Let’s talk about a permanent solution to cravings. This will include some simple yet profound lifestyle modifications and a revolutionary herb, literally named the “sugar destroyer,” that blocks the taste and absorption of sweets, suppresses cravings and boosts insulin production.

WHAT IS A CRAVING?

A craving isn\’t a bad thing. It is your body telling you that you are out of fuel. The minute you find yourself reaching for some dark chocolate, a cup of coffee, a chip or a diet soda, the body is already in an emergency response. The blood sugar has already crashed and the body is producing toxic stress fighting hormones that are now known to be the leading cause of aging, disease, cancer and premature death.

So yes, eat that piece of dark chocolate and enjoy it because the real damage has already been done. We mistakenly blame the chocolate, but it is not what we crave that is the problem. After you have thoroughly enjoyed that scrumptious piece of chocolate, now ask the $25,000 questions, “Why did I crave it in the first place?” and \”How do I stop them?\”

DON’T LET THE BODY PANIC

A craving is an emergency panic button demanding quick energy because the blood sugar is falling. In this stressed chemistry the body is told to store fat and crave sugar – or any other quick injection of energy it can find.

Of course this leads to a host of problems, such as – most importantly – weight gain and obesity, which are the number one risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Lack of exercise is second, which I covered in my last video-newsletter Be Fit, Thin and Calm in 12 Minutes a Day.

BECOME A BETTER FAT BURNER

When under stress the body will first utilize fast burning sugar and carbs while saving and storing as much fat as it can. Why? Because fat burns slowly. So if there is no food, the fat will provide lasting energy and postpone starvation. When we let our blood sugar crash our body prepares to survive a possible famine.

Fat metabolism should deliver about half the daily fuel supply and energy needs. The other half is from carbohydrates and a very small amount from protein. Here lies the problem: Americans have become really bad fat burners and really good sugar burners!

WHY ARE WE BAD FAT BURNERS?

We have been told to eat six small meals a day to keep the blood sugar stable and the waistline trim. Conventional suggestions are to eat breakfast, then a snack, lunch, then a snack, supper, then a snack and then go to bed. When the body is fed so often throughout the day, why would it ever burn it\’s fat stores when a steady supply of newly digested snack food is readily available?

The body becomes conditioned to fuel up every 2-3 hours. Slowly the blood sugar\’s ability to stay stable and last for many hours is replaced by the need to eat a snack every 2-3 hours. If a snack is missed, the blood sugar crashes, the cravings go wild, and the mood and energy plummet. Within weeks of letting the blood sugar crash, what was initially just a suggestion to eat every 2-3 hours has been replaced with extreme hunger and the need to eat every 2-3 hours.

SIX MEALS A DAY CAUSES SUGAR INSTABILITY

In the old days a farmer could spend hours in the fields with no problem. Imagine if they had to come into the house every 2-3 hours for a snack! This kind of blood sugar instability is a modern day imbalance.
Six meals a day is a medicinal diet for treating the symptoms of severe hypoglycemia. It was never intended to be a way of life. At no other time in the history have humans eaten constantly until present day America. We are told that eating six meals a day will help us lose weight by keeping the metabolism high and revved up and that it won’t let the body store fat. Yes it will do all that, but in a totally manipulated and unnatural way – mostly for cosmetic reasons but not for good health!

We are not meant to have our metabolism revved up all day. It depletes and exhausts the adrenals (which ultimately causes fat storage) and never gives the digestion a rest.

While we won’t store fat eating every 2-3 hours, we also will never burn any stored fat. Cancer causing toxins are stored in our fat cells and the fat needs a reason to burn.

With blood sugars artificially propped up from constant feeding, the ability to make energy last is replaced with fragile energy, constant hunger, mood instability and extreme cravings if a meal or snack is missed.

BURN FAT NOW

If you don’t snack between breakfast and lunch, the body is forced to burn its own fat to supply energy throughout the morning hours. If you eat a carrot as a snack, the body will burn the carrot for extra energy rather than the stored fat.

Between lunch and supper fat is used as the fuel to make it through the afternoon without cravings. An afternoon snack, even if it’s healthy, simply tells the body to burn the snack instead of the fat. Between supper and breakfast the body makes its longest fat burning journey, breaking the fast with breakfast. One of the major reasons why folks don\’t sleep through the night is because they have lost the ability to burn fat – the slow and lasting fuel that allows us to sleep deeply all night, and these cravings wake them up.

