One of the most important discoveries in terms of health in the last decade or so is that sugar consumption is a huge factor in weight gain as well as a myriad of health conditions and diseases. These include heart disease, prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, and other metabolic syndromes. In fact, our sugar consumption has skyrocketed to 10x what it once was just 100 years ago.

With that comes the next step: pulling oneself off of sugar and sugary foods… which may not be so easy. Many people have a sweet tooth which has led to an extremely high level of sugar intake for long enough that they have no clue where to start.

If you’ve been feeling stuck in a cycle of sugar cravings, fatigue, and frustration, you’re not alone. Many of us have tried to cut back on sugar only to find ourselves back in the pantry, reaching for just one more cookie. And it’s not just about willpower. Detoxing from sugar is about more than just cutting out desserts—it’s about understanding what sugar does to your body and your emotions.

As a nutritionist, it’s really important to help people find easy ways to get from point A to B in their health journey using food, while eliminating excess sugar. And since sugar is inflammatory, it’s literally the first step staring an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle.

In fact, what many people call “sugar addiction” is often a form of emotional eating. So if quitting sugar hasn’t worked for you in the past, you might need more than a basic sugar detox—you might need a full emotional eating reset. Let’s dig into what that means.

Why Detox from Sugar in the First Place?

We know sugar contributes to inflammation, weight gain, insulin resistance, and a higher risk of chronic diseases. But even if you’re not facing a medical condition or trying to lose weight, a sugar detox can dramatically improve your energy, focus, and emotional balance.

That said, many people don’t realize that cravings for sugar are often tied to emotions: stress, sadness, boredom, or even joy. That’s why this isn’t just about biology—it’s also about emotional patterns. If you find yourself eating to soothe or escape, you’re likely facing emotional eating.

Through the decades, added sugars have gradually made their way into more and more foods for flavor and sugar’s addictive properties. And now we essentially have a substance that affects the brain in the same way that addictive drugs (like cocaine) do, but it’s put in nearly all processed foods.

This makes it extremely easy to become a sugar addict, especially if you have the genetic tendency toward that. Add in more and more sugar daily, along with years of eating it and you’ve got the perfect storm of sugar addiction.

Many people decide they need to quit because they’ve tried and know how hard it is. Others have had their doctor give them the wake-up call of a condition that requires eliminating it to manage that condition. And yet others either want to or need to lose weight.

So let’s talk about the different reasons for embarking on a sugar detox in the first place.

Blood sugar levels

Current estimates are that 1 out of 3 adults has prediabetes. When you factor in the number of adults that currently do have type 2 diabetes, we’ve got a really huge population that obviously has issues with blood sugar levels.

The thing is, there are also many other conditions that get mega benefits from balanced blood sugar levels. These include PCOS, high blood pressure, and inflammatory conditions like arthritis and autoimmune conditions.

But truth be told, our body’s ability to maintain steady blood sugar levels daily is the marker for a healthy metabolism. That can’t happen if we’re programming it to go haywire with high sugar foods and refined flours (which react like sugar in the body).

Kick-start weight loss

Undoubtedly you’ve heard stories from friends or family members about how much weight they lost when they started keto or low-carb.

The truth is that switching to any dietary style that eliminates sugar and promotes healthy, non-processed foods will inherently cause most people to lose weight. (We happen to be over the moon about the Anti-Inflammatory Diet around here!)

Consumption of too much sugar in the first place

The last scenario is for those who don’t specifically have a weight loss goal in mind and haven’t had a diagnosis to prompt quitting sugar. You just know that sugar is terrible for your body and have committed to being purposeful and respectful about the food you put into your body.

To you I say, “Well done.” And here’s how to go about that practice.

How to Detox Sugar from Your Body (Without Going Cold Turkey)

Most sugar detox plans go cold turkey. That can work for some, but for others, it can cause intense withdrawal symptoms and rebound cravings. Instead, I recommend starting with a short pre-experiment:

• Track how you feel emotionally and physically after eating high-sugar or refined-carb foods.
• Notice patterns like afternoon slumps, nighttime cravings, or mindless snacking.

This gives you valuable data to decide if you simply need a sugar break or a deeper emotional eating reset.

Take the Emotional Eating Quiz to find out what level of support you really need. Your results will guide you toward the best detox strategy for your body and mind. Click here to go to the FREE QUIZ!

💡Tip: Be ready for symptoms of sugar withdrawal that may make you want to give up … (again):

Many people experience withdrawal symptoms of coming off high levels of sugar can be rough if you don’t know what to expect! Sugar detox symptoms are very likely and are a major reason people don’t complete their first week or two of a sugar detox.

These can include:

• Sugar cravings
• Headaches
• Severe exhaustion
• Severe irritability
• Even feeling sort of like you have the flu

Foods TO AVOID When Detoxing From Sugar ❌

Avoiding sugar seems straightforward, but it hides in everything from ketchup to “healthy” granola bars. During your detox, steer clear of:

• All added sugars (yes, even honey and maple syrup)
• Refined flours (they spike blood sugar just like sugar does)
• Sweetened beverages (soda, juice, flavored lattes)
• Most dairy (due to lactose)
• Processed foods with “natural” or “organic” sweeteners

Also: Watch your emotional cues. Sugar cravings are often triggered by stress, fatigue, or overwhelm.

So let’s get into it.

Sugary beverages

• Sodas (regular AND diet!)
• Fruit juice
• Sports drinks
• Coffee/tea with added sugar (this means basically any drink at Starbucks unless straight black coffee)
• Milk
• Non-dairy milks (unless they specifically say ‘Unsweetened’ on the label)
• Bottled tea
• Any other sugar-sweetened beverages

All forms of sugar

This will require reading a food label to identify sugar. So the easiest way to avoid these are to not eat anything processed or packaged while on your sugar detox, or else be able to understand the ingredients list and food label.

