Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

2

I was thinking of buying L-glutamine (or whatever it is called).

I have read a post where somebody recommended Magnesium L-Threonate. Another person - Magnesium Citrate.

So, what should I buy? I am on a budget, so I can only get one, not all three. What should I get - L-glutamine or something else?

Please, list only those things that actually worked for you. Also, if you are gluten intolerant/celiac, please mention it.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EDIT: maybe I should re-word it - What worked for you for sugar cravings?

My WOE (Way of eating)

Breakfast:

Soup: spinach, cabbage, broccoli, onion, garlic, meat, carrot, mushrooms, beets, other vegetables sometimes bone broth

Probiotics

Lunch - nothing (I am not hungry)

Dinner:

Soup - same as breakfast but fish

I know you are going to say I don't get enough fat. I have tried all fats/oils/butter/ghee and either I react to them or don't like them. I am not going to force feed myself something I don't like.

I always get fatigued after meals and crave sugar like crazy. If I eat sugary stuff (I have been craving ice-cream lately), I am not as fatigued.

EDITED: Thank you everyone, but I have already found a solution and I no longer have sugar cravings. Not sure if I should close this question or not.

edited May 5 2012 at 17:17

asked Apr 22 2012 at 18:45

VB
12.3k●1●7●40

1

Say more about the cravings, and what your current WOE consists of, please. If you are on a budget there may be things to try that do not involve spending money on supplements... – tdgor Apr 22 2012 at 19:12

1

Also, bunch of stuff about other people's l-carnitine experiences here: paleohacks.com/questions/87076/… – tdgor Apr 22 2012 at 19:15

What is WOE? I don't know what it is. – VB Apr 22 2012 at 19:27

1

Not L-carnitine, L-glutamine. 2g of powder stirred into tea, water, etc. whenever a craving strikes. – Wowza Apr 22 2012 at 19:35

1

WOE = Way Of Eating, I'd guess. – Casey Apr 22 2012 at 19:43

show 2 more comments

Guy · Answer 1 · 2012-04-22 19:03:03Z UTC

2

BCAAs work well for me to hold cravings for sweet things at bay.

answered Apr 22 2012 at 19:03

Guy
31●1

Thanks! I think I made a mistake - it is L-glutamine. – VB Apr 22 2012 at 21:30

Christine M · Answer 2 · 2012-04-22 20:04:47Z UTC

1

L-glutamine powder. I got Source Naturals brand powder on Amazon for about 20 bucks and the supply has lasted quite a while.

answered Apr 22 2012 at 20:04

Christine M
51●2

Could you please check if it is gluten free? – VB Apr 22 2012 at 20:08

MauraZehuva · Answer 3 · 2012-04-22 20:23:56Z UTC

1

You may want to try Swedish Bitters..in Chinese medicine bitter cuts craving for sweet. You can get them at your local whole foods for under $10 a bottle and you take them when the cravings hit. Seems to me that you aren't eating much protein and increasing that may help if you can't add fat.

answered Apr 22 2012 at 20:23

MauraZehuva
61●2

	Thanks, I will try! – VB Apr 22 2012 at 21:29
	You can get them at Bevmo too – Sajay Apr 23 2012 at 6:51

tdgor · Answer 4 · 2012-04-22 20:35:16Z UTC

Hmm. How much exercise are you getting? Is it possible that you are not taking in enough calories?

Also note, both carrots and beets are pretty sweet as vegetables go. Could including them in your vegetable mix be providing enough sugar to keep your cravings going, so to speak?

I gather that you are not eating fruit at all (nothing wrong with that, just noting it and wondering if you eliminated it because of its sugar content).

