In this article, we will look at natural ways to curb food cravings. In our first page, we looked at an understanding of food cravings and then we recommended that you take time to get you to sign up to get a Free Diet and Fitness Coach and then read about serotonin. Reading about serotonin is vital if you are interested in controlling your food cravings using natural ways.
We mentioned that some researchers claim that food cravings are the body’s way of “demanding” nutrients it lacks. Of course, some cravings can be based on other various physiological needs. On Serotonin we mentioned that If you increase serotonin availability or activity you will tend to reduce food consumption and if you decrease serotonin system activity you will tend to increase food consumption.
So, now that you know about the causes of food cravings, let us look at natural ways to stop food cravings. For starters eating healthy foods and exercise can curb cravings almost instantly. This is because your metabolism will be restored to normal when your body gets the right nutrition.
One thing is for sure, by trying to stop eating some foods, people tend to want it more and if they get their hands on it they eat more and beyond. Below are a few tips about how to curb food cravings.
1. If you find that overeating has become your way of life and feel like you’d die before you stop, then you have a disorder and getting professional help might be a very good idea.
2. Some medication may be causing your cravings, check-in with your doctor to see if he/she can prescribe something else.
3. Watch your emotional triggers that provoke your cravings. Ask yourself why you crave a particular thing, could it be because you feel depressed, stressed, tired? Once you identify the cause find something good to do.
4. Improve your mood through exercise. This will stimulate your feel-good hormones like endorphins.
5. Drink a glass of water: you might be dehydrated and not hungry
6. Sugar cravings are the strongest when you are hungry so do it but eat well. Chances are after a good meal the craving for some sweets will disappear.
7. Find other replacements for what you eat e.g. sugarless chocolates.
8. If you crave chocolate try eating some raw nuts and seeds, fruits can work also help curb cravings.
9. If you crave anything else that is sweet try some broccoli, grapes, chicken, liver, fruits, eggs, or some fish. General vegetables can be be used to curb food cravings.
10. You need to eat food that does not release carbohydrates quickly so you can retain the serotonin released through these foods longer in your body.
11. Cook real food! avoid processed food that provides little nutrition and extra ingredients your diet doesn’t need. Eating healthy food often involves preparing fresh food at home.
12. Try to eat in smaller portions: Since it has been illustrated that carbohydrates that are absorbed gradually into the body are preferred. This then means you can eat smaller portions of food across the day so that you keep your sugar levels steady.
13. consider taking vitamins, more specifically b-vitamin complex (B vitamins). These are essential for the metabolism of carbohydrates into the simple sugar glucose. If you want to keep it all-natural, the B-complex vitamins can be found in liver, nuts, leafy green vegetables, rice, milk, eggs, meats, fish and whole-grain cereals fruits. There are more other foods but these should be enough to get you going.
14. Drink green tea: it can help reduce food cravings. Green tea is made from unfermented leaves and is said to have the highest concentration of powerful antioxidants called polyphenols. It is at least 100 more times more effective than vitamin C.
15. Avoid artificial sweeteners: These can exacerbate an array of cravings, and many diet foods are filled with them. Look for natural or organic processed foods if you must have them
Also Read: Natural Treatment for Depression
