Sugar is extremely addictive, and the more of it you eat, the more you crave, and this is a scientifically proven fact. If you or your mind constantly are on the hunt for something sugary throughout the day, your body and brain are probably victim of this vicious sweet cycle. So, less sugar you eat, the less you’ll crave it.
What does sugar intake do to your body?
A diet high in sugar and refined carbohydrates can surely keep on piling extra weight and thus hampering your weight loss goals. Try to cut out the sugar and even most of the refined grains for a couple of weeks and see if it makes a difference. Sugar can also create havoc in the gut, which hinders weight loss too.
Sugar also suppresses the immune system, thus it impairs your body of its ability to keep off stress and chronic illness.
Sugar is considered to be one of the biggest contributors to mood disorders like depression and anxiety. That’s the reason it is called “sugar blues. High sugar intake can put you on a rollercoaster of emotions that can be hard to get off of till you are committed to give up the sweet stuff. Brain fogginess and stress may be experienced in addition to depression and anxiety. The best part is that you feel your mood lighten when you begin to stay away from sugar.
Here are listed few herbs and spices which help you to curb your sweet tooth…
Fenugreek (Methi)
Methi seeds are acknowledged in lowering blood glucose levels since ages, though very commonly used, fenugreek is one that anyone with a sweet tooth should be aware of. With its pleasant aroma of burnt sugar and delicious maple taste, fenugreek is the perfect way to please a sugar tooth.
Cinnamon (Dalchini)
Cinnamon is a highly popular spice universally, that can help stop a sugar craving. This amazing spice already has a slightly sweet taste that can satisfy a sugar craving, it also has other very important health benefits. This is very interesting to know for those who crave sugar, is cinnamon’s ability to reduce the glycemic level of the foods that it is eaten with. This can be cheering news for diabetics.
Nutmeg(Jaiphal)
Nutmeg when paired with pumpkin pie, not only produces the divine taste but renders lots of great benefits. No doubt, it has ability to help bring back comforting memories, nutmeg also helps naturally boost the serotonin levels in the body, which helps in elevating mood, reduce stress and also helps to keep carb cravings in check.
Cardamom (Ilaichi)
Very light and slightly sweet, cardamom is a popular herb, has a vanilla-lemon aroma that makes it truly unique. If during an attack of sugar craving, one can chew cardamom to keep away from sugar. It is a highly adaptive and versatile herb and can be added to yogurts, smoothies, puddings and oatmeal.
Ginger (Adrak)
Ginger has a strong taste that is not at all sweet, still it helps to curb a sweet tooth. It is spicy and perfect to pair with other spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom, making it the perfect spice to blend with. Using ginger not only helps curb sugar cravings but can also help soothe the stomach.
Turmeric (Haldi)
Turmeric is an all-round wonder spice, also used for its numerous health benefits. Turmeric is also used as an ingredient in diabetes formulations to clear toxins, and excess fat tissues and also helps in curbing the sugar craving.
Black Pepper (Kali Mirch)
Black pepper stimulates digestion, circulation and respiration. It contains chromium, a component of glucose tolerance factor, black pepper is a useful part of many diabetes treatments, normalizing fat tissue and preventing toxins from overflowing into the pancreas and curbs the sugar craving .
Holy Basil (Tulsi)
Tulsi is lavishly used not only for religious importance but also for its numerous health benefits. It has a soothing effect on the body and mind, enhancing mental clarity and stability. It acts on fat metabolism so can help to reduce weight, as well as blood sugar levels and total cholesterol and curbs the sugar cravings.
Gear up and include these wonderful things in your life and spice up your life with ‘No Sugar Craving.’
In this World Hand Hygiene Week Special Live Life More Health Show…Health Presenter Dietitian Pallavi Jassal discusses with Dr. Anita Sharma, Consultant Microbiologist from Fortis Hospital, Mohali. Effective Hand Hygiene is the single most important strategy in preventing health care associated infections. Learn More & Live Life More…
Can You Eat Mangoes & Still Lose Weight…
As you know, excess of anything is bad , it holds true when it comes to enjoying the ‘King of Fruits- Our very own MANGO’, specially when it comes to weight watchers and diabetics.
Mangoes universally are eaten in many forms; ripen as dessert in different forms and unripe mango is consumed in the form of chutneys, pickles or as a flavoring agent. Though mangoes are enriched with phytochemicals and a high dose of nutrients but actually its sweet and addictive taste tempts us to over eat mangoes that has some side effect too.
One serving,100 gm fresh mango provides:
Calories = 150-200
Total fat = 0.27 grams
Sodium = 2mg
Potassium = 156 mg
Total carbohydrate = 17 grams
Dietary fiber = 1.80 gram
Protein = 0.5 grams
Calcium = 10 mg
Magnesium = 9 mg
Vitamin A = 765 IU
Vitamin C = 27.7 mg
Vitamin E = 1.12 mg
Conventional dietary advice for weight watchers and diabetics puts mangoes in the red list, and this of course has many reasons. The high sugar content of mangoes has a significant impact on body weight, blood sugar and health.
It’s true that ripe mangoes are high in carbohydrates, sugars and have a high glycemic index. Being one of the most popular fruits worldwide, it provides approximately 80 -100 calories per 100 g (a medium-sized ripe mango would carry about 150-200 calories.
And I know, most of you are inquisitive to know whether you can have mangoes fearlessly if you want to lose weight…..!!!!
Unfortunately, my answer, being a dietician is ‘No’…Sorry but this is true due to high sugar content, mangoes are high in calories and can cause weight gain.
Please don’t lose heart, you can certainly enjoy this addictive fruit but as a part of the calories you need each day, you will not gain weight. But if you eat all your meals and additionally stuff mangoes, then you will gain weight, as one medium sized mango will give you roughly additional 150-200 calories.
The important thing is that you need to be within your calorie limit.
– If you eat more calories than your daily calorie needs, you will gain weight.
– If you don’t go beyond your daily calorie limit, then you will not gain weight.
– If you are replacing some of the sinful foods during you sugar cravings, you eat with mangoes, it may help you lose weight.
Though mangoes are high in natural sugars, they are laden with calories but they are not bad in nature. We are talking about the excessive eating of mango that often results in weight gain, not if used as a replacement. Being rich source of sugar (fructose), it is considered bad for people on weight loss. So, if you are keen to drop your weight, avoid over eating of mangoes.
You must know this, if you are a diabetic or even a pre-diabetic that ripe mangoes are a rich source of sugar so they usually become the reason of steep rise in blood sugar level. All those suffering from diabetes are advised not to eat ripe mangoes.
Take home message for all the mango lovers and especially for those who are trying to trim down the waistline and diabetics
Mangoes are brilliant source of vitamin C, vitamin A, folate, vitamin B-6 and vitamin K and potassium, copper, calcium and iron. Few healthy ways to eat mangoes include using them in moderation in your milkshakes or smoothies, tossing them into a green salad, grilling them on the barbeque for an amazing dessert or include in the main course such as mango curries.
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