You are probably aware of it added sugar it is not good for your health and as a result they may have tried to push it back. However, cutting back on sugary foods is easier said than done, especially if you have a sweet tooth. There’s a common hack that suggests that having fewer sweet foods in your diet will reduce your sugar cravings, but new research suggests that’s actually not true.
In fact, the study that was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutritionfound his sweet tooth to be what it is. “It seems that our fondness for the sweet taste is very stable, at least in adulthood” Katherine Appleton, PhDstudy co-author and professor of psychology at Bournemouth University, tells SELF.
The results vindicate people who have tried and failed to curb their sweet cravings. But according to dieticians, you shouldn’t give up if you fall into this camp. Here’s why.
Put your sweet tooth to the test
For the study, researchers divided 180 people into three groups and exposed them to varying levels of sweetness from sugar, naturally sweet foods and low calorie sweeteners. One group ate a diet rich in sweet-tasting foods for six months; Another followed a diet that contained few sweets. The third group ate moderately sweet foods.
The researchers tested the participants to see if their preference for sweet foods changed at one, three, and six months. The researchers also tracked the participants’ weight and took blood and urine samples to examine their risk of developing diabetes and their cardiovascular health.
After six months, the researchers found no significant difference in health status between either group. Here’s the kicker: Participants reverted to their original candy preferences. So, if they ate a lot of sweet food before the study, they did the same after the study period.
“These findings do not support public health advice to reduce exposure to sweet-tasting foods,” the researchers wrote in their conclusion.
Why not cut back on sweets to curb cravings?
The study didn’t delve into that, but there are likely some factors involved. It all comes down to the fact that cravings for sweets can be complicated.
“First, we need to dig into the root cause of the craving,” Lamees Lahham, RD, a dietitian at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells SELF. “It’s often that you don’t eat enough during the day, so your body craves the quick energy that comes in the form of sweets.”
