Person baking cookies and sweets

Why We Crave Sweets During Winter and Why Our Produce Tastes Sweeter Too

During the winter months, we experience less daylight, cooler temperatures, more time spent indoors, and more sweets cravings. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) can be to blame for these sweet and sugary cravings. Along with these cravings, you might also notice that root vegetables taste sweeter in these colder months. All of these changes have one thing in common: winter. When craving these sweets, is it just as effective to reach for a sweeter variety of produce?

At Peddler’s Son, we have been delivering wholesale produce throughout Arizona for 30 years. With services for those in restaurants, education, healthcare, government, hospitality, and caterers, we have fresh products no matter your industry. Our delivery services are reliable and accurate, so you never have to wait on or worry about your ingredient needs. In the blog post below, you will find why these changes in cravings occur, why fruits and veggies taste sweeter in the winter, and what to do when these cravings hit.

Why Do We Crave Sweets During the Winter?

Seasonal affective disorder may be to blame if you find yourself reaching for the various pies, cookies, and sweets in the colder holiday months. With seasonal affective disorder in the winter, you may experience changes in melatonin levels, energy levels, and weight fluctuation. 

Research shows that foods with a higher carbohydrate content cause blood sugar levels to rise.  With increased carbohydrate intake, more insulin is produced in the bloodstream that can affect serotonin and melatonin levels, making them rise. The amino acid Tryptophan is responsible for this rise, as it is converted into serotonin, the hormone that makes us feel happy, from the bloodstream when it reaches the brain. When we eat a sweet holiday treat, we are taking in plenty of added sugar, plus milk is a natural source of tryptophan. Together, these properties lead to a good release of serotonin to relieve stress and make us feel happy. Maybe all those holiday sugar cookies explain how Santa stays so Jolly. 

Why Does Produce Taste Sweeter During the Winter?

Have you ever eaten carrots, beets, broccoli, brussels sprouts, or other vegetables that you thought tasted more sweet than usual? Chances are these items were grown around the winter and frost months and that is what makes them sweet. 

These ground-grown plants store starches during the summer months which they use to grow. In the winter months, these starches become sugar to keep the produce cells from freezing. Photosynthesis also slows down in cold weather, and both starches and sugars tend to accumulate for later use instead of fueling growth. This super sweet change doesn’t happen overnight, but as long as you pick your root vegetables sometime after the first frost of autumn, chances are high that they’ll taste a lot sweeter than if you picked them in the summer.

Reach For Produce During Winter Months

That all being said, our bodies crave sweetness in the winter when ground-grown produce tastes the sweetest. Sweet tasting produce will hit these cravings as much as a piece of pumpkin pie will, and will leave you feeling better afterwards as well. When shopping for sweet vegetables, carrots, kale, leafy greens, beets, broccoli, and brussels sprouts get the sweetest at this time and would be your best bet.

Peddler’s Son Knows Produce

Having been family-owned and operated since our opening in 1988, we know a few things about transparency, trust, and quality. Our fresh produce is dependable and just what you are looking for in your company’s wholesale produce needs. Contact us today to learn more about our services and how to get fresh wholesale items delivered to your company’s doorstep.

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