Menopause and Sugar Cravings: What Every Woman Needs to Know
- Evgeniya Zhukovskaya
- 6 days ago
- 9 min read
Sugar cravings hit countless women during menopause and create real challenges during this natural life transition.
Research shows that 40% of women in midlife are classified as overweight or obese 27. Women also developed disordered eating behaviours more frequently during menopausal stages 28. The issue goes beyond simple willpower - these cravings have real biological and psychological roots.
Menopausal transition makes women vulnerable to changes in their eating patterns 28, especially when they have intense sugar cravings and emotional eating habits. Dropping oestrogen levels affect serotonin production, which changes appetite and eating patterns.
Women experience increased anxiety, mood swings and depression during this transition 13. Food often becomes an emotional support system. The mechanisms behind menopause food cravings start with physical imbalances. Hormone changes, stress-induced adrenal imbalances, and missing nutrients can trigger specific cravings 29.
What causes sugar cravings during menopause?
The biological mechanisms that drive menopause-related sugar cravings are complex and layered. These powerful urges go beyond simple dessert cravings and have deep physiological roots connected to dramatic hormone changes at this time in life.
Hormonal shifts and their effect on appetite
The body goes through major hormone fluctuations during perimenopause and menopause. These changes directly affect glucose processing and appetite regulation.
Your body's insulin sensitivity decreases with falling oestrogen levels, which makes glucose processing less efficient. Blood sugar levels rise and might lead to insulin resistance.
The body experiences spikes and crashes from dysregulated blood sugar that create intense cravings for sugary or carbohydrate-rich foods as quick energy fixes.
The hormonal changes during menopause also affect several appetite-regulating hormones:
Leptin: This 'satiety hormone' suppresses hunger. Research links older age with lower leptin levels, which might make women feel hungrier more often.
Ghrelin: The 'hunger hormone' levels may increase during perimenopause. This stimulates appetite and might contribute to hot flashes 23.
Cortisol: Research shows cortisol (the stress hormone) levels rise in perimenopause. This consistently triggers cravings for fatty, salty and sugary foods.
The role of oestrogen and serotonin
Oestrogen is a vital part of metabolism and mood regulation. The decline in oestrogen levels during menopause creates several changes that affect cravings directly.
Oestrogen helps regulate insulin sensitivity.
Falling levels make your body less responsive to insulin, which triggers sugar cravings and increases desire for sugary foods. This creates a cycle where eating sugary foods causes sharp blood glucose spikes and dips. You end up feeling tired, which leads to more cravings 12.
Oestrogen also affects serotonin production - the neurotransmitter that regulates mood and wellbeing. Serotonin decreases with lower oestrogen levels, and your body tries to compensate by craving simple carbohydrates 15.
Magnesium deficiency becomes more common during menopause. Low magnesium can trigger sugar cravings while affecting your mood, relaxation and sleep quality 24.
Why cravings persist postmenopause
Many women discover that cravings do not vanish after hormone fluctuations stabilise postmenopause. About 60-70% of menopausal women gain weight, typically 1 to 1.5 pounds yearly during this transition 30.
The patterns of insulin resistance often continue after menopause. Women face ongoing challenges with blood sugar regulation even without oestrogen and progesterone fluctuations 15.
Your body struggles to maintain balanced blood sugar levels, causing fatigue, irritability, brain fog, and sleep problems - symptoms that worsen with sugar consumption.
The brain's reward pathways that release dopamine and serotonin from sugar consumption become deeply ingrained. Sugar creates a rush of good feelings through dopamine and serotonin release, forming habits that prove hard to break 32.
The emotional side of menopause cravings
The emotional side of menopause plays a vital role in sugar cravings, beyond just the physical changes. Women going through perimenopause face emotional changes that affect their eating patterns.
Stress and emotional eating
Life throws new challenges at women during menopausal transition. They might be taking care of ageing parents, dealing with work pressure, or watching their children leave home. These life events combined with hormone changes create ideal conditions for emotional eating.
The body releases cortisol during times of ongoing stress. This hormone makes people hungrier and creates cravings for sugary, fatty, and salty foods.
Stress eating is NOT about lack of will power.