Ingredients that are sugar:

• any type of ‘sugar’ (ie, table sugar, cane sugar, etc)
• any type of ‘syrup’
• molasses
• dextrin
• sucanat
• caramel
• malt
• any word ending in ‘-ose’
• agave
• honey
• maple syrup
• fructose/ corn syrup/ high fructose corn syrup
• fruit juice
• concentrated fruit juice
• natural sweeteners

Many people are confused about natural sugars or sweeteners like honey, agave, and maple syrup. The bottom line on these is that–yes they can contain healthful compounds and minerals–but they are STILL sugar and counterproductive during a sugar detox.

Artificial sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners have been shown to affect gut health, as well as induce cravings. For both of those reasons, I recommend avoiding these altogether, even when done detoxing from sugar. These are:

• Aspartame (in nearly all diet soft drinks)
• Neotame
• Acesulfame K (blue packets- brand name Nutrasweet)
• Saccharine (pink packets- brand name Sweet N Low)
• Sucralose (yellow packets- brand name Splenda)

If you’re really hard-up for a sweetened beverage, try adding one of these zero-calorie alternatives:

• stevia (liquid is best)
• erythritol (make sure you can tolerate, as this is a sugar alcohol and some people are sensitive to it {tummy-wise})
• monk fruit
• allulose

Most fruits

Although fruits can be part of a healthy diet, eliminating them during this short phase will be a huge help in your metabolism getting reset.

Definitely avoid dried fruits (unless they specifically say no sugar added).

If you feel you must eat fruit, limit it to berries, as fresh fruits or frozen, as long as no sugar is added.

Dairy

Dairy is a really controversial food, I get it. But in this phase, the consensus is that milk should be avoided (because of the amount of lactose–a sugar) in it.

Yogurt should also be avoided as most types are loaded with sugars. Even plain yogurt could be an issue, so it’s best to avoid it during your sugar detox.

Grains and flour

Refined grains and flours are absolutely out of the question. They spike blood sugar levels the same way regular sugar does.

However, even whole grains can cause a huge spike in the same way. For that reason, I recommend avoiding grains and flour altogether until you’re out of your sugar detox diet.

These include:

• oats
• wheat
• rye
• barley
• farrow
• quinoa
• corn

Alcohol

Alcohol should be avoided for a few different reasons. First, it can also have an addictive nature. Your goal here is to reprogram your brain and body, and keeping alcohol in the mix is extremely counterproductive.

Second, when we get buzzed, our reason flies out the window. Many people find themselves overeating or even eating things when they’re not even hungry when they’re sippin’ on gin and juice. (Myself included).

Do yourself a favor and get rid of it before starting your sugar detox.

Foods That Help You Detox from Sugar Naturally ✔

You may be thinking that the food you CAN eat on a sugar detox isn’t as important as what you’re eliminating. But that’s really not true.

The reason is that when you load up with sugar and refined flours, you’re displacing nutrient-dense foods that you could have been eating instead. So this detox period is actually giving you a chance to ‘power up’ with healthier food choices while you’re letting your body and brain deprogram from sugar.

High-quality protein

One of the best things you can do when cutting out sugar is to increase your protein intake. This is because protein (as well as good fats, which we’ll get to in a minute) help blunt blood sugar spikes that may still happen from the carbohydrates that ARE allowed on a sugar detox.

In ensuring it’s quality protein, make sure it’s pasture-raised meat (or organic).

This can be from poultry (chicken, turkey, duck), pork, lean cuts of beef, and definitely fatty fish and seafood!

If you’re ok with soy, organic tofu is also a great option.

And lastly, hard-boiled eggs are also an easy way to get in extra protein.

Healthy fats

Good, healthy fats are also a game-changer when doing a sugar detox. Again, this helps blunt the blood sugar spikes but it also helps you feel full longer. This can be a really big help when you’re having those crazy sugar cravings.

Types of healthy fat include:

• extra virgin olive oil
• avocado oil
• organic butter
• virgin, unrefined coconut oil

A few other sources of healthy fats include avocado and nuts (just make sure you have a small handful or less as these can get out of hand quickly!)

Low glycemic plants + starchy vegetables

I wanted to section out the foods you CAN eat into macros because since carbohydrates primarily come from plants in our diets, it can be tricky to weed through.

During a sugar detox, your focus in the carbohydrate department will be HIGHLY on high fiber foods, with a low glycemic index (sometimes called complex carbs). These will include low glycemic starchy vegetables, leafy greens, beans, and legumes, and they help you keep blood sugar levels stable by avoiding the spike and then sugar crash.

Many people ask about potatoes and sweet potatoes. As a nutrition specialist, I see a ton of people get emotionally wrapped up in these delicious tubers because they’re everywhere.

Here’s the deal: They both have a lot of nutritional value. They both have a fairly high amount of carbs. But one has more sugars (sweet potatoes) while the other has a higher amount of starches (potatoes).

But here’s the kicker when doing a sugar detox:

BOTH potatoes and sweet potatoes can set off those sugar cravings that lead to binges because of the way they can spike your blood sugar. So my advice is to avoid them while coming off sugar.

How Long Does it Take to Detox from Sugar?

When people ask this question, it normally means: How long until my sugar cravings go away and I can control myself to not crave and binge again?

You may see “7-day sugar detox” or “21-day sugar detox” plans online—but the real answer depends on your unique biology and emotional patterns. Genetics, the amount of sugar you’ve been eating, and how long you’ve eaten it all matter.

Here’s a shortcut: Try to quit sugar cold turkey for a week. If it feels impossible, you likely need more support than a simple detox can provide.

Take the Emotional Eating Quiz to discover what kind of reset your body and brain need. Click HERE to start the FREE QUIZ!

My easy way to tell goes like this: Try to eliminate sugar from your diet cold turkey for a week or two.

• If you do this easily, or fairly easily, you should be able to transition into a healthy eating style that supports your health and goals from there pretty easily.
• If you, instead, feel like this is the worst and hardest thing you’ve ever had to do and couldn’t get through a week, let alone 2, you probably have a sugar addiction problem. In this case, I recommend ‘sugar deprogramming’, which is a much more in-depth approach to getting off sugar for good.

Precautions when Detoxing From Sugar:

If you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, make sure you speak with your doctor before starting a sugar detox so you have some guidance from the person who oversees your health. Please be smart, and be responsible.

