Honoring Your Sweet Tooth & Gaining Health

When you are eating to gain health, denial and diet are not in your vocabulary. A mindful food plan will keep you healthy and strong. You can indulge in things that are not necessarily healthy from time to time, but more than that, you can simply throw guilt out the window and enjoy good, wholesome food for what it is - a source of health and strength for your body.

If you have a "sweet tooth" you have probably struggled with diets that tried to force you to give up the things you love or eat them only in tiny portions or on a very limited basis. Guess what! You don't have to do that. What you will do as you gain health, is learn to love other things. Your taste for things that really are bad for you will diminish and even disappear to be replaced by a love of healthy, wholesome food. As you learn to really take care of yourself, this will happen naturally.

You may be surprised to know that a very good way to address a sweet tooth is to give it what it wants. Deepak Chopra suggests that if you have a craving for sweets, you should start each day by eating a tablespoon of pure honey. He reasons that, if you get it out of the way first thing by eating a healthy source of sweetness that will give you a boost of energy and vitamins, you will be less bothered by cravings for the rest of the day.

Do you believe that chocolate and caffeine are bad for you, so you avoid them and deny yourself and then binge? Guess what! You're wrong. Pure, dark chocolate is not bad for you. In fact, it is very good for you. It is full of anti-oxidants that fight cancer. It contains copper that helps you process and utilize iron. It increases mid-brain serotonin, which in turn increases endorphin levels bringing you a sense of well-being. I start every day with a cup of high quality, strong, black coffee and two ounces of semi-sweet chocolate. I have done so for years. It gives me a little boost and helps me start the day off in a positive frame of mind. I don't crave chocolate for the rest of the day, and I don't drink lousy office coffee or coffee from machines. Nor do I eat candy bars or other versions of chocolate that are heavy on hydrogenated oil, sugar, and so on.

When you enjoy the things you really want in a mindful, moderate way, you won't be troubled by cravings. When you eat real, whole foods, you will feel and be satisfied and well-fed. That is why it is very important, as you gain health, to choose whole, natural foods as often as possible. If a food is highly processed, make another choice. That food will not satisfy you or care for you. As you choose, remember that a commitment is a decision you make again and again. Commit yourself to taking care of you!

Don't use artificial sweeteners at all. They are chemicals. They are not food. Don't eat anything that is not food. Many people use an herb called as a sweetener. This alternative has no calories and is well-thought of by everyone but sugar lobbyists. It has been used safely in Paraguay and Japan for centuries. I have not tried it myself, but if you are under doctors' orders to avoid sugars, you may want to give it a try. You can find stevia at your local health food store.

Substitute raw sugar, honey, molasses, or pure cane sugar for refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweetener. Reduce the amount of sweetening you use in a recipe. Try cutting it in half to see how you like it. You will probably be surprised to find it is plenty sweet without the original amount of sweetening. Note that, if you are substituting honey, molasses, or cane syrup for dry sugar, you will want to adjust the amount of liquid in your recipe accordingly. For example, if you add 1/4 cup of these natural sweeteners, reduce other liquids by 1/8 of a cup. You may need to experiment with this a little to get it perfect.

You do not have to feel guilty or avoid enjoying healthy, wholesome taste treats. Using whole wheat flour and all natural ingredients, you can make some wonderful, delicious desserts and healthy snacks! You may not immediately be able to break your processed sweets habit by substituting healthy alternatives, but it's a start. You will find that the more you steer your food consumption toward healthy, natural choices, the more you will desire just that. The day will come when you will pick up a junk food item you used to love, take a bite, and set it right back down again. I know this is true, because it's happened to me!