Joyous Health

Tip # 4: How to Kick your Sugar Habit

EAT protein and Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs)

Tip number four for kicking your sugar habit is one that your whole body is going to benefit from, not just your blood sugar levels.

When you eat in balance, your body is free from cravings. You will feel satisfied with the food you eat and eat to satisfy physical hunger, as opposed to appetite. The two are in fact very different! Many people eat for appetite because their blood sugar dips at 3pm in the afternoon, they feel a little tired and then hit up Starbucks for a coffee and a cookie or muffin sending their blood sugar on a rollercoaster. Coffee does a wicked job of sending your blood sugar on a ride, as does sugar. The key here is balance and making sure that at every meal and snack you eat a lean protein food and a get a source of EFA, (your good fat) along with your complex carbohydrate.

When you do not follow a diet of balance, this is when your body gets out of whack and you have constant cravings, are never satisfied and could eat and eat and eat. I hear this so often from my clients that they feel they don’t know when to stop eating and this is because they are likely not eating the right ratio of carbs/protein/fat.

Protein and good fat do a wonderful job of slowing the rate (just like fiber) at which sugar enters your bloodstream. This is why people who eat an overload of carbohydrates and not enough protein and good fat typically weigh more, eat more, get sick more often, suffer from cravings and disrupted slept. Blood sugar imbalance affects nearly every process within your body.

Protein and good fat take a good few hours (and sometimes more) to digest. Carbohydrates require much less digestion, so if you eat a meal with all three macronutritients – carbs, protein, fat, you are literally slowing your digestive time down and this translates to a slow release of sugar into your blood, management of cravings, avoidance of mindless eating and most important your body is satisfied!

Good protein sources are foods “with a mother”, such as eggs, chicken, fish, turkey, red meat (from an organic source). Non-meat protein sources are legumes (beans), tempeh, quinoa, nuts, seeds and vegetables. The key with a vegetarian diet is to eat from a variety of non-meat sources to ensure you get all the essential amino acids, otherwise you will become deficient because you cannot depend solely on one source for your protein. I have not listed soy here because I am not a fan of soy products (soy milk/cheese/cream/nuts) and I do not recommend it.

Good fat sources are olive oil, fish oil, avocado, nut butter, seeds, eggs, butter and kefir (fermented yogurt). Full fat dairy like whole milk, is a good source of healthy fat too (if you are okay consuming dairy) and you are getting it from an organic source (very important).

The ratio of carb/protein/fat is equally important as well and everyone is unique in their body requirements. What makes me satisfied may not work for you. For example, my metabolic type is a “Fast Oxidizer”. This means my body very quickly converts food to energy. I am the typical person who if I eat too many carbs, it sends my blood sugar for a ride and I’m craving more! As opposed to some people who are better off eating a diet slightly higher in complex carbs. Everyone is different. I encourage you to read up on Metabolic Typing because it’s customized eating for your metabolism and it’s a blood sugar management plan. Or email me about it because I am an Advanced Metabolic Advisor through HealthExcel – joy@joyoushealth.ca

Stay tuned for my last tip, coming soon. And remember if you eat in balance, the result is that you will manage your blood sugar and you will FEEL in balance.

Happy Sunday!

Joy