It’s easy to over-indulge in sweet treats because they are delicious, and sugar is addictive. For those with a sweet tooth, this reality can, unfortunately, lead to weight gain. More and more people are becoming obese because they can’t control their indulgence in sugary snacks.
To help these people out, researchers at Massey University, led by Associate Professor Ajmol Ali, trialed a mint product that significantly decreases the pleasantness and, therefore, the desire for eating sugar-rich foods. The mint contains gymnemic acids – a compound from the Gymnema sylvestre plant, which reduces sugar cravings by suppressing the taste responses to sweet compounds.
The plant gymnema sylvestre is a perennial woody vine native to tropical Asia, Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and Australia. Its name in Hindi is “sugar destroyer,” and it has traditionally been used in Ayurvedic medicine.
A trial of the product showed that it successfully reduced the intake of sweet foods compared to a placebo. The researchers believe it may be useful for those looking to reduce their sugar consumption. The study was commissioned by celebrity personal trainer Harley Pasternak, co-founder of the company Sweet Kick that makes the mints.
Professor Ali said:
Long term, mindless consumption of high sugar sweet foods may lead to obesity or developing Type 2 diabetes.
The trial focused on investigating the mint’s impact on people’s consumption and desire for high-sugar sweet foods. They had the participants rate their hunger levels and pleasantness of consuming more sugary foods.
The results showed that the gynemna sylvestre mint helped the trial participants significantly reduce the intake of high-sugar sweet foods compared to the placebo. The mint decreased their pleasantness to eat sweets and therefore lowered the desirability rating of eating such foods.
Another exciting find was that the participants with a sweet tooth experienced a significant decrease in pleasantness and desire for eating more high-sugar food after taking the Sweet Kick mint.
Professor Ali said:
[The mint works by] electively suppressing taste responses to sweet compounds without affecting the perception of other taste elements, essentially dulling the sugar receptors in your tongue. Gymnema sylvestre removes the sweetness—so if you eat chocolate, you’ll only get bitterness.
The findings demonstrate that consuming the gymnema sylvestre mint has the potential to help people reduce their sugar consumption. The effect of the mint typically lasts 30-60 minutes, and, for example, if you taste a biscuit at that time, it might taste like cardboard! The point being, it’s like a barrier or way of offsetting that sugar craving and helping people to wean their sugar intake.
We are eating more added sugar than ever before, so this compound has great potential to help people reduce their high consumption of sugary food and beverages and move to healthier options. When the treats stopped tasting good, people ate less.
The researchers are currently working on a follow-up study to see how well the mint works over a more extended period.
Gymnema has been found to have other health benefits too. It is an anti-inflammatory, can lower “bad” LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and has anti-diabetic properties.
