June 21, 2009
Happy Father's Day and welcome to our June edition of Healthy and Loving It! This issue will teach you how to deal with sugar cravings and help you understand why sugar may have such a hold on you. Check out our list of alternative natural sweeteners and sugar free recipes to keep you satisfied as you phase out refined sugar. Our newest recipe is delicious, chewy carob brownies made with date sugar!
Healthy Blessings, Cindy and Jo
Volume I, Issue 3, June 2009
In this Edition
- Sugar Cravings? Learn how to move through them with ease!
- Natural Sweeteners to the Rescue
- Chewy Carob Brownies
- Recommended Reading
- Your Testimonials!
Do You Crave Sugar? We Kicked the Habit - You Can Too!
Sugar cravings are the biggest challenge most of us have to face when choosing a healthy nourishing diet. Even after learning about the negative health impacts of eating sugar, the thought of limiting or eliminating your sugar use can seem like an outrageous and impossible feat.
When Jo was first told to stop eating sugar she thought the nutritionist was crazy! Cindy knew she was addicted when she repeatedly failed at trying to cut out sugar. For both of us, it just seemed impossible! But after years of suffering from Candidiasis with the resulting mood swings, sugar withdrawals and a host of physical symptoms, we each succeeded. We did it with gentle, nourishing support and a broad array of natural alternatives to conventional processed sugar.
Once the sugar was gone and the withdrawal symptoms were over, our bodies found a new balance and health. Kicking sugar out of our diets has been the best thing we’ve ever done for our health. And we don’t miss the sugar, the cravings or the Candidiasis.
Sugar Addiction
Sugar is physically addictive. Studies at Princeton University find that sugar consumption leads to all of the identifying symptoms of addiction in rats; increased intake, withdrawal, cravings and relapse. And many experts believe that breaking the sugar addiction is more challenging than getting off of nicotine or even heroine.1
Of course, nicotine and heroine aren’t ingredients in almost every food on the supermarket shelves. In addition to being the main feature in candies and desserts, sugar is also included in products from crackers and cereal to bread, condiments and soups. Unless you have made a very conscious and diligent effort to avoid sugar, you have probably eaten it every day of your life. And with every serving, your addiction has been triggered.
“Refined sugar passes quickly into the bloodstream in large amounts, giving the stomach and pancreas a shock. An acid condition forms which consumes the body’s minerals quickly. Thus calcium is lost from the system, causing bone problems. The digestive system is weakened and food cannot be digested or assimilated properly. This leads to a blood-sugar imbalance and to further craving for sugar”2 Paul Pitchford, Healing with Whole Foods
Phasing the Sugar Out
Although freeing yourself from a sugar addiction can be challenging, it is also deeply rewarding. Phasing the sugar out of your diet will improve your immediate and long term physical health, stabilize your moods and energy levels, and help you enjoy the pleasure and tastes of nourishing natural whole foods even more.
It’s important to approach phasing sugar out of your diet as an act of self love and self care, rather than an act of deprivation or punishment. Humans have a natural preference for sweetness (in their food and relations). Use this as an opportunity to adjust to and appreciate different forms of sweetness. As the sugar addiction subsides, your body will re-establish its own natural harmony.
Here are some important tips you can use for phasing out the sugar:
- Adjust to Milder Sweets - Excessive use of refined sugars has likely increased your tolerance and desire for sweets to unhealthy levels. Choosing milder natural sweeteners will allow your body to readjust and free you from the sugar cycle so you can begin to enjoy naturally sugar free desserts as a special treat once again.
- Eat Sweet Veggies and Whole Fruit - The sweetest whole food is fresh ripe fruit. When eaten in this form, the natural sugars of the fruit are accompanied with the exact combination of enzymes, minerals, vitamins, and fiber that your body for healthy digestion and optimal utilization. Naturally sweet vegetables, like yams, parsnips, carrots and beets offer the same benefit. When eaten regularly, their mellow sweet flavor can help to curb sugar cravings.
- Chew Well - When whole grains and other complex carbohydrates are properly prepared and chewed well, they release a natural sweetness that calms the nervous system and alleviates the desire for excess sweets.
- Balance Yin and Yang - Your body always seeks balance. In the Chinese tradition the main elements of this balance are called Yin and Yang. Everything you eat affects your Yin/Yang balance. Eating foods from the extreme ends of the spectrum causes cravings for their opposite. Eating foods from the middle of the spectrum supports a steady balance. Salty foods, meat and cheese are on the far Yang end of the spectrum. Sugar, coffee and alcohol are extremely Yin. Many people struggle to maintain balance while flip-flopping between the two ends of the spectrum. Whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts and beans all fall in the middle of the spectrum. A steady diet of foods from these categories will support your body’s Yin/Yang Balance and free you from your cravings.