A Few Last Tips to Detox Sugar From Your Body

1. Meal plan. Meal planning ensures you’re never in the dark about what you can eat and have available to eat. Especially when you’ve relied on packaged and convenience food for a while.
2. Meal prep. Scheduling in time to meal prep ensures that your hard work planning those meals wasn’t in vain. It also sets up that ‘guilt factor’ to give you a boost of motivation in the event that your strength is waning as the days go on while you’re trying to kick that sugar habit.
3. Stay hydrated. Drink water or unsweetened tea often. This helps with hydration and training your stomach in feeling full to help prevent overeating.
4. Don’t worry about counting ANYTHING during this time period. Don’t even get on the scale. Remember that your sole focus is to let your body and brain deprogram from sugar and start learning to get energy from complex carbohydrates.
5. Don’t start your endeavor 3 days before a birthday party (or holiday, for that matter).
6. Plan for traveling. Many people are back working in offices, and some professions travel. Make sure you’ve thought ahead for what you can take with you. For example, what are you able to carry in your car or on a plane?
7. Get enough sleep. When you have quality and enough sleep, it helps balance the stress hormone cortisol as well as hormones that can determine if you feel hungry or full during the day.
8. Practice mindful eating during this period. This helps your body begin to recognize hunger and fullness signals that have probably been over-ridden for a while.
9. Extra credit: Find freezer meals and have all your dinners pre-prepped and ready to throw in a slow cooker or sheet pan!
10. Avoid talking to family or friends unless you trust them and know they care about you and your health. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had clients truly upset about the lack of support (and sometimes even ridicule) because they don’t understand or believe in the need to quit sugar. Bottom line is 2-fold: 1-It’s none of their business, and 2-If they cared about you they’d be supportive of your decisions for your health.

What to Do if a Basic Sugar Detox Isn’t Enough?

After sugar detoxing (or attempting it), one of three things will happen:

(1) You’ll stay off sugar successfully and transition into a clean eating dietary style that supports your health. I recommend an anti-inflammatory dietary style because it’s been shown to be beneficial for nearly everyone on the planet and prevents chronic diseases. {Great job, by the way!!}

(2) You’ll feel better and keep at it for a bit, but then slowly progress back to your old way of eating. If this is where you find yourself, you probably have some issues with sticking to habits.

If you truly want to stay off sugar, I recommend revisiting your ‘WHY’ and learning about habits and how to create them in a way that you’ll stick to with little thought.

(3) You didn’t even make it through the first week or two because this felt like the hardest, worst thing you’ve ever tried. (Or possibly a slightly less harrowing version of that, but either way, you couldn’t stick to it because of the cravings.)

When you’re in this category of outcomes, it most likely means you fall into that perfect storm where your body and brain have been programmed for being hooked on sugar and refined carbs.

This is where an Emotional Eating Reset comes in. It’s not about restriction—it’s about:

• Understanding your emotional eating patterns
• Rewiring your brain’s reward system
• Supporting your metabolism with the right foods
• Building confidence through small, consistent wins

Ready to find your best next step? Take the quiz now and start your emotional eating reset. 👇

What’s Your Best Strategy for Eliminating Emotional Eating–for Good?

↓ Take the quiz and find out! ↓

👀 Take the quiz to discover your emotional eating profile and get your personalized strategy—designed to match your current habits, root triggers, and readiness for change.

GO TO THE QUIZ →

Is sugar addiction real—or just another buzzword? If you’ve ever joked that you’re “addicted to sugar” but secretly felt controlled by cravings, you’re not imagining things. From energy crashes to hidden binges, sugar has a powerful pull. And for some, it’s more than just a habit—it’s a pattern that mimics emotional eating and addiction.

In this article, we’ll break down what the science says, how it shows up in real life, and why sugar addiction may actually be a form of emotional dependence. I’ll also point you to our Emotional Eating Probability Quiz to help you uncover what’s really driving your cravings—and what to do next.

As a nutrition specialist working with many people hooked on sugar, I chat with many others that are totally clueless on the subject. Some can see the point in wanting to give your body a break from sugar, but others feel like a world without sugar is unbearably dull.

My response to that is that clearly they either:

1. don’t feel they’re hooked on it,
2. don’t want to admit it,
3. or have no medical need to get off it.

The reason getting off sugar and refined carbs matters is that even if you don’t have a chronic condition you’re trying to manage, or need to lose weight, eating an anti-inflammatory diet will help prevent any of those things from happening. It’s one of the most amazing things you can do for your body to keep inflammation at bay.

That being said, quitting sugar and processed junk food is the very first step in going anti-inflammatory. Many people try to skip this step and go right on into eating an anti-inflammatory diet or jump into an elimination diet.

Neither of these options is possible if you can’t quit eating sugar or refined carbs.

Once I realized this, I strived to make healing my own addiction to sugar and carbs my first order of business on my journey to live an anti-inflammatory lifestyle.

One of the lowest moments of self-loathing in my life was being about 25 pounds overweight, constantly ‘saying’ I wanted to lose weight, but hiding out in the pantry, terrified of being caught, while I shoved cupcake after cupcake in my face because I literally could not control myself.

So if you’re asking me, personally… Hell yes, sugar addiction is real. As a professional? Also Yes.

Laura @ www.true-well.co

If you ask my husband, who’s always been able to just have a bite or two and walk away… well, he doesn’t really know. But he can tell you that he feels that way about potato chips.

As a nutrition specialist with a Master of Science in nutrition under my belt, as well as countless hours doing deep dives into the newest peer-reviewed research on sugar addiction, I can confirm the research supporting ‘food’ being addictive, including sugar.

For some, sugar alone is what will get them. For others it could be the salt, or even the combination of the flavors like fat + sugar, or fat + salt. These combos are called ‘hyper palatable foods’. Food companies have spent billions of dollars figuring this out. And make no mistake: their interests lie in making sure you keep coming back for more.

As a nutritionist and recovered sugar addict (and mom), I get asked this question over and over: Is sugar addiction real? Like really real?

