The effect of a 14-day intervention to reduce sugar cravings in adults

Participants will be randomly allocated to either the control arm or the experimental arm of the study. Subjects and the researcher team will both be blinded to which arm participants are on. The study procedure will last 14 days. Participants allocated to the experimental group will take: - An oral tablet containing 4mg of Gynmena sylvestre 3 times per day (between meals) for 14 days (the effects of one gymnema-containing tablet last between 30-60 min) - A water soluble powder containing fibre, vitamins and minerals (containing: vitamin D as cholecalciferol - 8.33micrograms; thiamin - 3.33mg; vitamin B6 as pyridoxine HCl - 3.33mg; vitamin B12 as cyanocobalamin - 13.33micrograms; Magnesium as magnesium citrate - 66.7mg; zinc as zinc aspartate - 6.67mg and chromium as chromium picolinate - 266.7micrograms) that participants will prepare into a beverage using a drink of their choice once per day before their first meal. - Follow a provided healthy eating booklet (Eat, Treat, Delete) written by Harley Pasternak. Adherence will be recorded by participants as they complete a logbook indicating whether they consumed the Gymnema containing tablet and the time this was consumed. They will also record whether they consumed the vitamin and fibre sachet and the time this was consumed. Participants will be asked to return packaging and unconsumed tablets and sachets on their 2nd visit to the sensory lab. Participants will then undergo a maintenance phase for a further 14 days where they will stop taking the study products and return to there usual habits. At the end of this 14 day period (29 days post commencement of the study) participants will return to the lab and complete the questionnaires relating to the study. All participants will undergo evaluation at the sensory laboratory twice: the day prior to starting the study procedure (day 0); the day after finishing the study procedure (day 15). The procedure for the first two lab visits is as follows: Upon arrival participants will be provided with a standard serve (22g, 438kJ) packet of Grain waves (wholegrain corn chips) each to reduce hunger (45 min prior to testing). During the 45 minutes prior to the sensory testing, participants will then complete a Food Frequency Questionnaire, Motivation questionnaire, Leeds Sleep questionnaire and body composition measures and demographic questionnaire. Demographic questionnaire will be completed during visit 1 only. Participants will record their hunger and desire for sugar-sweetened product (confectionery). They will then consume a small standardised serving (13g) of their favourite confectionery (from 6 popular brands; which will be provided by the research team), and we will record pleasantness ratings as well as desire for consuming a second serving. The research assistant will then give participants the gymnema-containing tablet (4mg gymnema sylvestre per tablet) or isocaloric placebo, and asked to ingest the product. Participants and research assistants will be blinded to the tablets provided. Participants will be given the gymnema-containing tablet if they are in the experimental group and the placebo if they are in the control group for this acute, sensory testing portion of the study. Participants will then rate their desire for another serving (i.e. 13 g) of their preferred confectionery and will be offered up to five servings, which will be given one after the other (after consumption, they will be given 1 minute before selecting a subsequent serving). They will be asked to rate desire for consuming another serving and pleasantness of the confectionery after each serving has been consumed. If an offering is accepted, it will be consumed and perceptual ratings will be recorded. If an offering is declined, testing and data collection for that participant will end. Outcomes relating to the acute effects of the gymnema-containing mint/tablet (i.e. pleasantness, desire) refer to acute consumption of the mint/tablet as a comparison of their results at day 0 and day 15 during sensory testing. This will be given to them by the research assistant at these times. Participants in the experimental group will receive the gymnema-containing tablet at the sensory testing in addition to taking the gymnema-containing tablet 3 times per day for 14 days (Study days 1-14). Participants receiving the placebo will take this both during sensory testing and 3 times per day for 14 days (study days 1-14). At lab visit 3 (study day 29) participants will not undergo sensory testing but will complete the study questionnaires and body composition measures i.e. Food Frequency Questionnaire, Habitual beverage intake questionnaire (BEVQ-15), Motivation questionnaire, Leeds Sleep Evaluation Questionnaire.