We all know that dreaded feeling of trying your best to eat healthy and exercise to achieve your weight loss goals, only to be hit with boring cravings mid-morning or sometime after lunch in the morning. ‘afternoon.

Sometimes those cravings are enough to derail your healthy eating goals for the whole day, and before you know it, you find yourself grabbing a few cookies or polishing a pint of ice cream immediately after dinner.

So how exactly do we combat these intense sugar cravings when they arise? One of the main ways to accomplish this is by making sure you are eating enough nutrient-dense foods throughout the day, which will ensure that you feel fuller. But if you find yourself in a tight spot with unexpected food cravings, there is a helpful snack to grab.

According to our member of the Medical Expert Council, Professional Dietitian Lauren Manaker, MS, RDN, author of The First-Time Pregnancy Cookbook and Fuel male fertility, one of the best snack foods to crush sugar cravings are prunes.

Read on to learn more about the potential health benefits of prunes, and for more healthy eating tips, be sure to check out 7 Healthiest Foods To Eat right now.

How prunes can reduce sugar cravings.

According to Manaker, prunes can help curb food cravings for a number of reasons.

For starters, prunes are satiating and can soothe hunger pangs: “According to a study published in the Journal of the Nutrition Bulletin, people who munched on prunes were less hungry and ate fewer calories overall than those who munched on raisins or jelly beans, “she says,” and prune snacks also have better control over appetite compared to those who munch on raisins or jelly beans.

Another reliable way prunes can help quell pesky sugar cravings is by providing sweetness without added sugar. This is the key, because added sugar is known to have addictive qualities in the neurochemistry of your brain.

“Prunes are naturally sweet, a factor that can help satisfy a sweet tooth,” Manaker explains, “plus, unlike candy, they contain natural antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber to make them one. satiating food. ” Each prune contains 3.5 grams of natural sugars and 0.5 grams of fiber.

If you’re cutting back on sugar cravings, keep a bag of prunes in the fridge and grab one the next time you’re looking for something sweet.

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