And although the answer has taken many forms over the past several years, my answer to the question is a resounding YES, sugar addiction is really real. And I’ll explain why.

My relationship with sugar started as a kid from the south whose family knew no bounds of cooking with sugar and white flour. This meant dessert after many a meal, and the biggest, sugary-est birthday cakes you’ve ever seen. I loved the sugar and butter combination (or sugar and shortening), and from the time I was a kid, I would always request the piece of cake with the absolute most icing flowers on it.

I never knew the damage all the sugar was doing to my gut bacteria, nor that it could have an effect on my moods, hormones, skin, metabolic markers, and definitely not my neurotransmitters or immune system.

I developed asthma around 12 and had terrible hayfever that I never really shook. By my teen years, I had terrible acne, was constantly irritable, and forever anxious.

It wasn’t until adulthood when I started studying nutrition that I really took a step back and thought through my constant depressive symptoms as a teen and young adult, and put a few pieces together for the ups and downs of my moods, skin, and hormones.

But it wasn’t until after having gestational diabetes for 2 out of 3 pregnancies (type 2 diabetes runs in my family) that I noticed that I felt a thousand percent better when I nixed the sugar.

But quitting sugar wasn’t as easy as just saying ‘no thank you’.

Every birthday and holiday was a struggle. I’ve been in the throes of postpartum depression 3x where I would hide in the pantry to stuff as many cupcakes in secret as I could into my face before anyone could see.

I’ve binged for hours, alternating sugary and salty snacks, in secret when my husband was out of town for work.

And I knew that there was never any circumstance that could keep ‘just one bite’ from turning into 75 bites.

So I can attest first-hand what it feels like to be addicted to sugar. No matter what kind of logic your brain tells you about how crappy you’ll feel the next day (physically and emotionally), that addict part of your brain takes over and mutes the logic.

What Is Sugar Addiction—and Is It Even Real?

Sugar addiction isn’t officially listed as a diagnosable condition, but the behavior patterns it causes look eerily familiar to other forms of substance dependence: cravings, loss of control, tolerance, and withdrawal.

And while the term “addicted” might seem extreme to some, the lived experiences of millions say otherwise. Many people experience symptoms that go far beyond a sweet tooth—including intense urges, binge episodes, and shame afterward.

What’s Your Best Strategy for Eliminating Emotional Eating–for Good?

↓ Take the quiz and find out! ↓

👀 Take the quiz to discover your emotional eating profile and get your personalized strategy—designed to match your current habits, root triggers, and readiness for change.

GO TO THE QUIZ →

The Science Behind Sugar Addiction

While in my master’s program we had to do many projects on various topics that all require peer-reviewed studies to support our answers (which is how the medical community and medical organizations formulate their recommendations of things for public health.) Part of the studies I sought out revolved around sugar addiction.

At the time one professor pointed out that the only study supporting sugar addiction thus far involved rats that preferred sugar over cocaine. This boggled me, so I veered on a tangent toward addiction itself to try and get more answers.

At the time I was in my master’s program, the International Classifications of Diseases (one of 2 books used to give diagnostic codes so insurance can decide if they will or will not cover medical services) contained mental health diagnoses for food addiction, but not specifically sugar.

The reasoning was that they, at the time, couldn’t definitively prove that sugar itself was physically addicting, further confusing the ‘Is sugar addiction real?’ question altogether.

I personally have a problem with this, because many people (including myself) have felt the withdrawal symptoms of coming off sugar. These side effects are definitely not imagined, and some have described them as feeling like having a mild case of the flu.

The clincher of sugar is that when consumed, it occupies the same receptors in the brain as drugs like cocaine and heroin. It gives a dopamine hit, which makes you feel good. So it activates those reward systems in the brain and essentially ‘programs’ the brain to want more and make you think you need it.

And once you keep eating it, cravings will start for it.

From that point, it can be very difficult to satisfy the craving and keep yourself from seeking anything to replace it until you completely get off it, and for long enough.

Another thing that happens is that you build tolerance. This is when the brain receptors get a lot of the dopamine hits but eventually adapt and need more to get that reward response. Studies have also proven that the sensation of sweetness builds a tolerance.

There is also evidence of a genetic component to some people feeling addicted to sugar. The gene that controls the dopamine receptors in our brains can have mutations that impair the reward system in the brain, thereby triggering some people to exhibit more addictive behavior toward sugar.

This tends to be one of the hallmarks of a definition of ‘addiction’, but again– the issue is whether it specifically is sugar, or is another component of the food you’re eating, or even a combination of components.

Recently, research has been compiled to compare the criteria of an addictive substance to the proven addictive traits of sugar.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), two of the eleven criteria must be met by a patient for that patient to qualify as addicted to a substance. The study done proves that five criteria of addiction to sugar could be met, exceeding the minimum criteria.

How to Break the Sugar Addiction

Without a proper understanding of the truly addictive nature of sugar, many people are at a loss as to how to break their sugar addiction.

Many have tried dieting and quitting cold turkey over and over again, to no avail.

A popular term that comes up in searches and circulating in ‘wellness’ media is a “sugar detox“. While many may think this concept is a godsend to those trying to quit sugar, it may do more harm than good to those truly addicted.

The reason is that some people can do a sugar detox and are done with sugar, no problem. Those of us that truly have that addictive component to sugar usually can’t manage longer than a week on a sugar detox.

This is where an addiction to sugar (and carbs) veers into what is actually emotional eating.

The cravings will make us give up, and the withdrawal will send us on a binge.

We’ve essentially been ‘programmed’ to be hooked on sugar and refined carbs.

How to Stop Sugar Cravings—Especially If You’re Addicted

Here’s what works (and what doesn’t):

❌ What Doesn’t Work:

• Going cold turkey with no support
• Shame or self-blame
• Cutting out sugar without addressing emotional triggers

✅ What Does Work:

• A step-by-step reset that includes brain chemistry and emotional rewiring
• Balanced meals with blood sugar–friendly foods
• Understanding your sugar addiction probability

The First Step? Understanding Your Patterns

Before you try another sugar detox or trying to go cold turkey again, find out where you land on the emotional eating spectrum.

