instability throughout the day

• Inflammation

• Increased risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic disease

• Faster aging at the cellular level

The goal isn't to eliminate glucose — your body needs it — but to flatten the curve: slower, steadier rises and falls rather than sharp peaks.

Pairing carbs with protein, fat, or fiber slows digestion and glucose absorption, so the initial spike is smaller, which means the insulin response is smaller too, and you avoid the steep crash that follows.

How to reduce cravings and blood sugar spikes:

• Start with a protein-rich breakfast (like my smoothie).

• Don't eat carbs or sugar on an empty stomach.

• Choose whole foods over processed ones.

• At meals, eat vegetables first, then protein and fat, then carbs.

• Have a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a tall glass of water before eating (to blunt sugar spike).

• Move for 10 minutes after eating.

• Have dessert after a meal, not on its own.

The Protein Leverage Hypothesis

Basically, your body will keep you hungry until you give it what it actually needs: protein.

Your body prioritizes protein above all other macro-nutrients. It will keep you hungry — driving you to eat more — until you've hit your protein target for the day. If your diet is diluted with carbs and fat but low in protein, you end up over-consuming calories chasing that quota.

It's not just how much you eat — it's the protein ratio that controls your appetite. Boost protein, and hunger naturally decreases. It's a compelling explanation for why modern processed food diets drive overeating.

Aim for around 30g of protein at each meal.

*Refined carbs are carbohydrates that have been processed to remove most of their natural fiber, vitamins, and minerals — leaving mainly the starchy or sugary part. Common examples:

• White bread, white rice, white pasta

• Most breakfast cereals

• Crackers, cookies, pastries

• Sugary drinks and juices

• Table sugar