Eating "piloncillo" (evaporated and concentrated cane juice) to help curb cravings

Ever since I was little, I had horrible sugar cravings that didn’t go away despite how clean I tried eating. I know that I was probably missing some beneficial vitamin or mineral so later on I tried all type of supplements and eating varied, nutritional home cooked meals to no avail. If I just stopped eating sweet things for a day or so and I would get these MAD cravings for sweet things and I would go overboard eating them.

Then all of a sudden about a month ago, I noticed that my sugar cravings had drastically decreased to a point where sweets sickened me. I had no idea how it happened so I looked at what had changed in my diet and everything looked the same except for one thing: I was adding a new sweetener to my coffee.

Lately, I have been adding around 1-2 tbsp of a traditional Mexican sweet called “piloncillo”, that’s basically unrefined sugar cane juice. It’s a staple in the cuisine here that is sold in a sort of a solid cone.



Checking out the process, it’s basically raw, expressed sugar cane juice that is boiled and left to evaporate in a mold. I have tried it several times and it has a rich, deep and earthy taste; plus it packs a lot of nutrition with naturally occurring calcium, potassium, magnesium, copper, and iron, unlike processed white sugar which lacks these and even brown sugar I feel is far off.



I haven’t really done much research due to time constraints but my theory is that it seems that all the good stuff from the sugarcane stays intact and helps to fill a nutritional void while white sugar leaves me prone to more and more cravings, probably stripping my body of vitamins and minerals at the same time.

So I just wanted to share my experience, I know I should not eat refined sugars AT ALL but in my previous state I had withdrawal symptoms to the point that I would get incredibly hungry and nervous. I hope this can possibly help others and I’m now happily one step closer to eating a cleaner diet thanks to this lucky coincidence.

If your body is having cravings, either something is wrong, or as you say, your body is trying to tell you something is missing.

I think having the added nutrients mentioned probably act as barriers to near-instant digestion, like whole grain versus refined white bread, slowing it all down and probably keeping it in your body longer. It's possible you were just burning through the refined stuff too fast.

This stuff sounds great. I will keep an eye out.

Thanks, and let us know how it goes with your cravings.

-CK

I know it as Panela and was unaware of its nutritional value. From Wikipedia:

Panela manufacturers and advocates claim the substance to be healthier than refined sugar, suggesting it has immunological benefits, a lower glycemic index, and higher micronutrient content. As the authors of The Ultimate Guide to Sugars and Sweeteners point out, "it's still sugar", with only a trace amount more vitamins and minerals, and little research to support other claims.

I understand where you're coming from though. I definitely have a sweet tooth and have tried many times to quit cold turkey - it never works.

I haven't tried, but in my research on essential oils I've heard smelling grapefruit oil is supposed to help with sugar cravings. You could also try stevia.

Good luck in your efforts to eat clean!