💡That knowledge can guide your next best step—whether that’s a short detox or a deeper reset that reprograms your emotional patterns and stabilizes your metabolism.

🧠 Take the Emotional Eating Quiz
Find out how likely it is that sugar cravings are controlling you—and what to do about it. Take the quiz now and get a personalized roadmap.

Know someone who could use help getting of sugar and refined carbs? SHARE this article or 📌 PIN it!

One of the most frequent questions I get asked privately as a nutritionist is: (1) how to stop sugar cravings and (2) how to break the sugar addiction cycle. People ask for all kinds of reasons, even if it’s “for a friend.”

The thing is, I don’t judge. Because I’m a ‘recovered sugar addict’ and I’ve been in the trenches for years, completely miserable and defeated over and over every time I tried to stay strong.

And every attempt to quit sugar and refined carbs ended up not just giving in to the cravings, but bingeing hard-core in secret.

So if you’ve ever felt powerless against, and want to know how to stop sugar cravings, you’re not alone. The cycle of indulgence and guilt is a common struggle, but breaking free is possible.

I’m living proof. 🎉

In fact, I’ve been an addict since I was a child but didn’t know it until the last few years. Research is finally catching up, but the media can make it really hard for those who truly need help because of hype headlines and articles declaring “sugar addiction” is bogus, “eat what you want”, and that “the body ‘needs’ sugar to operate.”

So many people who feel like they’re chained to sugar are being told that they’re crazy and there’s no need to quit the sugar and refined carbs. This couldn’t be further from the truth, and it sends horribly mixed messages to those who are suffering.

People are desperate for help, and with good reason: It’s estimated that we now consume 60 pounds or more of added sugar every year.

In 2017 the prevalence of diabetes was 451 million. It’s estimated that by the year 2045 that number will increase to 693 million. And that figure didn’t even account for the estimated 374 million with impaired glucose tolerance.

It’s obvious that people are searching for a way to stop sugar cravings and break their sugar addiction that works.

My practice helps people begin and maintain an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle for all sorts of reasons. But when surveyed, 50% of thousands of women who are trying to stick to an anti-inflammatory diet state that they can’t because they’re hooked on sugar and refined carbs.

So let’s get into the breakdown of a true addiction to sugar and carbs so you can determine if you have a mild sugar problem, or a much larger one that requires more in-depth help than a one-week ‘sugar detox‘.

Is Sugar Addiction Real? Here’s What Science Says

Addictions are defined as actions that one keeps repeating over and over regardless of the detriment, and will eventually build tolerance (you need more to get the same effect), and withdrawal when you take it away.

This is precisely what happens if you’re addicted to sugar. The latest science has shown that the same reward centers in the brain light up as the ones when drugs like cocaine and heroin are taken.

So for people to say that sugar isn’t addictive rubs me seriously the wrong way. I think it’s pretty disrespectful and naive to underestimate the wiring of our brain and physiology in its efforts to make us feel better.

Psychology and physiology are extremely complicated, but they will always operate to try and keep us in homeostasis, even if it means attempts to keep us ‘happy’ with a dopamine hit of glazed donuts. 😃🍩😵‍💫🍩😃🍩

The other problem I have is people not only dissing the idea of being addicted to sugar, but also maintaining that sugar is essential for energy and that trying to get off it is stupid. Well, to say the least, these people are misinformed and uneducated on the matter.

Not only that, they’ve probably never been on the end of cravings that are so severe that they cause uncontrollable binges that result in a self-berating cycle of guilt and out-of-control weight gain and inflammation. (Not to mention the resulting depression.)

Many people have been told by their doctors to lose weight for a myriad of reasons, which starts with quitting sugar and refined carbs. But going cold turkey just seems to make the cravings worse.

Thus the battle cry of those of us addicted to sugar is this: “If we were able to just ‘take one bite’ and move on with our life, don’t they think we would’ve?? “

Laura @ www.true-well.co

How to Know If You’re Addicted to Sugar + Carbs

Knowing if you’re addicted to sugar really needs to start with knowing a few things behind the mechanics of sugar + carb addiction.

1-There is obviously a chemical component to it that’s known as the ‘reward cycle’.

2-But there is also a genetic component as well.

Then add in:

• 3-the length of time you’ve been consuming large amounts of sugar and foods that are metabolized like sugar in the body,
• 4-as well as the total amounts.

5-And yet a fifth MAJOR component is the connection that’s been established over the years between eating those foods and your emotions at the time.

💡This is where we begin to understand that being hooked on sugar and carbs in this way is actually emotional eating.

So when you add all those together, you really have a spectrum of ‘levels’ of not just sugar addiction probability … but emotional eating probability.

This is important because where you fall on the spectrum determines the strategy you’ll need to break the sugar addiction and carb cravings cycle.

Understanding this connection is the springboard to your success in losing weight and living an anti-inflammatory lifestyle.  

Recognizing the Signs and Symptoms of Sugar Addiction + Emotional Eating

At the lowest end of the emotional eating probability spectrum, people may feel cravings every once in a while for something sugary, chocolately, or even breads, but they don’t have an issue just having a bite and then moving on. They don’t usually experience guilt about it either.

The mid-level of emotional eating probability looks more like cravings more than they’d like to admit, some emotional eating, and reaching for sugar, caffeine, chocolate, etc during times of the day that they feel dips in energy or emotions. There’s a modest to more intense level of guilt.

I usually direct clients to answer some questions to help better determine their level of being hooked on sugar and refined carbs before deciding which direction to take.

🤔 Not sure if your cravings are emotional or physical?
Take the Emotional Eating Probability Quiz and get your personalized next step to stop sugar cravings—for good.

Why Traditional Sugar Detoxes Often Fail

Many people ask if sugar detox diets really work.

The short answer for that is if you fall in the lower end of the emotional eating probability spectrum, it will probably work to get you off sugar to kickstart weight loss and help control conditions you may have that require lessened inflammation and balanced blood sugar.

If you’re in the mid to high range of probability, a sugar detox will just make things worse.

