Living With Type 2 Diabetes: Satisfying Sugar Cravings

It is likely that million Americans have an addiction to sugar.  I once read somewhere that breaking a sugar addiction can be just as difficult as breaking a heroin addiction, and I believe it. Guzzling down a piece of candy, cake, or soft drink can feel downright satisfying. Realizing that I’ll likely never break my addiction to sweets, I’ve found several low or zero calories alternatives to fuel my addiction.

Big League Chew, the shredded bubble gum in a tobacco pouch, is sugar sweet but has only two grams of sugar per serving. Two grams of sugar equal 1% carbs. Even if I were a glutton and ate the entire package of gum, I’d only be consuming 40 carbs. This isn’t bad at all considering that I get my “sugar fix” while keeping my sugar consumption incredibly low. I vividly remember the Big League Chew commercials as a child as it was marketed as an alternative to chewing tobacco for baseball players. Who knew that the gum I saw debut in 1980 would be my go to gum for helping control my diabetes?

Speaking of childhood gum, who can forget Bazooka bubble gum? The little rectangle shaped pieces used to be so hard to chew that I often thought that I’d crack a tooth, but today I chew sugar-free Bazooka bubble gum on a regular basis. While not quite as sweet-tasting as Big League, Bazooka hits the spot when sugar cravings arise. Best of all, it offers zero carbs, so I can smack on gum until the cows come home without worrying about sugar spikes.

While the majority of candy and gums are loaded with sugar, there are several sugar-free alternatives that can satisfy our cravings. The best bet is to make a list of your favorite, best tasting low carb sweets and stick to that list. Ironically, I find that I don’t crave a particular type of candy; I just crave sugar. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the same thing can be said about breaking a sugar addictions.