Any ideas how I can re-train my taste buds ??

[Zincubus]

I seem to getting sugar cravings more and more just recently .

After eating a meal I usually WANT something SWEET within minutes of the meal !!

Pretty sure it's not diabetes as I feel well and have no urges to drink loads of water.


Also I seem to need more salt than other members of the family !!
Any ideas how I can re-train my taste buds ??

[jassco]

go cold turkey! try to avoid sugary foods (and especially drinks, i.e. coke). Similarly don't cook with salt.

You'll then just have to try and ignore your cravings for foods and drinks with these things in them. Eventually you'll find yourself not wanting them anywhere near as much, at which point you can treat yourself on odd occasions

[whiskyboozer]

Don't give yourself a hard time about eating sweets or adding salt to food.
Only a very small percentage of the population are sensitive to salt such that it causes them hypertension
As for sweets if you are overweight cut them out for a bit and more importantly get exercise.

Next thing the miserabilist brigade will be advising you to quit having sex or any fun at all.

[Razor]

I find fruit is a good way of curbing sugar cravings. Try making a big fruit salad and eat that instead.

After a few weeks of not eating things like chocolate and other sweets the cravings will go.

[Earthworm Jim]

I've been trying to cut out chocolates and sweets, (also need to go down a notch on the sugar in my coffee) one thing I find is if I get a craving for a chocolate or sweet is I'll eat a yoghurt or a cereal bar.

I found brushing my teeth also helps surpress cravings for sweet stuff.

[Iccz]

You can actually train your taste buds to pick out certain flavours in foods and to make you enjoy certain tastes, most of this is done while growing up, though biology also comes into it

A small amount of the population have highly concentrated tastebuds which means they can detect flavours to a higher degree than everyone else, on the other hand there are insensitive tasters who are unable to taste the difference between certain things. It's to do with the amount of taste buds and the sensativity to different groups of taste.

You taste sweet at the front, salt at the sides towards the front, sour at the sides behind that, the center behind the sweet tasting part tastes meat, cheese, veg etc and behind that is the bitter area.

But a lot of people don't know that the tongue is not the only place with taste buds and your lips, cheeks, roof and throat also have them but in lesser amounts. You can test different areas of your mouth by using a toothpick with flavours on - such as salt, sugar, lemon, coffee etc.

But as said by others unless you're really eating way too much salt then i'd not worry so much about it as everyone has a different palate and tastes things differently, just enjoy what you enjoy, you could also try using lo-salt if possible?
As Razor said fruit is a good way to replace sugar cravings.
Or after a meal try getting some Sorbet, it's a lot healthier than ice cream and many other deserts.

[Jenn]

I always crave for chocolate after having a beef steak, the only thing I can do is resist the craving (doesn't always work).

[Desmo]

I bought some really cheap ice pop things. You know, just the plain straight ones. Make sure you get the cheap ones though as they generally have nothing in them and are pretty much just flavoured water. 50 of them for £1.10 and it gives the taste of something sweet without and of the bad stuff