- Balance Protein and Carbs - Protein and carbohydrate metabolism regulate one another and it’s important to keep them in good balance. When you eat concentrated proteins (like meat and cheese) in excess, you’ll naturally crave excessive quantities of concentrated sweets. On the other hand, if you don’t get enough protein you may also find yourself with sugar cravings.2 The first issue is the result of the mainstream diet and the second issue commonly occurs in vegetarian diets that rely on processed, rather than whole, foods. Whole grains and beans have a balanced amount of protein and carbohydrates. Again, eating a whole foods plant based diet with only modest amounts of animals products (if any) is a great tool for avoiding sugar cravings.
- Take Micro-algae Supplements - Micro-algae are an excellent source of easily digested protein for quickly regulating sugar metabolism. Spirulina, chlorella and wild blue-green are highly effective in reducing sweet cravings. 2
- Drink Lots of Water - Dehydration is a common cause of cravings. Whenever you feel the urge to grab a sweet snack, drink a glass of water instead. This is a great way to intercept your cravings, re-hydrate, and bring your body back into a healthy balance.
- Exercise and/or Breathe Deeply - Cravings can also be caused by an overly acid condition in your body. Exercise and deep breathing change your pH to a more alkaline state. These no-food techniques are helpful in getting your blood moving and taking your mind off your cravings.
- Enjoy Homecookin’ - Most processed foods and restaurant fare is loaded with sugar, even when it’s not “sweet.” When you prepare your own food at home you decide exactly what goes into it. Enjoy preparing and eating delicious sugar-free whole foods using our recipes to avoid the sugar from eating out.
- Nourishment Menu - Cravings are always a message from the body that it needs something that it’s not getting. Often, those cravings can be satisfied by non-food activities. A Nourishment Menu helps you find non-food ways to do something “sweet” for yourself. Check out our instructions for creating your own Nourishment Menu from last month’s newsletter.
Cravings are your body’s way of telling you that something is missing or out of balance. Given the state of our modern food supply it’s no wonder so many of us struggle with cravings…especially for sugar. The key to moving through any craving is to understand it and see it for what it is. Just because you can’t stop thinking about ice cream doesn’t necessarily mean that your body needs it. Consider the other factors at play and, most importantly, feed your body nourishing whole foods to keep it healthy and satisfied.
1Sugar Really Can Be an Addictive Substance, Princeton Study
2 Healing With Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition (3rd Edition)
Special Detox Tip: Sweeten it Up with Natural Sweeteners!
So how do we kick the sugar habit and still satisfy that sweet tooth? Can we have our cake and eat it too? Yes, we can. By eating naturally sweet foods and using natural sweeteners for your sugar free desserts, you can detox sweetly.
Choosing natural sweetness means eating mostly whole foods and leaving most of the processed products on the grocery shelf. It also means readjusting to your body’s natural desire for sweetness by using alternative sweeteners like raw honey, fruit juice, dried fruit, brown rice syrup, agave nectar, stevia, pure maple syrup and date sugar.
Excessive use of refined sugars has likely increased your tolerance and desire for sweets to unhealthy levels. Choosing milder, natural sweeteners will allow your body to readjust and free you from the sugar cycle so you can begin to enjoy natural ingredients as a special treat once again. Check out our in-depth coverage on natural sweeteners to learn more about the importance of clearing refined sugars from your diet and how to use these wholesome substitutes.
Featured Recipe: Carob Brownies!
We've made your baking deliciously simple by creating some healthy dessert recipes using natural sweeteners. Our newest is a fudgy, chewy brownie made with carob, date sugar and brown rice syrup. Carob is naturally sweet and makes a great chocolate substitute with it's own earthy rich flavor.
Click here for our Carob Brownie recipe!
Books to Support your Detox
If you are serious about changing your diet and your health for good, having a whole foods reference book on hand will greatly support your efforts. We refer to our libraries regularly not only to gather critical information for shopping and cooking, but to inspire and educate ourselves so we stay motivated and on the path to radiant health.
For an easy, delightful read that will inspire, educate and motivate you, we highly recommend Green for Life
There are a handful of really outstanding books on whole foods but Paul Pitchford's book Healing With Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition (3rd Edition)
Each of these books you will want to keep on a handy shelf to refer to over and over again!
Do you need extra support for your detox and healthy lifestyle? Jo delAmor, Holistic Health Counselor, provides professional detox guidance and health counseling. She'll help you create and follow through with a plan that's just right for your specific needs, concerns and conditions.
Click here for details on guided detox programs with Jo!
“If you doubt you can accomplish something, then you can't accomplish it. You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through." Rosalyn Carter