Do you find yourself reaching for yet another bar of chocolate – you’re not even hungry but you crave the sweet, irresistible flavour! You’ve been trying so hard to cut back, you know it’s not a good idea, but for goodness sake, just one more…
Our busy modern lives place ever more stress on our digestive system. Students and people who have to use a lot of brain power in their jobs are also prone to weakening their digestive system. My biggest, most intense sugar craving was when I was studying for my degree! Within a month of completing my exams I lost my ‘need’ for chocolate. A little bit of sweetness supports the digestive system but not in the form of chocolate, sweets and sugary foods. In Chinese Medicine, sweet foods are defined as most meat, especially chicken, legumes, nuts, dairy and starchy vegetables such as sweet potato. These foods mildly stimulate the circulation, nourish and strengthen us.
So if you are feeling tired, stressed, overwhelmed, in the midst of study and can’t seem to leave the biscuit jar alone, you can help build up your energy by eating more of the foods mentioned above, keep them simple and easy to digest and avoid too many cold, raw foods. As an acupuncturist, I can use diagnostic tools and do a full health consultation to assess if this is an issue for you. As I work on supporting your digestive system with acupuncture, sugar cravings should lessen.