How to End Cravings for Salty Foods (Cravings Hack #1)

We’re all tempted by sugary, salty, and cheesy foods when we watch t.v. and leave our homes. A simple hack so you stop craving pizza, French Fries, burgers, and cupcakes that are placed in front of our eyeballs 16/7 (hey, I’m assuming you get 8 hours of sleep 7 nights a week) is to eat spinach. A recent study found that:

Spinach kept overweight or obese people feeling FULL 2 HOURS after eating it.

If you’re struggling with weight gain or food cravings (especially salty foods), this hack is tailor-made for you. So stir-fry, steam and even get FREE spinach smoothies in this mini-guide (page 9 has a must-try green smoothie).

Here’s More on How Spinach Reduces Cravings:

The researchers gave 30 men and 30 women either a super-concentrated spinach drink (5 grams) mixed with blueberry and pomegranate juice OR a placebo (a fake spinach drink)
The spinach drinkers had better results in reducing hunger and cravings:
1. They felt more full, even 2 hours after drinking the spinach
2. Felt less hunger
3. They had fewer cravings for salty food
4. They had fewer cravings for savory food
5. Men, ate less pizza 4 hours after drinking the spinach (less calories in, less weight gain)

All the men and women in this study were considered overweight or obese. They had a body mass index between 25 – 35 kg/m, and a waist circumference of 35 inches or more.

How Does Spinach Do All This?

It increases the satiety (fullness) hormone (cholecystokinin) so you feel full
It lowers the hunger-stimulating hormone (ghrelin)
The thylakoids in the spinach is what does affects these hormones. Thylakoids also have lots of plant nutrients such as chlorophyll, carotenes and xanthophylls

How Much Spinach Should You Eat?

1 cup of uncooked spinach has about 30 grams of spinach. It’s best to try and get this amount in your diet every day.

Do Other Greens Reduce Cravings?

In short, more than likely. Thylakoids are in all green plants. So technically, by eating or drinking greens you can gain the same benefits as seen in this study.

References:

Rebello CJ. et al. Acute Effects of a Spinach Extract Rich in Thylakoids on Satiety: A Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial. J Am College Nutrition, 2015 (direct link: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07315724.2014.1003999)