WHY BURN FAT?

While we know carrying extra weight is a risk factor for diabetes and heart disease, there are other reasons why burning fat is crucial to our health. They include:

– Fat is a slow burning fuel that allows us to go many hours without food.
– Fat is calm fuel that stills and relaxes the nervous system. It is a de-stress, anti-anxiety fuel.
– Fat burning neutralizes excess disease producing acids that are by-products of stress fighting hormones.
– Fat burning stimulates drainage of toxins through the lymphatic system.
– Fat burning detoxifies cancer causing fat soluble chemicals that can store in the fat cells and brain for 20-30+ years.
– Fat burning releases molecules of emotion which Ayurveda calls mental ama. These toxic emotions store in the fat cells and trigger negative reactive patterns of behavior.
– Fat is the body\’s survival fuel. If the body feels safe, it will burn fat and trigger safety and repair.

HERBAL REMEDY FOR ELIMINATING CRAVINGS

If eating 3 meals a day presents a challenge or you just can’t seem to muster the will power to give up the dark chocolate, coffee or jelly beans because your cravings are just out of control, let me introduce to you an herb that is nothing short of amazing.

Gymnema sylvestre is an Ayurvedic herb from the milkweed family that is locally known as Gurmar or the “Sugar Destroyer.” If you put just a taste of this herb on your tongue and then ate a candy bar or anything with sugar, you simply would not taste the sugar. It literally blocks the absorption of the sugar through the taste buds and the intestinal wall (1). The active ingredient, gymnemic acids, have receptors both in the gut and on the tongue so sugar absorption is blocked. When sugar absorption is blocked, cravings are reduced and blood sugar highs and lows are neutralized (1). If sugar is blocked at both points of entry the body must get its energy elsewhere. Fat is mobilized as the fuel supply of choice. Sugar Destroyer resets the body\’s ability to use fat as fuel rather than sugar or carbohydrates. Sugar Destroyer also helps to stabilize blood sugar levels and makes the transition from six meals a day to three doable – and even preferable.

In one study, Gymnema was administered for 18 to 20 months to 22 Type II diabetics taking conventional medication. All patients showed a significant reduction in blood glucose levels. Five of the 22 maintained their blood glucose levels without conventional drugs and the dose of the medications were reduced in the others (2).

This powerful herb is a harmonizer for the blood sugar and pancreas. It balances both high blood sugar, as in diabetes, and low blood sugar, as in hypoglycemia. In natural medicine this is called “herbal intelligence” because it has the ability to bring balanced function to the pancreas and blood sugar rather than just reduce symptoms.

In another study, Gymnema was measured to double the islet number (clumps of pancreatic cells) and beta cell number (insulin-producing cells) in diabetic rat pancreases. The study suggested that Gymnema may improve health of the pancreas thereby providing a second mechanism for its action in diabetes (3). In diabetes the islet and beta cells in the pancreas become non-functional. This demonstrates the Sugar Destroyer\’s ability to rejuvenate pancreatic and blood sugar function.

References
Shimizu K et al. J VetMed Sci 1997; 59:245
Baskaran K et al. Antidiabetic effect of a leaf extract from Gymnema sylvestre in noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients. J Ethnopharmacoll990; 30:295
Shanmugasundaram ER. et al. Use of Gynrnema sylvestre leaf extract in the control of blood glucose in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. J Ethnopharmacoll990; 30:281

Author Bio: Dr. John Douillard has been teaching Ayurvedic medicine, natural health, fitness, and nutrition internationally for 22 years. He received his Ayurvedic training in India, holds a Ph.D. in Ayurvedic Medicine from the Open International University, and is the former Director of Player Development for the New Jersey Nets. He co-directed an Ayurvedic center for cancer with Deepak Chopra for 8 yrs and has trained over 2000 Western doctors in Ayurveda.LifeSpa.com

Category: Wellness, Fitness and Diet
Keywords: cravings,diabetes,insulin,pancreas,diet,gymnema,snacking,blood sugar,hypoglycemia,ayurveda,douillard