THIS WEEK’S HEALTH TIP: Read food labels and avoid sugar
This month is Weight Management Month at Simply Natural Therapies and it seems that the issue of diet and obesity is popping up all over the place this week. My husband gave me a copy of the Good Weekend Magazine from The Age with a couple of articles he thought might interest me. One was written by a woman who put her overweight 7 year old daughter on a diet. This mum did a lot of soul searching about restricting her daughter’s intake of food. Was she being unfair and depriving her daughter of the normal pleasures of childhood or was she treating a medical condition as any responsible parent should? It’s quite a thought provoking article. You can CLICK HERE to read it.
The same magazine had an article on sugar addiction and the benefits of going “Cold Turkey” off sugar. There is quite a bit of conflicting research on the health risks of sugar. A representive from Sugar Australia says that sugar is not implicated as a direct cause of diabetes, heart disease or obesity. My common sense tells me that it is. In fact a “Fizzy Drink Study” done in New Zealand showed a direct relationship between fizzy drinks being available in schools and an increase in obesity. That’s not rocket science.
The sugar that’s added to most softdrinks and processed foods is actually fructose. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is the cheapset way to sweeten processed foods. The big problem is that the liver struggles to process fructose so it is quite toxic to the body. I see many clients who have fructose intolerance causing all sorts of digestive troubles. The other problem is that fructose doesn’t trigger the satisfaction signal in the brain that stops you feeling hungry. That means you can eat or drink a bucketload of toxic, empty calories and still feel hungry. That sounds like a recipe for obesity to me. You may like to take a look at an interesting Youtube video called “Sugar – The Bitter Truth”
My husband, Harry, has been very careful with his diet over the past 3 months and has lost a stunning 15 kilos! “How has he done it?” I hear you ask. Well, he has gone “cold turkey” and avoided sugar, wheat and diary (other than yoghurt) as well as anything processed. After the initial withdrawals he has found it surprisingly easy and enjoyable. He has plenty of salads, vegies, nuts and protein as well as brown rice and buckwheat. I must admit he has an extraordinary amount of willpower and determination which I know I could not match. Interestingly enough he stopped snoring as soon as he went off wheat and dairy foods which made me very happy. Harry has been guided and supported by our lovely Naturopath and he is feeling pretty proud of himself (and looking sexier than ever).
Normally I advise against a severe restriction diet like that when people come to me for weight loss but Harry is doing really well. What I do recommend is shifting your mindset so that food is not a big issue at all. I simply teach you how to eat when you are hungry and stop when you have had enough. It’s about tuning into your body’s natural ability to moderate your intake according to your output.
In our very successful “Weight Off Your Mind” Seminar we guide you through a really logical and powerful step-by-step process of how to change your thinking about food and your approach to eating. What you learn in the Seminar is reinforced through Hypnosis and you receive a Self Hypnosis CD to use at home. If Hypnosis is a little scary for you then just think of it as a guided meditation. It really is a lovely way to relax deeply and to safely clear any old programming, sabotage or resistance to positive change.
If you don’t have much willpower when it comes to food then Hypnosis is a fabulous way to make losing weight easy. Your subconscious mind then automatically guides you to make wise and healthy choices. It often seems like magic.
See left for details of our next Seminar on Wed Feb 13th.
Also during March we are offering free Body Mass Index testing. Call us to book a FREE 15 Minute Assessment including a Diabetes Risk Assessment. Call now on 9842 7033
Wishing You Health and Happiness
Warm Regards,
Alison Burton
For more information or to make a booking please contact us.
Simply Natural Therapies
the missing link in health care
41 Tunstall Square
East Doncaster
VIC 3109
03 9842 7033
info@simplynaturaltherapies.com.au
www.simplynaturaltherapies.com.au
PS: As usual there is no extra charge for spelling errors and typos. 🙂