Sugar craving after rich dessert

Katty

Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2013
Messages
396
I often get sugar cravings after a rich dessert... which seems weird to get a sugar craving after eating a lot of sugar. Wondering what might be going on. I don't eat baked goods much anymore, but when I used to eat a rich brownie or cake (made with gluten-free grain), I would often crave a sugary drink right after. I don't think it was a craving for just any liquid-- but specifically for something sweet, like lemonade or coke. Occasionally this reaction occurs after ice cream, but I associate it more with baked goods.
I just ate a flourless brownie (eggs, coconut oil, cocoa, sugar), and had the same reaction-- strong craving for lemonade. Even OJ didn't sound sweet enough.

I used to think that it was my body craving fructose after a lot of starch (I think there is a suggestion from Peat's work to eat fructose any time you eat a starch). But with the flourless brownie (no starch), that doesn't seem to be what is going on. So then I was thinking that maybe my body just wants me to eat more carbs in a meal than fat... the brownie was probably high-ish in fat.
Or is something else going on here? Some other hormonal reaction? Or maybe a reaction to the cocoa (most of my treats are usually chocolatey)...? There was some discussion recently in another thread about a temporary diabetes or blood sugar situation (as in women with pcos)... is there some relation here?
 

Spokey

Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2014
Messages
321
Protein from the eggs might explain the effect.

This is the mechanism (taken from Steve Guyenet's site), "High-protein meals. Protein stimulates insulin release as much as carbohydrate does (because one of insulin's jobs is to send amino acids into lean tissues such as muscle), but protein doesn't supply rapid glucose like carbohydrate does. If this process went unchecked, eating a high-protein meal would cause hypoglycemia because insulin release would suppress blood glucose too much. Glucagon release counterbalances insulin, preventing hypoglycemia when we eat a high-protein meal." The choice for the body then is produce glucagon or eat a rapidly available source of sugar.
 

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