This is because most sugar detoxes not only go cold turkey, but they don’t allow enough time for the shifts needed to truly reset your body, mind, and emotions from sugar and refined carbs.

What is needed in this case is what I call an “Emotional Eating Reset”.

What’s Your Best Strategy for Eliminating Emotional Eating–for Good?

↓ Take the quiz and find out! ↓

👀 Take the quiz to discover your emotional eating profile and get your personalized strategy—designed to match your current habits, root triggers, and readiness for change.

GO TO THE QUIZ →

How to Break the Sugar Addiction and Carb Cravings Cycle with an Emotional Eating Reset

Step 1: Shift your mindset about sugar addiction

When we typically think of sugar addiction, we think it started or keeps going because of weakness. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Shifting your mindset is the foundation to undoing sugar addiction through sugar deprogramming. You can’t debug a computer program without knowing there’s a bug in the program, right?

Once you know the science and mechanics (biologically and psychologically) you’re able to more clearly see the bird’s eye view of it all and how to fix it.

Addiction has such a negative connotation to it because people largely believe the person addicted has chosen 1- the first dose of the addictive substance, and 2- continues to use it.

The thing is, when it comes to sugar and carb addiction, there is no ‘gateway’ to any of these substances like there is for drugs—they’re literally right there in the grocery store or even the vending machine in the office, readily available.

So there’s no warning sign or message from the Attorney General about the addictive nature of the ingredients in what you’re about to eat.

We’re hooked on something we never thought possible and never had an option.

When you shift your mindset about sugar and carb addiction, you’ll understand where cravings come from, why they happen over and over again, and why you’ve never been able to resist them.

Another mindset shift involves the number of days your recovery will take. So many ‘sugar detox plans’ claim you can be free of cravings in 7 days, 21 days, or even 30 days.

The truth is that everyone is so different that you won’t know this number until you are consistent with a sugar deprogramming program. This consistency will allow your body to accomplish the next two shifts.

This is your starting point for a blueprint to break the sugar addiction and carb cravings cycle for good (aka- eliminate your emotional eating).

Step 2: Rebuild metabolic stability without sugar spikes

If you’re hooked on sugar and refined carbs, your body has become accustomed to getting energy from the quickest form of fuel there is: simple carbs. These don’t need to be broken down any further to harness immediate energy.

By taking simple carbs out of the diet and giving your body complex carbs for sustained fuel, your body will inevitably rebel, because suddenly it has to work for fuel. Your metabolism has gotten lazy.

For many, this alone will create rebound cravings. This is why it’s crucial to understand the types of carbs and how to adjust them in your meals during your healing and recovery period.

And lastly, shifting your metabolism also involves discovering nutritional deficiencies and filling these consistently.

Step 3: Heal the emotional connections driving cravings

So many people are programmed as a child to connect sugar and carbs with rewards. (If you have kids you’ve surely seen this complete nonsense at your kids’ school. Candy is given relentlessly as a reward.)

Our brains then connect the dopamine hit we get from those foods to ‘happy’ things. Then we we’re emotionally triggered, the brain says to eat those things to feel better.

Pinpointing your emotional involvement in the addiction to sugar and carbs is a crucial step to disrupting that cravings cycle.

The next step in the emotional shift is knowing what to do with that information and how to heal emotional traumas, as well as manage daily stressors that are contributing to the cycle.

Step 4: Shifting your confidence

So many clients come into this journey expecting absolute failure. And why not? They’ve failed a thousand times before at quitting sugar and refined carbs.

The truth is that there IS a proven process to breaking the addiction to sugar and carbs. It’s called an Emotional Eating Reset.

And building your confidence in that truth helps keep the momentum going until the full metabolic and emotional shifts can happen that will free you.

This last step in an emotional eating reset is really the cherry on top where it will all come together to keep you going and know that you have all the tools, gameplan, and confidence to finally kick-start that weight loss, balance your blood sugar, and manage your energy and emotions all day.

This is where you find your truth that allows you to confidently face sugar from now on.

🎯 You don’t need more willpower—you need a better strategy.
Start your Emotional Eating Reset by discovering your triggers in our free quiz.

xo, Laura

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If you’ve ever wondered if a sugar detox is for you because felt like sugar has a grip on you—whether it’s daily cravings, energy crashes, or a full-blown binge spiral—you’re not alone.

That’s why so many people are turning to a sugar detox or sugar cleanse to reset their health and reclaim control.

But what exactly is a sugar detox? And does everyone need one?

At TRUE-WELL, we see quitting sugar as the first and most important step toward reducing inflammation and rebalancing your body. But that doesn’t mean one-size-fits-all sugar detox plans are the answer for everyone.

And if you’ve tried quitting sugar before and it backfired? That doesn’t mean you failed. It might just mean you’re going about it the wrong way.

But there are several nuances to getting off sugar and defining a legit answer to, ‘what is a sugar detox?’

Definition: What is a sugar detox?

At its core, a sugar detox is exactly what it sounds like: a short-term plan designed to help your body stop relying on sugar for energy, mood regulation, or mental focus.

The goal? To remove added sugars, refined carbohydrates, and ultra-processed foods from your diet—so your blood sugar, brain chemistry, and cravings can stabilize and reset.

Think of it like clearing the slate. A sugar detox gives your metabolism a chance to recalibrate and your taste buds time to unlearn their sugar bias.

Wait—Is This the Same as a Sugar Cleanse?

You might also see the term sugar cleanse floating around online. In most cases, it’s just another name for the same thing: cutting out sugar to give your body a reset.

Some “sugar cleanse” programs may include smoothies, juices, or supplements—but here at TRUE-WELL, we’re all about real food, real fuel, and evidence-based strategies.

However, a sugar detox is normally done with one of two goals in mind. If these goals are clearly defined, it’s way more likely you’ll be successful with a sugar detox.

The Goal of a Sugar Detox

The point of the whole process is to get rid of sugars and foods your body metabolizes like sugar so that your brain, taste buds, metabolism, and insulin response can ‘reset’ itself to behave more closely to normal.

