8 Top Tips to Kick Sugar and Alcohol Cravings

Are you having more Sugar and Alcohol Cravings since the Lock Down?

The whole COVID 19 pandemic and its related disruption of your work/life balance, social interactions, as well as spending more time inside together with your family unit may definitely lead to increased anxiety, frustration, anger, sadness or worry.

Of course the quick fix can be sugar or alcohol, as it helps you to suppress your emotions, relaxes and brings hope. However, the down side is that sugar and alcohol will increase your inflammation, which will have a negative affect on your prefrontal cortex, your brains center for good decision making. So the vicious cycle of craving more sugar and alcohol can start, suppressing your immunity and well-being.

So let's identify what the motivators behind your sugar or alcohol cravings are. Is is emotional, boredom or lack in nutrients?

What can you do about it?

HERE ARE MY 8 TOP TIPS:

(1) SPEND MORE TIME WITH SELF. You need to fill your cup daily by doing something for yourself for 30-60 minutes. Non negotiable!
I highly recommend that this includes movement, meditation and breathing exercises and time in nature.

(2) PURPOSE & VALIDATION. We all need the two. If you find that this is compromised in your life right now then you may want to start with a new little project to create a new purpose and goal to get excited about. It can be as simple as learning to meditate.

(3) LEAVE THE SWEETS AND ALCOHOL AT THE STORE. Having them in the house is like self-torture. You will end up having them.

(4) INCREASE YOUR FIBRE INTAKE 35-40g/day which helps you to stay fuller longer. Eat vegetables with every meal.

(5) CONSUME MORE HEALTHY FATS (choose coconut oil, ghee, extra virgin olive oil and ditch those vegetable oils). Become a fat burner!

(6) ADD SMALL AMOUNTS OF PROTEINS TO EVERY MEAL.

(7) CONSUME MORE SOUR & PROBIOTIC FOOD.

(8) SWITCH TO STEVIA & MONKFRUIT SWEETENER.

THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF SAUERKRAUT

I remember my mother telling me about her winters as a child, where there were no fresh vegetables available and all the summer and autumn vegetables were pickled and fermented. Sauerkraut, is one of the most common and oldest forms of preserving cabbage and can be traced back as a food source all the way back to the 4th century BC. (1)

Fermentation entails carbohydrates being turned into their alcohols and carbon dioxide, or organic acids. The presence of yeast, bacteria or both will convert the natural sugars into beneficial bacteria that populate your gut environment. The beneficial bacteria in fermented foods such as sauerkraut have a very positive effect on your intestinal flora which has a direct effect on organs, glands and bodily systems. As a large number of immune cells are located in the intestines, its microbial balance will be reflected in a more resilient immune system. (2)

Sauerkraut contains a large quantity of lactic acid and tyramines, as well as vitamins and minerals, and has few calories. Bacterial fermentation produces weak organic acids such as lactic, propionic and butyric acid that decreases the pH of the food, increasing the acidity of the food. This acidifying property of fermentation has been used to eradicate pathogenic bacteria and keep food for longer in shelf. Tyramine is an amino acid that helps regulate blood pressure and is a monoamine that works by releasing other neurotransmitters like adrenaline, noradrenaline and dopamine into the body. (3)

Based on a review article from the Journal of Applied Microbiology (2006) (4), the list of benefits related to the consumption of fermented foods is long:

• Overall improvement in digestive health

• Stronger immunity

• Decrease in inflammation

• Increased digestion and absorption of nutrients

• Prevention and treatment of IBS

• Mental health

• Resilience to stress

• Decreased food sensitivities and food allergies

• Improvement in skin conditions such as eczema or dermatitis

• Management of blood pressure

• Improved vaginal health (e.g. less vaginal thrush)

• Reduced cancer risks

• Improved lipid health

 Click here to for the Recipe

Recipe Copyright 2019 Doctor Verena. All Rights Reserved

Images: Amani Lindsell, TWP The Womens Pic Website, Facebook, Instagram

Styling by Belinda Elliott

THE STORY BEHIND DOCTOR VERENA

MY STORY

WHO I AM

I am Doctor Verena Raschke-Cheema (PhD, MSc).  I hold a doctorate in the Nutritional Sciences from the University of Vienna and I am a trained in Neuro-Training Kinesiology. I live on the south coast of New South Wales with my husband and two sons.  I enjoy eating and cooking delicious foods and spending time in nature.   

