Ask the expert: help! I constantly crave carbs

I absolutely love sugary and starchy carbs and, in particular, I can’t resist bread, pasta, rice and cake. I know it’s bad to eat so much of them, but I just don’t know how to stop. Please help, I think I’m addicted!

We all know what it feels like to overindulge in ‘empty carbohydrates’ – we feel guilty and unhealthy afterwards. However, sometimes we just need to write it off as a bad day and move on.

If you have a fitness goal you’re trying to reach and you don’t want to ruin all the effort you’ve put in, there are small things you can do for damage control.

First of all, you need to curb this habit. Excessive intake of sugar stresses your body and increases its inflammatory response, making you feel bloated the next morning.

Sugar also tends to slow down the rate of your metabolism, which means it stays in your system longer than usual and could eventually cause diabetes, an inefficient metabolism and other lifestyle-related health problems. Too much sugar will lead to a spike of oestrogen in your bloodstream, which could lead to breast cancer in women and could cause infertility among men.

If you do indulge, you should take a dose of B complex. The B vitamins take some of the strain off your adrenal glands, which generally overreact to the sugar rush. The anti-inflammatory quercetin will also help to stop that bloated feeling (check with your doctor before taking it).

Also, try adding 2 tbsp of flaxseed powder to your next meal – the high-fibre content improves the body’s metabolic rate, ensuring you do not feel bloated the next morning.

Lastly, find some solid motivation or check for relevant deficiencies so you do not overdose on empty carbohydrates regularly.