Sugar Addiction Archives

Supplement for sugar cravings?

Follow Ups:

• Re: Supplement for sugar cravings? Sarah 00:14:34 11/03/99 (1)
  • Re: Supplement for sugar cravings? (There is a best one.) ARCHIVE under diet. Walt Stoll 08:39:42 11/04/99 (0)
• Re: Supplement for sugar cravings? Johnelle 16:57:15 6/06/99 (0)
• Re: Supplement for sugar cravings? Walt Stoll 13:42:35 6/06/99 (0)
• Re: Supplement for sugar cravings? Deb 19:06:22 6/05/99 (1)
  • Re: Supplement for sugar cravings? Robert McFerran 22:39:11 6/05/99 (0)

In Reply to: Supplement for sugar cravings? posted by Johnelle on June 05, 1999 at 17:17:49:

Hi Johnelle,

Chromium helps stabilise blood sugar levels. Picolinate is a recommended form of it. Is that what you are thinking of?

I have also heard about a herb called Nopal which is supposed to do the same thing.

But there might be some reason you are having this problem, other than a chromium deficiency. Is it a real craving you are getting, or just a mouth-yearning from the old sweet toothed days? Sometimes I get a real stab of wanting chocolate, but luckily it passes in a few minutes (so far).

If it is a real craving, I wonder if somehow either :
- An allergy slipped through the testing
- A non-whole food has slipped in without you realising
- You haven't quite got your protein/carb/fat balance 100% right for you
Also, is there any kind of cyclical tie-in? Have you discussed this with Bob at all?

If it is mouth yearning, there are a couple of options.
- Stevia, which you've probably tried already. I don't like it much myself, but Ian has been using it
- Vegetable glycerine. I have heard differing opinions on this. One person said it was good for stabilising blood sugar. Another said it was highly refined so a no-no. But Beth's book says it's allowed on the whole food diet, so we are going to try it out next week. I have tried it before when I was on the O diet, and it seemed to work.
- FOS is a bit of a dubious one. It's not mentioned in Beth's book, but it supposed to help candida. I wonder if there are different types of it, tho, as we seem to be having problems with it. Ian tested Ok on it, but something that we thought was OK is giving him problems and that seems the most likely.

My "Halvah" recipe :
(Credit to Ed Reich from the ER4YT site for this recipe which I have tweaked somewhat)
- 4 oz ground flaxseed (I grind it in a coffee mill just before I use it)
- 4 oz ground nuts (for HG's choose from almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts)
- sweetener of your choice (6 Tbs of the kind of FOS we've got, a smidgeon of stevia, 1-2 Tbs vegetable glycerin)
- 1/3 to 1/2 jar of tahini - enough to bind it all together
- a little water to make it a little moister if necessary (like when you haven't got enough tahini)
Optional extras - can add a handful of seeds

Mix dry ingredients in a food processor. Add tahini. If using glycerine, add that after the tahini. If water needed, add that last. If using liquid stevia, you'll probably need to mix it with a little water to make sure it mixes through evenly.

Press into a plastic container and store in the fridge.

Comments about sweeteners - you'll need to experiment to get the right amount for your tastes. When I first started making this, I used the glycerine. When I changed over to FOS, I found I ate a lot more of it, which is a danger sign in itself.

I used this as a chocolate replacement to get off that before the e-diet. It's a useful snack on the run. It adds a fat component to a meal. And can satisfy the sweet tooth sometimes.

Good luck, Deb.

Follow Ups:

• Re: Supplement for sugar cravings? Robert McFerran 22:39:11 6/05/99 (0)

In Reply to: Re: Supplement for sugar cravings? posted by Deb on June 05, 1999 at 19:06:22:

Deb,

Thanks for that insightful reply. You are right on target with your answers.

The usual culprits for sugar cravings are to much carbohydrate and not enough purine and fat in the Hunter-gatherer diet. This causes blood sugars to become unstable (they start to plummet). Johnelle, you can buy a blood sugar monitor and you'd see that the sugar cravings coincide with a rapid rate of decline in your blood sugars.

The second culprit is eating a non-whole food (which means that it isn't a food).

Bob

In Reply to: Supplement for sugar cravings? posted by Johnelle on June 05, 1999 at 17:17:49:

Hi, Johnelle.

Listen to Deb & Robert. The antidote I know of is called A F & Betafood. It is a supplement from Standard Process Company. Two tablets, chewed carefully & swallowed, normally deletes craving for a few hours. If you have been perfect with your refined carbohydrate elimination diet for a couple of months, you should not BE having cravings at all. If you slipped only the tiniest bit, you will keep them.

Walt

In Reply to: Supplement for sugar cravings? posted by Johnelle on June 05, 1999 at 17:17:49:

Thank you all for taking the time to post. Deb, you had some great information for me, and I appreciate you passing it on.

I don't think I am actually craving SUGAR, but now that I know I don't have candida and have resumed eating sweets I don't just want 1/4 apple or such, which is what was recommended as I started back onto fruit -- I want the whole thing, with lots of nut butter. I really missed those fruits for the two months I was on the anti-candida diet, and being H-G, it is tough to keep from overeating them now that I've dropped my guard.

We have wonderful produce this time of year in Texas. Just this week friends gave me organic plums and apricots, onions and new potatoes, squash. I want to eat one of those apricots or plums every time I walk through my kitchen. I want it so bad I don't even care if it causes me to crash later. (Sometimes I do crash; then I'm inspired to back off!)

I will get the blood sugar monitor; thanks, Bob!

Johnelle

In Reply to: Supplement for sugar cravings? posted by Johnelle on June 05, 1999 at 17:17:49:

Hi Johnelle,
I have done a little research in this area, and Vitamin B, if taken daily does wonders. It reduces sugar cravings and also helps our systems battle stress. If we can beat sugar cravings and stress, why we would have a perfect world! If you talk to an herbalist, they should be able to tell you a good vitamin B supplement with the right mg's for you. Hope this helps. I too have an awful sweet tooth, and have found that my vitamin B takes the edge off. Good luck.

Follow Ups:

• Re: Supplement for sugar cravings? (There is a best one.) ARCHIVE under diet. Walt Stoll 08:39:42 11/04/99 (0)

In Reply to: Re: Supplement for sugar cravings? posted by Sarah on November 03, 1999 at 00:14:34:

Thanks, Sarah.

You are absolutely right since the vitamin B's are intimately involved with the Krebs' Cycle. I tried to explain how that works in the article on the homepage about sugar vs refined carbohydrates.

However, vitamin B's make up only about 1/5th of the number of elements and catalysts that make up the Krebs' Cycle.

The only product I have yet seen that supplies 100%, of what we know about those essential substances, is a product by Standard Process called "A-F & Betafood". If you really want to see the sugar cravings reduced, give THAT product a try. The only problem with it is that it tastes bad and it works best by thoroughly chewing the tablets before swallowing them. Try chewing 2 tablets and let us know what you experience.

Perhaps I should put this information in this article. I have not, since I would not recommend just using this product and not actually dealing with the addictive trigger by eliminating it long enough for the bodymind to get over it.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to talk about this.

Namaste`

Walt