Ayurvedic ‘sugar destroyer’ can help rein in your sweet tooth

The coronavirus pandemic has come with many challenges… from long days stuck in your home to lack of time with friends, not being able to get to the gym, your favorite restaurant or movie theaters.

And for many of us, it’s also led to the “Quarantine 15” or the “Lockdown 15” —  a term reminiscent of “Freshman 15,” — that refers to the weight gain many of us are starting to experience during the many levels of quarantine or lockdown that we’ve been experiencing over the last few months.

According to William Dietz, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, staying indoors means most people are less active. Many are eating more ultra-processed foods than they might otherwise. Add in the considerable anxiety that most of us are feeling, and you’ve got an ideal situation for weight gain.

I know if I’m anxious, I reach for a chocolate bar… and not the healthy 99 percent cacao dark chocolate kind.

Now, a new study has found a plant compound known as the “sugar destroyer” that’s been used in Ayurvedic medicine, a tradition that goes back at least 3,000 years, could help you beat your sweet tooth and put down the sweets.

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A woody vine turned into a tasty mint

To find the solution to our sugar cravings, researchers at Massey University tested a mint developed by a company called Sweet Kick — cute right?

Sweet Kick had been working to use a perennial woody vine native to tropical Asia, China, the Arabian Peninsula, Africa and Australia and known as Gymnema sylvestre for their mint in a bid to suppress sugar cravings. You may have read that the Gymnema leaf is considered an excellent herb for natural blood sugar control, according to Dr. Isaac Eliaz.

Since the plant’s Hindi name literally means “sugar destroyer” for its ability to suppress taste responses to sweet compounds, so they had good reason to believe they were on the right track.

But they hadn’t been able to prove it worked or not, so they turned to the Massey research team.

Related: Your guide to better sugar substitutes

The scientists recruited 58 participants for a 14-day long study. And the results were impressive!

After investigating the impact of taking the mint on people’s desire and consumption of high-sugar sweet foods, as well as their ratings of hunger and pleasantness of eating more high-sugar sweet foods, here’s what they found:

• People who popped a Gymnema sylvestre mint showed a significantly reduced intake of high-sugar sweet foods compared to the placebo.
• The mint also resulted in a decrease in the pleasantness and desirability rating of eating high-sugar sweet foods.
• Additionally, for people who said they definitely had a sweet tooth (compared to those who did not), using the mint resulted in a significant decrease in how they rated their enjoyment of sweets and their desire to eat more high-sugar sweet foods.

How it works

When asked how the mint works, Associate Professor Ajmol Ali said that its effects are achieved by “electively suppressing taste responses to sweet compounds without affecting the perception of other taste elements, essentially dulling the sugar receptors in your tongue. Gymnema sylvestre removes the sweetness — so if you eat chocolate, you’ll only get bitterness.”

This means that you can use the mint or simply Gymnema sylvestre and while you can taste and enjoy all other types of foods, sweets won’t be an issue anymore since they will come across as bitter. Or according to Professor Ali, those sugar treats could even taste like you’re eating cardboard.

And they say that the effect typically lasts 30–60 minutes.

So, if you’ve had trouble reining in your sweet tooth, you might give Sweet Kick mints or similar products a try.

Sources:

1. The ‘Quarantine 15’: Weight Gain During COVID-19 Pandemic — Medicine Net
2. Study reveals plant compound beats sugar cravings — MedicalXpress