The Sugar Binge-Restrict Cycle and How to Exit It for Good
Breaking the restrict-binge pattern requires understanding the science behind why restriction backfires. Here's your evidence-based exit strategy.
8 min read
Tag
#food-science
22 articles
What Sugar Addiction Actually Feels Like (Not the Instagram Version)
The real experience of sugar addiction: secret eating, hiding wrappers, morning shame cycles. Science-backed insights into what your brain is actually doing.
9 min read
Why Willpower Fails Against Sugar (And What Actually Works)
The science behind why willpower fails against sugar cravings, plus environment-based strategies that actually work when you're trying to quit.
7 min read
Sugar Cue Mapping: Finding Your Personal Triggers Before They Find You
Track your sugar cravings to their source with this 7-day mapping exercise. Identify patterns, redesign triggers, and break the cycle for good.
7 min read
The Three-Part Habit Loop Behind Every Sugar Craving
Decode the cue-routine-reward cycle driving your sugar habits. Learn to identify environmental triggers and replace routines while keeping rewards.
8 min read
Sugar as a Coping Mechanism: When Sweet Relief Becomes the Problem
Learn the science behind using sugar to cope with stress and emotions, plus how to recognize when your coping mechanism has become part of the problem.
8 min read
Resetting Your Sugar Tolerance: What Actually Happens in Your Brain
Why fruit tastes impossibly sweet after 30 days off added sugar. The science behind taste receptor sensitivity and dopamine recovery during sugar tolerance reset.
8 min read
Am I Addicted to Sugar? A Self-Assessment That Actually Helps
Use this science-based self-assessment to understand your relationship with sugar. Real patterns, not self-blame.
7 min read
Is Sugar More Addictive Than Cocaine? The Real Story Behind the Headlines
The viral 2007 rat study claiming sugar beats cocaine gets misread constantly. Here's what the research actually showed about preference vs. addiction.
8 min read
Food Addiction vs Binge Eating Disorder: When the Lines Blur
Food addiction and binge eating disorder share symptoms but require different approaches. Learn the key differences and when to seek professional help.
9 min read
The Princeton Sugar Rat Studies: What They Really Showed About Addiction
The Avena-Hoebel sugar rat studies revealed opiate-like withdrawal in rats, but what does this actually mean for your sugar cravings? The science explained.
8 min read
Sugar and Depression: Why Your Brain Craves Sweetness When You're Low
The science behind why depression drives sugar cravings, how blood sugar crashes worsen mood symptoms, and practical strategies to break the cycle.
8 min read
The Weekend Sugar Binge Cycle (And How to Break It for Good)
Weekend sugar binges aren't willpower failures—they're predictable physiological responses. Here's how to break the cycle with science-backed tactics.
8 min read
PMS Sugar Cravings: Why They're So Intense (And What Works)
The science behind PMS sugar cravings and three research-backed tactics to manage them without relying on willpower alone.
8 min read
UPF and Metabolic Syndrome: The Clearest Health Link Yet
New research reveals ultra-processed foods drive metabolic syndrome through specific pathways. Here's what the BMJ, Lancet, and Cell studies actually show.
15 min read
Sugar and Dopamine: How Sweet Food Hijacks Your Reward System
The neuroscience behind sugar cravings: how dopamine drives your sweet tooth, why ultra-processed foods hit harder than whole foods, and what recovery looks like.
17 min read
Parents Removing UPF From the Family Diet: The Complete Playbook
Evidence-based strategies for transitioning your family away from ultra-processed foods without battles, guilt, or orthorexic rigidity.
19 min read
The NOVA Classification: What Makes Food 'Ultra-Processed'
The definitive guide to Carlos Monteiro's NOVA system that separates real food from ultra-processed formulations. Learn the 4 groups and why it matters.
12 min read
The Kevin Hall NIH Study: The Most Important UPF Research of the Decade
The groundbreaking 2019 NIH study that proved ultra-processed foods cause overeating independent of calories, macros, or nutrients. Here's what it means.
13 min read
How Ultra-Processed Food Is Engineered to Be Irresistible
Food scientists use bliss point research, flavor engineering, and vanishing caloric density to create hyperpalatable products that override your satiety signals.
13 min read
How to Stop Sugar Cravings Without White-Knuckling It Through
Science-backed strategies to beat sugar cravings using biology, not willpower. Learn why you crave sweets and how to stop the cycle for good.
15 min read
How to Actually Read a Food Label (The Real Skill, Not the Generic Version)
Skip the marketing tricks. Learn to decode ingredient lists, spot ultra-processed signatures, and see through serving size manipulation.
13 min read