Curb & Conquer Your Food Cravings

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Part II: BALANCING YOUR BODY-MIND SYSTEM

By Kelly Hayford, C.N.C., Copyright © 2006

Last time we talked about the importance of properly nourishing your body-mind system in order to diminish or eliminate cravings for health-robbing foods. Equally as important is balancing your body-mind system, particularly with regard to your emotions and blood sugar.

Imbalanced blood sugar can lead to almost unbearable cravings for poor quality foods, especially caffeine and sweets. Although giving in and indulging in delectable confections may give you temporary relief, doing so will only make things worse in the long run. Regularly consuming stimulant foods such as caffeine, alcohol and sweets is what causes and perpetuates the cycle of wildly fluctuating blood sugar levels and cravings in the first place.

Once you’re hooked, it’s like being on a biochemical roller coaster. Soon after you consume the soda, coffee, pastry or other stimulant, you’re feeling pretty cheery. Then—pheeeeeew --- boom!—your blood sugar crashes and you feel like taking a nap or strangling somebody for your next “fix.” Or both.

In addition to causing strong food cravings and fatigue, imbalanced glucose levels are also notorious for causing headaches, insomnia, brain fog, excess weight that won’t go away and of course, pronounced emotional imbalance. This may show up as depression, irritability, anxiety and often, swinging from one mood to the next.

If you want to truly balance your emotions and conquer your food cravings, you must stabilize your blood sugar! Following these dietary recommendations will help:

Eliminate or relegate stimulants to rare occasions, including: caffeine, chocolate, refined salt, alcohol and refined carbohydrates (sugars, high fructose corn syrup, white refined flour, etc.)
Eat animal protein or whole grains within an hour of waking up.
Eat three balanced meals daily and feed cravings for sweets with protein.
Substitute stevia extract for concentrated or artificial sweeteners, as this natural herbal sweetener is known to balance blood sugar levels.
Snack on a handful of wolfberries, also known as goji berries, which help support pancreatic function.

When it comes to supplementation, as we discussed in Part I, you will also want to be sure that you’re taking both a green food and broad-based whole food supplement —regularly and abundantly. In addition to supplying the body with an array of vital nutrients, these two products are also very effective in stabilizing blood sugar. Which means a double dose of assistance in your endeavor to curb uncontrollable urges for poor-quality foods.

Once your blood sugar levels are maintained in balance regularly, you will notice that both food cravings and emotional upsets will subside significantly. This could take a few weeks to a few months depending on the person and to what degree efforts to reverse this condition are followed.

Therapeutic-grade essential oils can help you through this transition period and to establish and maintain an ongoing sense of well-being.

Bergamot and Cinnamon are both helpful for general cravings and addictions. (I once had a client who put a few drops of Bergamot on her feet every day and within a few days her irresistible cravings for salt and salty snacks completely went away!)
Because Fennel and Dill help balance blood sugar levels, they are especially effective in clearing an unhealthy desire for sweets.
Ginger, Lemon, Peppermint, and Spearmint may help with emotional eating and/or overeating.

Use your intuition and experiment to see what works best for you. Consult reference guides to essential oils for more recommendations.

Most people experience a dramatic reduction in their food cravings within a short period of time after following the preceding recommendations. Balancing and nourishing your body-mind system for the long haul, however, is a process that will take a bit of time to integrate as a lifestyle. Time well spent, as the rewards are great and will affect every area of your life!

If you find yourself struggling with suggested changes or that they are not as effective as you would like, chances are you also need to thoroughly cleanse your body-mind system. More on this third piece of the curb-and-conquer-your-food-cravings puzzle in Part III.

**NOTE: Make sure you are using therapeutic-grade essential oils available from direct distribution companies. DO NOT use perfume-grade aromatic oils, available at most retail outlets. I most recommend Young Living Essential Oils #176667.

For more info visit:
http://www.wellnesscoaching.com/shop/essoils.htm or www.youngliving.com
For more company recommendations:
http://www.FoodFitnessByPhone.com/resources.htm

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Kelly Hayford, C.N.C. is the award-winning author of If It’s Not Food Don’t Eat It! As a former junk food junkie turned nutrition and health coach, she has helped thousands reverse dis-ease, and restore their health, energy and natural weight. For more tips and teleclasses on healthy eating and holistic self-care, visit:
www.FoodFitnessByPhone.com or call 303.746.8970

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