Anuradha Varanasi
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Written By: Anuradha Varanasi | Updated : June 27, 2016 6:31 PM IST
Read this in HINDI.
Most people don t mind working hard and sweating it out in the gym to get in shape. What they find immensely challenging is to have a strong will power and say no to constant food cravings throughout the day. It is only natural to crave something sweet or a plate of your favourite dish from time to time but you also know that if you give into temptation, all the time you spent working out will go to waste. These are the causes of excessive hunger.
So how do you say no to food cravings and stay on track with your diet? One way to do that is to chew sugarless gum right after lunch and after having a light snack in the evening. Studies have found that chewing sugarless gum is an effective way to fool your stomach into thinking you are full and consume fewer calories [1].
In a study published in the journal Endocrine in 2015, that included healthy men between the ages of 18-30, it was found that chewing sugarless gum has no effect on your blood glucose and can increase satiety or feeling full.
In another study published in the journal, Physiology & Behaviour in 2016, researchers concluded that chewing gum after dinner helped in reducing high carbohydrate-snack intake among both, healthy and obese women [2].
So, invest in some sugarless gum and keep it handy after you have lunch to beat any hunger pangs. While this is a cheap and effective way to reduce your calorie intake, you still need to regulate your diet and choose healthier foods along with exercising regularly to see any visible results. Did you know, chewing gum is also good for your oral health?
While it has it s own benefits, chewing gum could also cause bloating and stomach irritations if you have it too often. Remember to keep your mouth closed while chewing gum to avoid excess air from entering your stomach and have it only after lunch or during the evening when your food cravings become too intense.
References:
[1] Xu J, Xiao X, Li Y, et al. The effect of gum chewing on blood GLP-1 concentration in fasted, healthy, non-obese men. Endocrine. 2015;50(1):93-98. doi:10.1007/s12020-015-0566-1.
[2] Physiol Behav. 2016 May 15;159:64-71. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.03.002. Epub 2016 Mar 3. Short-term effects of chewing gum on satiety and afternoon snack intake in healthy weight and obese women. Park E, Edirisinghe I, Inui T, Kergoat S, Kelley M, Burton-Freeman B.
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