Celton · Answer 5 · 2012-04-22 20:44:55Z UTC

3

Soda water (and lots of it, helped fill me up for that after meal sugar craving)
Falling in love with fatty foods.
Not eating any sugar at all (avoiding fruit, sweet veggies, etc)

answered Apr 22 2012 at 20:44

Celton
871●1●3●8

I will cut out beets. Do I need to cut out carrots as well? I hate soda water. Can I drink mineral water? I love fatty fish, but it is way too expensive to eat every day. – VB Apr 22 2012 at 21:29

1

Well... I'm not sure you need to cut out beets. I should have said that you essentially need to forget both mentally and physically about sugar. When I first did paleo I did it very meat heavy, with little veggies so I can't speak to what veggies you can have. I'm sure it can be done though. Mineral water and soda water are the same no? Lol. Whatever works. And my fatty favourites are things like roasted suet and bone broth. – Celton Apr 22 2012 at 21:46

yup soda water and fat fatty fat :D – mzrdnan Apr 23 2012 at 8:22

VB, frozen sardines (a fatty fish) are really cheap. – Dangph Apr 24 2012 at 14:52

Arthur · Answer 6 · 2012-05-07 04:12:40Z UTC

5

When I feel like snacking onto something sweet, I just take a bite of butter. Irish Kerrygold is the one I like best.

The biggest advocate of butter consumption that I'm aware of is Dave Asprey of Bulletproof Exec, in his Bulletproof Diet.

edited May 7 2012 at 4:12

answered Apr 22 2012 at 22:03

Arthur
101●3

2

that is the only butter, so far, that I can eat straight off the spoon or on top of a piece of lindt chocolate – paleoprimal Apr 23 2012 at 15:58

Funny... I do the exact same thing on Lindt or Dagoba. It's the fat we really want. – edrice Apr 24 2012 at 15:22

1

do you add a dash of salt? if not...try it... 70% lindt, dash of salt ON the chocolate then then room temp butter.... yum. also, new thing for me... 2% fage yogurt 3 oz (because i cant seem to find full fat) and drizzle about 1-1.5 tsp of melted coconut oil on top...wait for it to harden...then mix....YUM! – paleoprimal Apr 24 2012 at 19:36

1

oh, god, I can see a new bad habit coming on. I will try it! – edrice Apr 25 2012 at 1:42

Kitzu · Answer 7 · 2012-04-23 00:52:54Z UTC

2

Sometimes I eat a sour pickle for sugar cravings. (The fermented kind that is in the refrigerator section, also called a kosher or half sour pickle).

This seems to work for me.

answered Apr 23 2012 at 0:52

Kitzu
1,415●2●9

Jeannine · Answer 8 · 2012-04-23 07:20:32Z UTC

Try supplementing with Chromium Picolinate and the herb Sylvestre Gymnema. Both balance blood sugar and curb cravings well for me. Your calories may also be too low with all those veges and no fat. Soup tends to be watery so you may be feeling full due to the fluid content without getting enough density, therefore your feeling of satiety doesn't last. I make soup for my family when I need to stretch a little bit of protein a long way.

aoife · Answer 9 · 2012-04-23 07:39:36Z UTC

2

My best trick for beating sugar cravings is frozen grapes. If I'm really craving sugary foods I just eat a frozen grape or two. I think they taste like ice pops, it's an easy way to put the demons back in their cages.

answered Apr 23 2012 at 7:39

aoife
725●2●9

interrobung · Answer 10 · 2012-04-23 15:08:35Z UTC

To piggyback on the Chinese medical way of using bitters to counteract sweet cravings, it's commonly flt that fermented foods (kefir, sauerkraut, miso, half-sour pickles, etc) fight off a sweet tooth. I drink a big glass of kefir every morning and never have sweet cravings at all.

But ultimately, you're not getting enough fat or carbs, which is why your body is craving sugar (low blood glucose or insufficient insulin response). If you're not averse to avocado, that's a great way to increase fat intake. If you're not averse to mozzarella, a ball of mozz the size of an apple costs about $3, and contains 40g protein and 40g fat: my favorite mid-day snack.

