I see quite a few patients in my acupuncture practice who tell me that they crave sugar. Some can’t avoid the candy dish at work, others can’t stop eating sweets after dinner, and some just want sugar all day, every day.
To be sure, sugar has gotten a bad rap. It can be a source of empty calories, lay the groundwork for Type 2 Diabetes, and cause you to get fat. Despite the long-term health consequences of eating too much sweet stuff, so many people crave sugar like it’s water in a desert. What gives?
Chinese medicine has a lot to say about sugar and why so many people crave it. First, while you may think of sugar as the devil in disguise, in Chinese medicine not every sweet thing is necessarily bad for you. Foods that are sweet, but have nutritional value are considered to be full sweet. Fresh and dried fruits, carrots, certain grains, fennel seeds, and even some chocolate with nuts and fruit or carrot cake could be considered to be full sweet. On the flip side, soda, doughnuts and candy would be considered to be empty sweet, because you'd have a hard time finding much nutrition in them.