What’s interesting about a sugar detox is that every single person going into one has a different goal for doing it.

Aside from FOMO, many people start a sugar detox as a type of ‘reset’ from eating terrible at the holidays, on vacation, or after a long period of ‘falling off the wagon’.

Some people have also found their skin looks terrible or hormones have gone crazy and that sugar is the culprit.

Others need or want to kickstart weight loss, or for personal or medical reasons—especially as more attention is brought to how food industry influence shaped public nutritional policy around sugar.

But the real deep down goals are what determine whether or not someone is actually successful with a sugar detox.

Why Do People Do a Sugar Detox?

Most people don’t do a sugar detox just because they’re curious. They do it because something feels off—and sugar is often the common thread.

Maybe it’s:

• Weight gain that won’t budge
• Energy crashes every afternoon
• A brain that feels foggy no matter how much you sleep
• Skin that’s inflamed, breaking out, or looking dull
• Insulin resistance or other chronic condition they’ve been diagnosed with
• Or just a growing awareness that sugar might be affecting your health more than you realized

Others come to a sugar detox after a stretch of emotional or stress eating—holidays, vacations, burnout, or simply falling back into habits that don’t serve them anymore.

A sugar detox feels like a reset. A fresh start. A way to take your power back.

But here’s the thing…

What If It’s Not Just About Sugar?

If you’ve tried a sugar detox before and it didn’t work—if you started strong, then found yourself bingeing, craving, or right back where you started—it may not be totally about sugar.

It might be an emotional eating pattern. One that’s wired into your brain and body, using sugar to soothe, distract, or survive.

Take the Quiz

🎯 If you’ve ever felt like sugar has more control over you than you’d like, take the Emotional Eating Probability Quiz.
Find out whether your cravings are more emotional than physical—and get your personalized next step for finally breaking the cycle (without another failed detox).

Who is a sugar detox for?

The truth? Almost anyone can benefit from a sugar detox—at least temporarily.

If you’ve been eating more processed food, refined carbs, or added sugars than usual, a sugar detox can help you:

• Regain control over cravings
• Improve energy and mood
• Reset your taste buds
• Reduce inflammation
• And reconnect with how good your body can feel without the sugar highs (and crashes)

It’s also a powerful first step for anyone looking to transition to an anti-inflammatory lifestyle—because sugar is one of the most inflammatory substances in the modern diet.

After years of fighting my own addiction to it in addition to years of formal education and deep dives into peer-reviewed studies on sugar, it’s clear that nobody needs it and the gradual inoculation and acceptance of it into our food system, despite clear global guidelines recommending sugar reduction, is one of the great tragedies of our time.

Who should do a sugar detox:

That being said, a simple sugar detox is a great option for those wanting to do a reset and start making more healthy food choices to improve overall health or even kickstart weight loss (and hopefully follow an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle).

A Sugar Detox Is Especially Helpful If You:

• Want to kickstart weight loss or reduce belly bloat
• Struggle with low energy or afternoon crashes
• Feel like you need something sweet after every meal
• Want to clear your skin or reduce puffiness
• Are managing blood sugar or hormonal imbalances
• Just want to feel better and more in control
• Anyone wanting to follow an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle

But—and this is important—a sugar detox isn’t the best approach for everyone.

Let’s talk about when it might not be the right fit.

Who Should Not do a Sugar Detox:

While a sugar detox can be incredibly helpful for many people, there are two specific situations where a traditional sugar detox might not be the best starting point.

If You Feel Truly Hooked on Sugar

If you’ve tried to quit sugar multiple times and always end up back in the cravings–binge–guilt cycle… a standard detox may not work for you.

Why? Because most sugar detox plans are designed for habit change—not emotional dependence.

They focus on recipes, food swaps, and rigid rules. But they ignore the emotional patterns that sugar may be supporting—like using food to cope with stress, numb feelings, or reward yourself after a hard day.

And when those emotional needs aren’t addressed? Most detoxes backfire.

If you feel out of control around sugar—or you start strong and always crash halfway through—what you probably need isn’t just a sugar detox.
You need a different approach altogether. One that helps you retrain your brain and soothe your body without sugar.

(We’ll talk about how to do that in just a bit.)

If you are hooked on sugar (+ refined carbs) or addicted to it, you know exactly what I’m talking about. (I’ve been there and done it about 157 times over.)

2. If You Have Certain Blood Sugar Conditions or Take Glucose-Lowering Medications

Removing sugar and refined carbs quickly can cause blood sugar levels to drop—sometimes dramatically.

If you have:

• Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
• Take medications for diabetes or insulin resistance
• Are prone to dizziness, lightheadedness, or blackouts with food changes

…you should work with a healthcare provider or nutritionist before starting any sugar detox.

Why? Because going from high-sugar to low-sugar suddenly can trigger hypoglycemic episodes—and those can be dangerous if not managed properly.

How Does a Sugar Detox Work?

A sugar detox works by giving your body a break from the constant blood sugar spikes, crashes, and cravings triggered by added sugars and refined carbs.

The goal isn’t just to cut sugar—it’s to give your metabolism, hormones, brain, and taste buds a chance to recalibrate.

This can range from 7 days to 30 or more, depending on the source of the sugar detox.

What You Remove

Most sugar detoxes recommend cutting out:

• Added sugars (in all forms, including “natural” ones like honey or maple syrup)
• Refined carbs (white bread, pasta, baked goods, crackers, etc.)
• Processed foods with hidden sugars
• Sugary drinks (sodas, energy drinks, sweetened coffee/tea, and many smoothies)

Some detoxes also eliminate:

• Fruit (depending on the plan and personal goals)
• Dairy (especially flavored or sweetened varieties)

What You Eat Instead

Most sugar detox meal plans focus on:

• Clean protein (chicken, fish, eggs, plant-based options)
• Lots of vegetables
• Healthy fats (avocado, olive oil, nuts, seeds)
• Optional: Some may include complex carbs like legumes, lentils, or whole grains if tolerated well

📝 Pro tip: The best sugar detox plans aren’t about starvation—they’re about stabilizing your blood sugar and giving your body what it actually needs.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

You’ve learned what a sugar detox is, who it’s for, and how to do it the smart way. But before you dive in, ask yourself this:

Do I just need a reset… or do I need to break a deeper pattern with sugar?

