Understanding Blood Sugar Regulation and Why Cravings Aren’t Your Fault

Most people at one time or another have been faced with craving something sweet, salty, or ultra-processed. Some people even feel guilty or disappointed when they give in to their cravings. What’s important to know is that these cravings aren’t a personal failing. They are deeply rooted in human biology and evolution. Understanding how blood sugar works can empower you to manage cravings without shame and support your overall health.

Why We Crave Certain Foods

From an evolutionary perspective, our ancestors needed energy-dense foods to survive. When food was scarce, craving sugar, fat, and salt helped ensure we consumed enough calories to sustain life. These cravings are wired into our brains and are triggered whenever our blood sugar dips too low. Modern life, with its constant access to high-sugar and high-fat foods, can make these signals feel overwhelming, but it’s not a lack of willpower, it’s biology doing its job. In addition, many foods today in grocery stores have their fiber removed because it makes it difficult to preserve foods over a long time.  

Why removing fiber is a problem:

• Refined carbs and sugary foods (white bread, pastries, candy, many snack foods) are digested very quickly. This causes a fast rise in blood sugar, then a sharp drop. When blood sugar crashes, the brain goes, “Need energy now!” and you often crave more sugar or refined carbs to bring it back up quickly.

• Fibre slows digestion and helps you feel full for longer. Lack of fibre = less fullness and satisfaction

• Low-fibre foods move through the stomach quickly, so you feel hungry sooner, even if you’ve eaten a lot of calories. That “not quite satisfied” feeling can drive ongoing snacking and grazing.

• When foods are stripped of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients (like many ultra-processed foods), your body may not get what it needs, even if you’re full of calories. Fewer nutrients = the body keeps “asking” for more. 

• There is an impact on the gut microbiome. A low-fibre, processed-food-heavy diet can reduce microbial diversity and shift the microbiome in ways that are linked with more inflammation, mood changes, and dysregulated appetite. On the other hand, fibre feeds beneficial gut bacteria. 

• Highly processed foods are engineered to be “craveable”. Many low-nutrient foods are designed with the right combo of salt, sugar, and fat to light up the brain’s reward system. This “bliss point” makes it easy to overeat and hard to feel satisfied with a small amount.

So in short, low-fibre, low-nutrient foods can disrupt blood sugar, leave you less full, undernourished, and more reward-driven with food, setting up a cycle of strong, frequent cravings.

The Role of Blood Sugar

Blood sugar (glucose) is the body’s primary energy source. It fuels your brain, muscles, and organs. When blood sugar levels drop too low, your body responds with hunger signals and cravings for quick energy, usually sugary or carb-heavy foods. Conversely, spikes in blood sugar from processed foods can lead to crashes, triggering more cravings in a vicious cycle.

Getting Your Blood Sugar Back on Track

The good news is that you can regulate blood sugar through simple lifestyle strategies:

1. Balanced Meals – Include protein, healthy fats, and fiber with every meal. These slow digestion and help keep blood sugar steady. Try having a teaspoon of olive oil at the start of the day and notice if you have fewer cravings.

2. Regular Eating Patterns – Skipping meals or going too long without eating can trigger intense cravings. Aim for consistent meal timing. This does not mean that those who find intermittent fasting, or fasting in general, can't find benefit to doing so. It just means, one needs to listen and experiment to how the body feels when increasing time between meals and doing so safely.

3. Smart Carbs – Choose root vegetables and other fruits, and vegetables, beans and legumes over processed carbs and refined sugars. They release glucose more slowly, avoiding spikes and crashes. Reducing carbs in general can also help some people. Nutrition is individual and each person will need to more or less carbs depending on their body.

4. Stay Hydrated – Thirst is often mistaken for hunger. Drinking water regularly supports stable blood sugar levels.

5. Movement – Regular physical activity improves insulin sensitivity, helping your body use glucose more efficiently.

6. Sleep and Stress Management – Poor sleep and chronic stress disrupt hormones that regulate hunger and cravings, making it harder to stay on track.

Changing Your Relationship With Cravings

Instead of labeling cravings as “bad,” view them as signals from your body. Acknowledge them without judgment, then respond with nourishing choices that stabilize your blood sugar. Over time, your cravings will become more manageable, and your energy, mood, and health will improve.

Bottom line: Cravings are natural and rooted in our evolutionary biology. They’re not a moral failing. By understanding and supporting your body’s blood sugar regulation, you can navigate cravings with more ease, compassion, and control.