Craving for Control
Part II: Diet tips in controlling carbohydrate cravings
By Ashleigh Katzenmoyer
1. Plan Meals in Advance. This enables you to not be pressured into eating something at work, home, or with friends that you know may affect your diet, not to mention blood sugar levels.
2. Cheat Dieting. If you get an uncontrollable urge to eat a carb, create a diet where you get one cheat meal every fifth or sixth day.
3. Backup Food Packing. Make sure to always pack a healthy snack in your purse or gym bag such as a serving of protein powder, organic raw almonds, walnuts, and/or a low-glucose bar.
4. Take In Enough B Vitamins. Individuals with low levels of B vitamins are more likely to have carbohydrate cravings, particularly women who have symptoms of PMS.
5. Avoid Artificial Sweeteners Sensibly. Artificial sweeteners are chemicals which still have the ability to affect your blood sugar level. Sweeteners such as Aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal), Saccharin (Sweet'N Low, SugarTwin), Acesulfame K (Sunett, Sweet One), and Sucralose (Splenda) provide no beneficial nutrients and can make you still crave more.
6. Limit Your Intake of Sugar Alcohols. Sugar alcohols are neither sugars nor alcohol. Sorbitol, Mannitol, Xylitol, Erythritol, Isomalt, Lactitol, Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates (HSH), and Maltitol are all considered sugar alcohols and nutritive sweeteners because they still provide calories when consumed, just a lower ratio to actual sugar (2 k/cal grams vs. 4 k/cal grams). True sugar alcohols, in their natural form, which are recommended for nutritional intake include fruits and vegetables.
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