Korion · Answer 11 · 2012-04-23 16:46:45Z UTC

4

Eating sugar...

answered Apr 23 2012 at 16:46

Korion
9,588●2●18●61

But sugar is bad for you and ... not Paleo. – VB Apr 23 2012 at 17:54

2

Sugar is not bad for you, ask my belly, and fruit is definitely paleo. – Korion Apr 23 2012 at 18:09

2

Starchy vegetables also contain sugar (starch breaks down to glucose). VB, it sounds like your very-low-carb diet isn't working for you. Maybe you just need to introduce some carbs? You could try some potatoes or sweet potatoes or fruit. Personally I get most of my carbs from fruit. I try to avoid very sugary fruit though. – Dangph Apr 24 2012 at 11:51

1

Korion, a sucrose molecule is a glucose molecule joined to a fructose one. In other words, sucrose is composed of precisely 50% glucose and 50% fructose. (Concentrated sucrose is not paleo, BTW, if that is what you are suggesting.) The sugar in fruit is roughly equal proportions of fructose and glucose depending on the type of fruit. Anyway, that is by the by. My point is that if VB is craving carbs, then maybe s/he needs them? It seems counter-intuitive to me to cut out something that is craved, unless there is a good reason for doing so. – Dangph Apr 24 2012 at 14:07

1

Dangph, what's your point? I never said to eat pure sugar, just saying a craving is probably a sign you need it. My point is that sucrose is not the same thing as glucose, as you explained very well, and that starch does not work for me the way sucrose does. – Korion Apr 24 2012 at 15:23

show 4 more comments

Janey · Answer 12 · 2012-04-23 22:02:47Z UTC

1

I have a major sweet tooth and the ONLY time I can really fight it is when I fast for a whole day. Then the next day or two I have no craving and I'll eat out of boredom or something at the cravings start again.. :/

answered Apr 23 2012 at 22:02

Janey
231●1●3

Lady_Arwen · Answer 13 · 2012-04-24 03:29:53Z UTC

Honestly 99% of my sweet tooth was gone with doing LC Paleo. When I do want something sweet - which is pretty rare these days - I'll have berries with homemade whipped cream (sweetened with a 1 tablespoon xylitol) or 70-85% Lindt dark chocolate. Post-work out is when I crave carbs like butternut squash, pumpkin, or sweet potatoes with cinnamon.

DJDeeJay · Answer 14 · 2012-04-24 15:10:39Z UTC

1

I know you said you don't like "butter," but does that include coconut butter and/or almond butter? I used to get sugar cravings and few spoonfuls of either of those really helped me.

answered Apr 24 2012 at 15:10

DJDeeJay
31●4

I get really sick from eating nuts. So, unfortunately, those are out. But thank you for being helpful. My gut is so screwed up - it is not funny. – VB Apr 24 2012 at 15:57

foreveryoung · Answer 15 · 2012-04-24 15:15:17Z UTC

1

I think the best way to cure your sugar craving is to eat NO sugar for at least 21 days. That means no fruit (including tomatoes and bell peppers). Only green vegetables and lean proteins (chicken, seafood, eggs) + some healthy fats from avocado and nuts.

answered Apr 24 2012 at 15:15

foreveryoung
15.5k●2●10●53

	That is really helpful. I will try starting tomorrow. Thanks!!! Can I have not organic chicken? Like regular cheap one? – VB Apr 24 2012 at 15:58
	It depends on your budget. The vast majority of my diet is simple: organic free range chicken and eggs, organic salad greens, broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, and organic fruits (bananas, oranges, blueberries, mostly), and some seafood on the weekends. Those foods make up at least 90% of my calories. – foreveryoung Apr 24 2012 at 17:46
	I said healthy fats from avocado and nuts, but in all honesty, I don;t really eat that much of them. Most of my fat comes form chicken, eggs, and seafood. – foreveryoung Apr 24 2012 at 17:47
	As you can see I do paleo differently than a lot of others here, but it works for me. May not work for others. – foreveryoung Apr 24 2012 at 17:56

jo60 · Answer 16 · 2012-05-05 16:55:25Z UTC

It does take time..I do not think you are eating enough and certainly not enough fat cheese and bacon.. almonds, macadamia nuts hemp hearts 1/2 an avocado organic green veg with olive oil and parmesan or feta cheese egg salad, salmon salad yep fatty foods is the only thing everytime you crave a sweet. if you ingest somthing that seems sweet you will never kill the addiction.

not lean meat..fatty meat. ribs, ground beef, chicken with skin, etc.

i disagree with fruit ..it is loaded with fructose and will keep your sweet tooth alive.

What worked for you to curb your SUGAR CRAVINGS?

16 Answers