The brain naturally seeks comfort through food when feeling overwhelmed 9.
How mood swings influence food choices
Dropping oestrogen levels affect both physical and mental health during menopause.
Women often experience:
Irritability and feelings of sadness (most common emotional symptoms)
Anxiety and stress 35
Problems with concentration and memory
Fatigue and tension 34
These emotional changes naturally shape food choices. Women reach for comfort foods loaded with sugar, fat, or salt during mood swings. The risk of depression, irritability, and emotional swings increases as oestrogen levels change.
Poor sleep makes everything harder. Research shows that women who don't sleep well feel hungrier and eat more the next day 9. This creates a cycle where emotional eating leads to guilt, negative emotions, and more comfort eating 3.
The dopamine and comfort food connection
The relief from comfort foods is real. Food boosts dopamine levels - our feel-good hormone 13. Foods high in fat and sugar light up the brain's reward system and temporarily reduce stress and negative feelings 8.
The brain gets a dopamine boost when satisfying a craving.
Carbohydrates increase serotonin - the pleasure and happiness neurotransmitter. Midlife women aren't being indulgent; their bodies naturally seek foods that boost mood-regulating chemicals that drop with oestrogen.
However, this comfort does not last long.
The dopamine boost fades quickly and often leaves guilt behind.
Blood sugar spikes and crashes can make mood swings worse, leading to more cravings 3. Many women say they feel out of control with food, even though they managed their eating well before menopause 13. Understanding these emotional connections helps develop better ways to handle menopause cravings without harsh self-judgement or strict diets.
Common menopause food cravings and what they mean
Craving sugar and carbs
Biscuits, bread, and sweet treats top the list of menopause food cravings. As mentioned previously, menopausal women experience blood glucose fluctuations, which can trigger these intense urges. The body becomes less responsive to insulin during menopause transition, and many women develop insulin resistance. This makes their carb cravings even stronger.
Fatigue hits hard during menopause, so your body looks for quick energy fixes. This drives cravings for simple carbs and sugar that give an instant boost. In spite of that, it creates a tough cycle - these foods cause quick energy spikes and crashes, which gets more and thus encourages more sugar cravings.
Salt and savoury cravings
The sudden urge for crisps, chips, and salty snacks often points to adrenal stress. Regular cravings for salty foods might mean you should check with your healthcare provider.
Stress levels increase during perimenopause, and your body may need more sodium, magnesium and potassium.
Hot flushes and excessive sweating can make you lose salt, which might make these cravings worse.
Chocolate and emotional comfort
Studies show women in their 50s often develop strong chocolate cravings as soon as menopause starts. Chocolate contains magnesium - a mineral many menopausal women lack. It also boosts endorphins and serotonin, which creates a calming, euphoric effect that helps with menopausal symptoms. The smooth texture and rich flavour offer comfort during this challenging time.
What your body might be asking for
Your body uses food cravings to signal specific nutrient needs:
Chocolate cravings: Could mean low magnesium
Salt cravings: Might point to adrenal issues or mineral imbalance
Carbohydrate cravings: Often linked to low serotonin or blood sugar issues
Dairy cravings: Could suggest calcium deficiency
Cutting carbs too much might not help you manage your weight.
Your brain sees sugary foods as survival fuel when you don't eat enough. The answer isn't to cut everything out but to fix the underlying issues while choosing foods that give lasting energy.
How sugar cravings affect menopause symptoms
Blood sugar spikes and crashes
Women's bodies become less responsive to insulin during perimenopause, which makes blood sugar control harder. Their hormones go through a transformation - falling oestrogen levels make cells more insulin resistant. This forces the body to work harder to control glucose levels 17.
Sugar cravings make everything worse. Foods high in refined sugar cause sharp rises in blood glucose, followed by a steep decline . Nutritionists call this the "blood sugar rollercoaster" - each drop makes you crave more sugar as your body looks for quick energy 6.
Worsening hot flushes and night sweats
Research shows blood sugar levels and hot flushes affect each other. Low blood sugars can set off hot flushes. People with worse hot flushes face higher risk of diabetes, which shows a connection between high blood sugar and worse symptoms.