👉 If sugar feels like your emotional crutch, start here:

🎯 Take the Emotional Eating Probability Quiz to find out if cravings are rooted in more than just habit—and get your personalized path to freedom from the cycle.

👉 If you’re ready for a sugar detox and want to start strong, go here next:

📘 Read: How to Do a Sugar Detox the Smart Way

Know someone who would benefit from learning about sugar detoxes? SHARE this or 📌 PIN it!

If you’ve ever wondered about sugar addiction symptoms, you’re not alone. Anyone who’s tried to lose weight or change to a more whole food or anti-inflammatory diet knows that quitting sugar can be a huge barricade to sticking with it. And it’s no wonder …

Sugar is everywhere.

From salad dressings to spaghetti sauce, it shows up in sneaky ways that most people never even notice. Which helps explain how the average American now consumes around 20 teaspoons of added sugar per day.

And here’s the problem: those extra sugars don’t just affect your waistline.

They affect your energy, mood, cravings, sleep, blood sugar, contribute to chronic diseases (like metabolic disorders, insulin resistance, and heart disease)—and for many women, they drive a deeper cycle of emotional eating that can feel impossible to break.

So how do you know if you’re just enjoying dessert now and then, or if you’re actually dealing with sugar addiction?

Let’s talk through the real symptoms of sugar addiction, how it connects to emotional eating, and what to do if you feel stuck.

👉 First step: Take the free Quiz: What’s Your Best Strategy to Eliminate Emotional Eating to see which level of support your body actually needs.

What is Sugar Addiction?

Let’s start out with what sugar addiction is in the first place. Sugar addiction is more than just liking sweets.

It’s when your body craves sugar so strongly that it starts to override logic and willpower.

You might feel “out of control” around candy, carbs, or baked goods. You might sneak sweets or binge on sugar when no one is watching. And even when you want to stop, you keep reaching for sugar to cope with stress, fatigue, or low moods.

Sound familiar?

I used to think I just had a “bad sweet tooth.”

Until I found myself hiding in the pantry during naptime, shoving cupcakes in my mouth just to get through the day. (I’m now what I call a ‘recovered sugar addict’.)

The truth? For many of us, sugar addiction is really a form of emotional eating. It becomes the way we self-soothe, numb out, or try to fix low energy and unstable blood sugar.

Usually these questions don’t arise, and the signs aren’t really noticed, until a doctor’s appointment with a diagnosis of a chronic illness or disease, or the decision for quitting sugar because of the desire (or need) to lose weight.

The Signs of Sugar Addiction

Here are some of the most common sugar addiction symptoms to look for:

1. You crave sugar or refined carbs daily (or constantly).

It could be sweets, chips, bread, or a daily soda habit. You feel a pull toward sugar or quick carbs, even if you’re not physically hungry.

2. You feel out of control around sugary foods.

One bite turns into 10. You feel like you can’t stop, even if you want to.

3. You hide or sneak sugary foods.

You might eat sweets in secret, stash treats, or hide wrappers.

4. You feel shame or guilt after eating sugar.

It feels like you failed again. You promise to “do better tomorrow,” but the cycle repeats.

5. You get withdrawal symptoms when you cut back.

Fatigue, headaches, mood swings, irritability, and strong cravings? Those are classic signs of sugar withdrawal.

Physical Sugar Withdrawal Symptoms

When you stop eating sugar, especially cold turkey, you may experience:

• Extreme fatigue or low energy
• Headaches or muscle aches
• Mood swings, anxiety, or depression
• Insomnia or trouble staying asleep
• Cravings for salty carbs (like chips or crackers)
• Irritability or crying spells

These symptoms are real—and they’re part of why many people go back to sugar quickly.

But here’s the key:

👉 If your sugar cravings come back fast, feel uncontrollable, or bring on shame… you may be dealing with emotional eating, not just sugar addiction.

What’s Your Best Strategy for Eliminating Emotional Eating–for Good?

↓ Take the quiz and find out! ↓

👀 Take the quiz to discover your emotional eating profile and get your personalized strategy—designed to match your current habits, root triggers, and readiness for change.

GO TO THE QUIZ →

The Sugar Addiction Cycle

If you’ve ever:

• Quit sugar for a few days
• Felt exhausted or emotional
• Given in to cravings
• Felt ashamed, and started over again…

You’re not alone. That cycle is common. And it doesn’t mean you have no willpower.

For many women, sugar becomes a coping mechanism when other needs (rest, boundaries, stress relief, real food) aren’t being met.

That’s why breaking the cycle starts with awareness—and usually requires more than just a “sugar detox.”

A Smarter Way to Reset

If any of the symptoms above resonate with you, start here:

1. Don’t go cold turkey without a plan. Withdrawal is real. Without support, it’s easy to fall back into the cycle.
2. Address the emotional triggers. Cravings often show up when we’re stressed, overwhelmed, tired, or lonely. Food becomes the fix.
3. Focus on blood sugar balance. Eating more protein, fiber, and healthy fat helps stabilize energy and moods—and reduces cravings.
4. Find real support. You don’t have to do this alone. Whether it’s a group, coach, or program, accountability makes a huge difference.

👉 Not sure what kind of support you need? Take the free Quiz: What’s Your Best Strategy to Eliminate Emotional Eating to find your personalized starting point.

The Bottom Line

Sugar addiction is real.

But more often than not, it’s tied to emotional eating patterns and blood sugar imbalances that go way deeper than dessert.

If you feel trapped in the cycle of cravings, guilt, and binging, know this: it’s not your fault. And there is a way to eliminate it for good. (I’m living proof. 😎)

Start by taking the free Quiz: What’s Your Best Strategy to Eliminate Emotional Eating to get a personalized path forward.

And explore the full library of supportive resources in our “Cut the Sugar” Hub to get tools, tips, and support to help you take the next step. 👇

You’re not alone in this.

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