6. How To Stop Cravings For Sweet, Bitter, Astringent Foods

When you have a craving for something it is pretty tough to keep ignoring it if it doesn't fit into your weight loss strategy. How do you lose weight if you keep having a strong urge to eat foods that are destined to make you fat? Ayurveda offers a simple, effective and enjoyable way to satisfy the craving so you can be happy about the food you are eating and still lose your fat.

Cravings happen because your body is missing certain nutrients that are associated with the taste of certain foods. Taste is the body's way of knowing what to eat and what to avoid. You'll find more details on this in the previous two articles on this blog.

Ayurveda says you should always eat food that YOU find tasty. It identifies groups of foods that address the nutritional components provided by certain tastes. If you find yourself craving sweet, bitter or astringent foods, you can substitute fattening foods with more healthy choices from the list below. You'll find that the foods outlined here will satisfy the nutrient requirements of your body and stop cravings so you can meet your weight loss goals.

The previous article had a different list of foods and was designed to reduce cravings for sweet foods also. You'll find that your tastes fall into one or two categories consistently. With a little experimentation you'll be able to figure out which list is more suitable for you.

Here are the foods to favour and foods to avoid if the combination of foods you crave are sweet, bitter and astringent:


FAVOR

Cool or warm, liquid

Sweet, bitter, astringent

Moderate portions

Dairy: Butter, ghee, sweet lassi, milk

Sweeteners: All okay except those listed

Oils: Coconut, olive, soy, sunflower

Barley, oats, wheat, white rice

Sweet, ripe fruits: apple, avocado, cherry, fig, mango, melon, pear, pomegranate, prune, raisin

Asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, green bean, okra, peas, potato, sprouts, squash, all leafy greens except spinach

Sweet, bitter, astringent spices: cardamom, cilantro, cinnamon, coriander, dill, fennel, mint, saffron

Coconut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds

Garbanzo, mung, soybean, tofu

Chicken, egg whites, turkey, shrimp


REDUCE/AVOID

Hot

Salty, sour, pungent

Cheese, buttermilk, sour cream, yogurt (except salty lassi)

Honey, molasses

Oils: Almond, corn, safflower, sesame

Corn millet, brown rice, rye

Sour, unripe fruits: apricot, banana, berry, cranberry, grapefruit, olive, papaya, peach, persimmon

Beets, carrot, chili, eggplant, garlic, onion, radish, spinach, tomato

Pungent, heating spices, especially chili

Nuts: All except those mentioned above

Beans: All except those mentioned above

Egg yolks, red meat