Eating a lot of sugar and refined carbs can:
Make hot flushes and night sweats more frequent and intense
Mess up sleep patterns and make night sweats worse
Trigger changes in the autonomic nervous system that lead to flushing 2
A key study found that all but one of the postmenopausal women with metabolic syndrome had more hot flushes and sweating 2. High blood sugar levels also linked to worse physical and psychological menopausal symptoms.
Impact on mood and brain fog
"Brain fog" stands out as a common yet less discussed symptom 4. Blood sugar swings through the day can make several cognitive symptoms worse, like mood swings, anxiety, and poor concentration.
Sugar might lift your mood briefly, but it leaves you more tired, moody, and foggy than before.
Poor sleep from hot flushes and night sweats adds to these problems. Bad sleep combined with unstable blood sugar creates the perfect storm for worse brain fog.
The emotional rollercoaster of menopause feels overwhelming with these extra cognitive challenges.
8 ways to stop sugar cravings during menopause
1. Balance your meals with protein and fibre
Your body needs a balanced diet with enough protein to keep muscle mass during menopause when it naturally drops. You should get 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight - an 82-gram daily target for a 150-pound woman.
Adding protein to every meal helps to keep blood sugar steady and reduce cravings. Fibre works the same way by slowing down sugar absorption in your bloodstream, which gives you steady energy 21. Getting 25-30g of fibre daily from a variety of sources like fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes helps you handle cravings better.
2. Improve sleep quality
Bad sleep substantially increases hunger hormones, which might make you eat up to 385 more calories daily. A good 7-9 hours of sleep helps control your appetite hormones and manage cravings. Natural light exposure throughout your day helps balance cortisol levels and boosts melatonin production for better sleep.
3. Manage stress with breathing techniques
Long-term stress raises cortisol and triggers strong cravings for sugary and salty foods 23. Simple deep breathing works well: breathe through your nose for one second, then slowly increase to four seconds for both breathing in and out. Yoga, meditation, and tai chi also help reduce stress effectively 5.
4. Track your cravings and triggers
A food diary helps you spot craving patterns. After about four weeks, you'll see specific triggers - stress might lead to chocolate cravings, while poor sleep could make you crave bread. Look at what you discover with curiosity instead of judgement.
5. Stay hydrated throughout the day
Many women mistake thirst for hunger during menopause. Try drinking 1.5-2 litres of water daily 10. Less alcohol and caffeine will keep you more hydrated.
6. Move your body regularly
Physical activity reduces cravings and makes insulin work better. Mix both aerobic exercise and strength training 21. Even a simple walk helps to control blood sugar levels and may reduce sweet and carb cravings.
7. Practise urge surfing and mindfulness
Instead of fighting cravings, try "urge surfing" - ride the wave of cravings as they rise, peak, and fade away 25. Picture yourself standing in the ocean as waves come; rather than fighting them, grab a surfboard and ride them to shore 15. This mindful approach breaks the automatic reaction between feeling a craving and acting on it.
8. Don't restrict – nourish instead
Strict diets usually backfire during menopause. Focus on nourishment with regular, satisfying meals. High-quality protein shakes help when your appetite drops 24. Your cravings often signal that your body needs support - maybe rest, comfort, or connection rather than food.
If cravings persist, consider booking a free 30 min call with one of our nutrition specialists to create your personalised nutrition and lifestyle plan.
Key Takeaways
Understanding the biological roots of menopause sugar cravings empowers women to manage them effectively without self-blame or restrictive approaches.
Declining oestrogen reduces insulin sensitivity and serotonin production, creating biological sugar urges during menopause.
Sugar consumption worsens menopausal symptoms by triggering blood sugar spikes that intensify hot flushes and brain fog.
Balance meals with protein and fibre to stabilise blood sugar and prevent the craving-crash cycle.
Practise "urge surfing" mindfulness techniques rather than fighting cravings to break automatic eating patterns.
Track cravings for four weeks to identify specific triggers like stress, poor sleep, or emotional states.
These cravings often signal deeper needs beyond hunger - whether for specific nutrients, emotional support, or better self-care. Approaching them with curiosity rather than judgement creates space for sustainable management strategies that support overall wellbeing during this natural life transition.
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