You’ve heard that your body craves salt and sugar because you need it.
That’s not strictly true. You do need some of those to regulate blood flow and the absorption of water into the system. But unless you’ve been ill enough to visit the bathroom hourly, you probably don’t need as much salt and sugar as you would like to believe. But, that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with the cravings. Few things do.
But, we know just the thing… and, we think you’re going to like it.
There IS a reason that your brain thinks you need salt and sugar. It’s because you want it sooo badly. And, there’s likely to be a reason for that too. Your body just doesn’t think you’ve had enough food to cope until there are some fat and sugar in the mix. And, the more of these delectable deviants that you have, the higher your tolerance. You need more before you feel satiated. That’s a slippery slope if there ever was one.
And, that’s precisely why it’s so hard to cut back on the foods that are keeping you fat (or, at the very least, don’t provide you with the nutrients your body needs).
If you’re looking for relief, you may just need to heat up the fire in your belly… with super hot sauces. In addition to the rush you feel after eating chili peppers and hot sauces, capsaicin performs all sorts of miracles in your body.
One of those miracles (actually it is science) is the heightened production of your body’s natural appetite-suppressing hormones. This alone might be enough for you to slow your roll on your sugar intake for a while. After all, you don’t normally experience cravings when you’re not hungry. Of course, we would suggest NOT walking through the food court at the mall or going anywhere near a Cinnabon. We also don’t think it’s a good idea to have an open bag of cookies in front of you – especially when you want to cut your intake of sugar and fats.
Capsaicin does more than simply up your levels of appetite-suppressing hormones; it also fools your brain into believing that you’re fuller faster. That’s different than not feeling hungry. When you eat chili peppers or super hot sauce, the capsaicin triggers the same neuronal sensors that fat does. And, this exactly what tells you when you’ve had enough to eat before you begin to digest your food. Essentially, capsaicin tells you that you’re full even if you’ve had half the portion size that you usually eat.
It doesn’t take a major leap to see how you can cut your craving for sugar by eating a food rarely considered sweet (though some hot peppers are ridiculously sweet underneath their vicious, viperous bite. And, it’s just one more reason to douse your food with the hottest Mad Dog hot sauce you can stand. Then again, we just haven’t found a compelling reason NOT to indulge.