How to finally quit sugar

New research has found a strong link between sugar and stress. Photo: Getty

Stress and sugar are like tea and biscuits: it's tough to have the former without reaching for the latter.

Now, a small new study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism might tell us why: Researchers at the University of California Davis found that eating sugar shuts down the release of the stress hormone cortisol. In other words, sugar soothes us when we’re feeling stressed, which could be making us come back for more and more.

Nineteen women were assigned to one of two diets: The first drank beverages sweetened with plain old sugar, and the second drank beverages with the artificial sweetener aspartame. Throughout the almost-two-week trial, the women underwent stress tests while the researchers did brain scans and tested cortisol levels. The final result? The women who drank sugar-sweetened beverages had suppressed cortisol, but the women in the aspartame group did not.

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That doesn't mean you should ditch all your sugar for artificial sweeteners: they have been linked to plenty of health problems on their own, like diabetes and weight gain. But this study is one of the very first to show that sugar itself could be reinforcing that sugary, stress-eating habit that seems impossible to break.

The good news is that it's not impossible. The solution? Be prepared. When you know you'll be feeling stressed, arm yourself with these Sugar Smart snacks - they deliver maximum satisfaction for minimal kilojoules and sugar.

Related:

The skinny on sugar substitutes
How quitting sugar changed my life