Most of us have food cravings at one time or another; cravings can be detrimental to those of us trying to lose weight if the food consumed is high in calories.
If you are a gum chewer, keep on chewing! If you do not chew gum, are trying to lose weight and have food cravings, then sugar-free gum may be the thing for you.
A study from the Women's Health Eating Behavior Program at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana, headed by physiological psychologist Paula Geiselman, has confirmed previous findings that chewing gum before snacking can quell cravings, decrease hunger and decrease calorie intake.
Geiselman's study confirmed a 2007 study by Marion M. Hetherington of Glasgow Caledonian University and author of "Chewing It Over: Exploring the Science Behind Satiety and Food Cravings". Geiselman's study was supported by the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co of yes, Wrigley chewing gum.
The study involved 115 participants who picked their favorite flavor of Wrigley's sugar-free gum. All participants were regular gum chewers (one who chews one or more pieces of gum a week) and between the ages of 18-54 years of age. Researchers divided the participants into 2 groups: gum chewers and non gum chewers (control group). The gum chewers were asked to chew gum for 15 minutes hourly at one, two and three hours after eating lunch and before being offered a snack along with the non-gum chewers.
Before eating the snack, researchers asked the participants questions to determine their hunger level and energy level. After measuring calorie intakes from the snack consumed and taking into consideration hunger and energy levels, they concluded that the gum chewers consumed fewer than half the snack calories compared to the non-gum chewers. Gum chewers also consumed far less sugary snacks, than non-gum chewers. Finally, gum chewers were less hungry after lunch and had fewer food cravings, in particular, sweets.
If you are trying to lose weight and having problems with food cravings, particularly sweets, try popping a piece of sugar-free gum in your mouth. Once most people have a minty taste in their mouth, the craving for chocolate or a cookie seem to diminish a bit. Other times, people just want a different taste in their mouth and have a habit of eating of something sweet after a meal; sugar-free gum now comes in so many flavors your mouth will never get bored.
Another way to diminish cravings is to keep hunger at bay by increasing your fiber intakes. Check out this link: http://www.examiner.com/x-27584-Boise-Nutrition-Examiner~y2009m10d26-Are-you-eating-enough-fiber
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