Tips For Going Sugar-Free

Tips For Going Sugar-Free 
- Marie Hopkinson

Trying to kick Refined sugar in your life? 

1) Go cold turkey - it’s better just to quit sugar, throw away your sugary
treats and spend a few days letting your body and mind adjust. Pick a time when things aren't too stressful. After a week, the cravings will significantly subside and your body will thank you enormously.

2) Remove temptation - throw away or put the chocolates and lollies out of sight so your not visually tempted.

3) Plan your treats. Quitting sugar doesn't mean you can’t have any treats. There are tons of sugar-free recipes online. Refined sugar replacements like maple syrup, coconut sugar, dried fruits, agave syrup can be used in cooking or making raw sweet treats. I recommend getting away from the sweet flavour as much as possible but having access to some of these in the first week or 2 will make it easier.

4) Look after your Spleen. The more you nurture your Spleen Energy, the less your body will crave sugar and the better you will feel.

Why Should I quit sugar? 

Sweet is the flavour of the spleen energy in Chinese medicine. It’s a very important organ for digestive processes. A small amount of sweet helps the Spleen, but too much can overwhelm the Spleen Qi (pronounced “chee”). When we crave sweet especially after eating a meal, it indicates the Spleen Qi is weak. (You will usually get diarrhoea or loose bowel movements, and see toothmarks on the tongue as well). Since the Spleen makes energy for your body to function, when it can’t diegest well, it can be a cause of tiredness.

Refined cane sugar overwhelms the Spleen energy. In a biomedical sense, this corelates with rise and subsequent drop of blood sugar levels. This gives you an instant burst of energy or buzz, followed by a low...usually lower than you felt before you ate the chocolate or lollies.

Sweet-natured foods that can nurture the Spleen energy include root vegetables like sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin and unrefined, cooked grains like barley, rice and millet.

In a biomedical sense, theses foods have a low gylcemic index, which means they take longer to break down and don’t require the same biochemical reaction that refined sugary-sweet natured foods do. They won’t quickly spike and lower your blood sugar level.

The golden rule of Chinese diet therapy, and longevity practices in general is EVERYTHING IN MODERATION. Balance isn’t just a  token yin-yang symbol, but it’s a guiding key principal to achieve health and longevity in life.

FREE Sugar-Free RECIPES ARE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE

www.metrohealth.com.au 

Metro Health and Medicine

200 Whatley Crs 

Maylands, WA 6051

Winter

Winter

Seasons are a major aspect of Chinese medicine, they influence the ways in which we should live, and the kinds of illnesses that are prevalent in the various seasons. Winter is the season where things retreat, hibernate and rejuvenate. Just as the weather becomes cold, and nature retreats, our lifestyle should also change to suit the climate. 

I took this photo on one of my trips to the tea village in Changsha

Wearing warm clothing, avoiding the wind and protecting the lower back (which is known as the “kidneys house”) is an important way to maintain health. Kidney energy relates specifically to winter via the Water Element. Water is reflected in tranquillity, stillness, rejuvenation and gestation. It’s the Kidney energy that is directly influential in reproduction and fertility. Water energy accumulates in hibernation and rest, this should be encouraged during Winter with longer sleep time (go to bed later and get up later), resting during the day by lying down flat after lunch for about 20 minutes, and sweating less by engaging in non-sweat producing exercises like stretching and gentle walking. 

Generally winter is the season where we don’t need to do much exercise. Certainly opening the pores during sweating creates an easy-access path for External Pathogens like Wind-Cold to invade and cause colds and flu’s.

The primary focus of winter is to allow the body to rest, sleep and recover from any cold and flu’s, and avoid exposure to External pathogens. For healthy people, winter should be a season of storing up the nourishing Post-natal Kidney Essence (Jing). 

Click here for a winter recipe!