WHAT I DO

I am a holistic nutrition consultant, Neuro-Training Kinesiologist and holistic health educator. 

I use my knowledge and skills to help empower people to overcome mental, emotional and physical challenges which are preventing them from excelling and experiencing a richer and more fuller life. 

WHAT I OFFER

1.  Private Neuro-Training Kinesiology sessions: I use a client-centered approach to identify and resolve the mental, emotional and physical root causes behind the symptoms via the use of neurological-response testing.

2.  Holistic Nutrition Consultations: The individualised nutritional assessments and recommendations support the recuperation process, combining scientific principles, methodical dedication and evidence-based practices in Nutritional Sciences from the West with aspects of traditional healing modalities from the East (Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine).

3.  My workshops, events and digital information on the power of wholefoods and the interconnection between physical, mental and emotional health are engaging and inspiring, with an emphasis on empowering the individual to become more health conscious and supportive of their own transformation.

WHAT INSPIRED MY CAREER

My story has a very familiar theme that many of you have heard about before…

I was challenged with body image issues, engaged in controlled eating behavior, ended up with adrenal fatigue and insomnia already in my early twenties. This was a big wake up call for me and I started to engage in a very conscious and balanced lifestyle to realign my mental, emotional and physical health. After I lost one of my twins in-utero with my second pregnancy, I decided to end the fast pace academic career lifestyle of mine to improve my work-life balance even more. After another successful home-lotus-birth with my second son, I experienced the so far biggest challenge of my life, sleeplessness. My son was not sleeping more than 1-2 hours at a time for the first year of his life. He also had bouts of panic attacks during the night where it was almost impossible to calm him down. After seeing various doctors and health practitioners, who all said that he is a healthy little boy and everything is fine with him, I thought there must be more to this. After a year of almost no sleep, emotional and mental vulnerability, physical exhaustion and nobody being able to help, I saw a Neuro-Training Kinesiologist, who became my teacher 2 years later. After three sessions with her, my son started to sleep through the night. She was able to identify and re-balance the neurology in relation to the shock/trauma that my son had experienced, the loss of his twin in-utero. This experience put him into a fight flight state, compromising his parasympathetic nervous system, leading to the wake ups at night as well as panic attacks.

From our most challenging times, the biggest growth can arise. I feel very fortunate and honored that I can now use my experiences, skills, knowledge and passion to assist other children as well as adults to re-balancing their mental, emotional and physical health.

WHAT I ENJOY ABOUT MY BUSINESS

It feeds my soul that I can do what I love doing and that I can contribute to making a difference in people’s lives. I really enjoy that every client is unique and therefore the treatment approach.

HOW I BALANCE LIFE AND WORK

Organisation and routine are my best friends as well as reminding myself regularly that less is more. Outsourcing the ‘time wasters’ such as social media or admin work was also a big help with keeping the lifestyle balance as well as creating enough time for self-nourishment.

WHAT INSPIRES AND MOTIVATES ME

My drive is to be the best version of myself and to empower others to do the same. My daily motivations are also my clients and their transformations. The excitements for life also inspires me, as there is so much to explore, learn and share.

HOW I VIEW SUCCESS

Success for me is about deep inner personal work in myself and facilitating it for others. It begins by identifying fears, limiting beliefs and subjective filters that have shaped experiences, sense of self, and our socialised worldview.

WHAT HAVE I LEARNT IN MY CAREER

I feel that trust is the number one facilitator when it comes to a successful business. Trust in yourself, your talents, skillset and authenticity, as well as the natural flow of life.  Allow things to happen organically.

PERSONAL ADVICE THAT I HAVE LEARNED

When it comes to the day to day running of my business, I enjoy engaging with clients from all walks of life and all ages. Teaching people about the healing power of foods is very exciting. The more people understand how their physical health is related to their mental and emotional well-being, the more empowered and resilient they are.

ADVICE I CAN SHARE WITH THOSE OF YOU THAT EMBARK ON THEIR CAREER

• Trust more & fear less.

• Be kind to yourself.

• Bravely go where others won’t.

• Shake things up and make your mark on the world.

• Reach out and ask for help and support when needed.

• World map your vision.

• Less is more.