asleep in the middle of the day/feeling really drowsy.
Inability to get going without a caffeine/nicotine fix.
Irritability without frequent meals.
Need for more than eight hours’ sleep per night.
Breaking the cycle
In order to break this cycle so you don’t end up a complete sugar junky on a roller-coaster ride to poor health, you need to eat a diet that keeps insulin levels as low as possible. Over time, this can improve the cellular response to insulin so less is needed to keep blood-sugar levels normal. The less wide the swings of insulin you produce, the less likely you are to store glucose as fat.
Avoid all foods that cause blood-sugar levels to rise rapidly. These include sugar, white bread, white rice, white pastry, white pasta, white potatoes, chips, fries, processed foods, alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, cakes, pastries, cookies, candy, and soft drinks.
Eat small, regular meals and snacks rather than large meals.
Include fiber and protein with each meal, as these slow down the release of glucose from carbohydrates. Examples include fish or chicken with vegetables and salad or beans with grains and vegetables.
Drink herbal teas and water instead of tea, coffee, or alcohol. These act as stimulants that raise blood-sugar levels initially,followed by a slump, leaving you with cravings for another pick-me-up an hour or so later.
Move that bum of yours please. Daily, moderate exercise improves the cellular response to insulin and normalizes appetite.
Stress upsets blood-sugar levels. Learn relaxation techniques such as yoga, tai chi, qi gong, or meditation.
Take blood-sugar balancing nutrients such as chromium, amino acid complex, vitamin D, magnesium, zinc, and B vitamins. Balancing herbs include nigella, lupin, cloves, cumin, sage, cinnamon, and fenugreek.
If you do get a fit of the cravings, the key is not to get flustered. Just take note of it like an observer. Instead, just say, “Oh, there’s that craving,” and allow it to go. A new you is on the way!
If you like chocolate, then go for the real thing. Raw cacao bean nibs or powder are from the raw bean that chocolate is made from, but they don’t have the added white processed sugar that makes up chocolate. You’ll find them in the health-food store.
Food intolerances
We often crave the same foods day in and day out. But if you eat the same foods every day, for years, in many cases you can become sensitive to those very foods, sometimes referred to as food intolerances. And usually the foods that we crave are the same ones that lead to weight gain. It is a vicious cycle.
If you are food intolerant, a delayed immune response may occur in your body. This can happen over several hours or days after the offending food is ingested. Side effects to these foods can be anything from irritable bowel–like symptoms (see page 315 ) to skin eruptions, ulcerations in the mouth, Crohn’s disease (see page 239 ), or inflammation of the digestive tract, colic, ear problems, and tiredness, to name a few. It is not always so obvious.But food intolerances can have a direct effect on the assimilation of nutrients, digestive organ function, and weight management. The more common foods such as wheat, dairy, sugar, and corn are often implicated as food-intolerance triggers, simply because many of us eat too much of these same foods.
The problem is that when you eat foods to which you are intolerant every day, you may cause a drastic slowdown of metabolism. Digestive enzyme function might become impaired, which means that your body may not break down fat properly.
Moreover, by eating the same foods every day, you limit your intake of essential nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and co-factors. So my best advice here is:
Always rotate your foods. In other words, if you eat a food today, then try not to eat it again for, say, three or four days. Thus, you may prevent food intolerances.
It is a good idea to get tested for food intolerances or allergies
Inability to get going without a caffeine/nicotine fix.
Irritability without frequent meals.
Need for more than eight hours’ sleep per night.
Breaking the cycle
In order to break this cycle so you don’t end up a complete sugar junky on a roller-coaster ride to poor health, you need to eat a diet that keeps insulin levels as low as possible. Over time, this can improve the cellular response to insulin so less is needed to keep blood-sugar levels normal. The less wide the swings of insulin you produce, the less likely you are to store glucose as fat.
Avoid all foods that cause blood-sugar levels to rise rapidly. These include sugar, white bread, white rice, white pastry, white pasta, white potatoes, chips, fries, processed foods, alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, cakes, pastries, cookies, candy, and soft drinks.
Eat small, regular meals and snacks rather than large meals.
Include fiber and protein with each meal, as these slow down the release of glucose from carbohydrates. Examples include fish or chicken with vegetables and salad or beans with grains and vegetables.
Drink herbal teas and water instead of tea, coffee, or alcohol. These act as stimulants that raise blood-sugar levels initially,followed by a slump, leaving you with cravings for another pick-me-up an hour or so later.
Move that bum of yours please. Daily, moderate exercise improves the cellular response to insulin and normalizes appetite.
Stress upsets blood-sugar levels. Learn relaxation techniques such as yoga, tai chi, qi gong, or meditation.
Take blood-sugar balancing nutrients such as chromium, amino acid complex, vitamin D, magnesium, zinc, and B vitamins. Balancing herbs include nigella, lupin, cloves, cumin, sage, cinnamon, and fenugreek.
If you do get a fit of the cravings, the key is not to get flustered. Just take note of it like an observer. Instead, just say, “Oh, there’s that craving,” and allow it to go. A new you is on the way!
If you like chocolate, then go for the real thing. Raw cacao bean nibs or powder are from the raw bean that chocolate is made from, but they don’t have the added white processed sugar that makes up chocolate. You’ll find them in the health-food store.
Food intolerances
We often crave the same foods day in and day out. But if you eat the same foods every day, for years, in many cases you can become sensitive to those very foods, sometimes referred to as food intolerances. And usually the foods that we crave are the same ones that lead to weight gain. It is a vicious cycle.
If you are food intolerant, a delayed immune response may occur in your body. This can happen over several hours or days after the offending food is ingested. Side effects to these foods can be anything from irritable bowel–like symptoms (see page 315 ) to skin eruptions, ulcerations in the mouth, Crohn’s disease (see page 239 ), or inflammation of the digestive tract, colic, ear problems, and tiredness, to name a few. It is not always so obvious.But food intolerances can have a direct effect on the assimilation of nutrients, digestive organ function, and weight management. The more common foods such as wheat, dairy, sugar, and corn are often implicated as food-intolerance triggers, simply because many of us eat too much of these same foods.
The problem is that when you eat foods to which you are intolerant every day, you may cause a drastic slowdown of metabolism. Digestive enzyme function might become impaired, which means that your body may not break down fat properly.
Moreover, by eating the same foods every day, you limit your intake of essential nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and co-factors. So my best advice here is:
Always rotate your foods. In other words, if you eat a food today, then try not to eat it again for, say, three or four days. Thus, you may prevent food intolerances.
It is a good idea to get tested for food intolerances or allergies
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