Dialing Down your Sweet Tooth

Just in time for Valentine's Day, this week's health challenge is something called, "Dialing down your taste buds". The concept is fairly simple, and you can do it, but you'll see it's more challenging than you probably expect.

The sweeter the foods that you are accustomed to, the sweeter and sweeter foods you crave and the stronger and more frequent the cravings. By starting to transition away from very sweet foods, you "dial down your taste buds"- the foods that you eat actually taste sweeter, and you can taste the subtleties of flavors more completely.

Strong flavors actually desensitize your taste buds. Certain flavors trigger hormonal responses that tell your brain that you are "satisfied". This response actually adapts to the flavors you typically consume, so if you are always eating strong flavors- you won't get that hormonal "satisfaction" signal. You, therefore, crave stronger flavors and more of them. Your body can't count calories, that's up to you, so this is just one way that we biologically gauge if we are eating properly.

I believe the following concept originated in ancient Chinese medicine, but if anyone can confirm or correct that in the comments below- I'd appreciate it (and I'll edit this text and cite you, of course)

Certain flavors have been linked to specific emotional responses as well. We crave sweets when we crave our mothers and salty foods when we crave our fathers. If you have a very strong sweet tooth, it is possible that the emotional craving comes from an emotional distance from your mother, and the same goes for salty snacks and your relationship with your father. You may also crave them at specific times when you are craving the comfort or support of either parent.

Bitter and sour flavors aren't normally flavors we crave however, because the evolutionary source of those taste buds was probably the need to taste if foods had gone bad or were poisonous.

A strange "uber-flavor" called Umami is actually the most satisfying flavor that you can eat. Umami is a flavor that hits all of your tastebuds at once- sweet, salty, bitter, and sour. This is why MSG is so fantastic tasting (though bad for your health). I also believe that this is the basis of the Sensa diet. One common umami food is the Reuben sandwich. The bread is usually a slightly bitter bread, with the sourness of the sauerkraut, the sweetness of the 1000 Island dressing, and the saltiness of the corned beef and swiss cheese.

Because we crave more and more, the more that we have- food manufacturers have caught on and use this to get our money. They get us hooked with those sugar, salty foods and then we keep coming back and asking for sweeter and saltier foods. Its a fantastic business model, if a little evil.

As you start to dial down your taste buds, you'll think that things don't taste as good or have as much flavor. This is normal, and it's just because you've lost the ability to taste them. Over time, your taste buds will restrengthen and you will taste things completely. If you taste your old foods again after a couple months, you'll think they're overwhelmingly sweet or salty.

The first step in dialing down your taste buds is the biggest- eliminate foods that are straight sugar. This means- candy, soda, cakes and cookies, Kool-Aid, sweet tea, etc. If sugar, or corn syrup, are at the top of the ingredient list- it's probably going to be too sweet. Don't replace it with artificial sweeteners! This only tricks your body and doesn't actually reduce your craving for sweets (again- evil genius of the food manufacturers). If you're a chocoholic- replace the sweet chocolates with less sweet dark chocolates. Gummy bear freak? Try raisins, or Craisins, or dried blueberries, even dried apricots. Big on the baked goods? Why not have a piece of bread with some good no-sugar-added strawberry preserves? And all of you sugary beverage drinkers- give water a chance. You'll love it eventually- just keep drinking it.

Once you've stepped down from the straight sugars- start dialing down another notch. Juices can be diluted with water (about 2 parts juice to 1 part water), if you drink coffee or tea with sugar- start drinking it black, and reach for foods that are more and more subtly sweet whenever you crave sweets.

Once you've dialed down your taste buds, your food cravings will lessen and your weight loss goals will be easier to accomplish. When you take a swig of Coke, it will taste syrupy and unappealing. When you eat cake, you will start to want the piece with the least frosting, and you'll probably leave some on your plate. Everything will taste so much better, as if you were tasting it for the first time- because your taste buds will be more receptive to the subtleties of the flavors. If you don't love "diet foods" now, you will once you've dialed down your taste buds!

For 2012 I challenged myself to come up with a weekly topic of one simple habit to change for a healthier lifestyle. If you follow me through the entire series, you will transform your life! It isn't hard to take one baby step at a time. You'll be closer to where you want to be before you know it. Whether you follow every week or jump in where you can- any change is always better than none! And if you're already an expert in a certain week's Good Habit, share it with your friends, family, and coworkers! What good is a gift in your pocket when you can give it to others? That's my motivation for the series and I hope I pass on that mentality to each of my readers.

I grew up with a healthy weight but no interest in being physically active. I avoided gym class- even took summer school for it in high school, showed up for attendance and disappeared until the end of the day and somehow got credit and passed the classes. (It was a different time- don't try this at home, kids!) I'm not your typical fitness guru that was always (or ever) involved in sports. As I hit adulthood and began to struggle with depression, I started eating emotionally and packed on the pounds. A few missteps with medications didn't help either. By 2006, I was edging into Morbid Obesity. I realized it was time to change. I had seen loved ones try and fail with all the prepackaged diet and exercise plans, so I knew right away there had to be a better way. I started reading everything I could about nutrition and fitness and never stopped. From 2010 to 2011, I lost over 100 pounds! For the first time since high school I was in a healthy weight range and I felt incredible! That's when I realized that this was what I was meant to do with my life- to share what I lived and what I learned and help people change their own lives. I am currently studying to become a Personal Trainer and Lifestyle and Weight Management Coach and plan to return to college for a degree in Counseling.

I currently work as a Fitness and Nutrition Coach in the Cincinnati area. You can also hire me for one-on-one email coaching via LivePerson