Research: This is the effect of eating less sugar on your body and cravings

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Everyone craves something sweet now and then, and that doesn’t always have to be bad. However, it is better for your health to eat less sugar. But how do you make sure you crave sugar less? According to researchers, it’s not that simple.

Candy, cookies and other sweets activate the reward system in the brain, causing the body to produce dopamine: a substance that makes you feel good. It is precisely this effect that makes sugar addictive; you want to experience that good feeling again. But does eating less sugar really help to break this pattern?

Have you been eating less sugar for months, but still crave it? NTR Wetenschap investigated why that craving persists, based on research from Wageningen University. The surprising answer: it's probably not your fault. Researchers examined the often-heard claim from all kinds of health experts that you automatically crave sugar less if you eat it less often. This advice is often given by health organizations that want to combat obesity, but is it actually true?

For the study, participants were given meals that were very, moderately or less sweet for six months. But the change in taste that health organizations promise when cutting down on sugar, was almost non-existent. Not even in the participants who did eat little sugar for six months. So it turns out that you have very little influence on your own taste.

But what can you do about it? According to the researchers, the responsibility does not lie with the consumer, but with the food industry. Products should contain less sugar, without sacrificing taste, says the University .

Wageningen University has been working on this advice to the food industry for a long time. Researchers discovered that it helps to reduce the amount of sugar in everyday products. But using less sugar is not that easy: it quickly affects the taste, texture and shelf life of products. Nevertheless, it is increasingly possible to find that balance. For example, the university worked with Peijnenburg on a new variant of their gingerbread.

Using a clever mix of sugar substitutes , researchers were able to develop a version that retains the same taste and structure, but still contains 20 percent fewer calories. According to Joost Blankestijn, program manager at Wageningen University, it is important that consumers gradually get used to less sugar. "Taste is habituation," he explains. "If manufacturers take small steps together, the consumer will follow."