Part 1 of this blog series took a look at understanding the different causes of food cravings and the difference between craving and hunger. In this second part, we take a closer look at how to address food cravings with lifestyle changes and practical tips.

Primary focus

• Natural foods - Include plant-based raw foods such as fruits, vegetables and greens as a major portion of your meal. Consuming seasonal and locally available fruits act as astringents which help remove all the wrong cravings over time.

• Hydration – Often the role of hydration is underestimated. Our material in the body, may it be digested food/undigested food/ toxins move only with the help of fluids and muscular movements. The lymphatic system is the sewage system carrying wastes from all the 100 trillion cells to the excretory organs. The blood in turn, carries nutrition. The solids in the GI tract need liquids and fibre for the peristalsis action to be efficient. Hence, drinking 3lts or more of fluids especially during a cleansing process is going to flush the toxins away from the body and hence address wrong cravings too. Bad Germs breed on the undigested matter only if it remains stagnant.
• Positive mental attitude - As natural foods continue to clean the body, positive thoughts of higher consciousness will flood the body. This is as a result of the change in biodiversity in the GUT. Constantly trying to focus on practising positive thoughts, words and actions will raise our vibrations and help in emotional healing as well.
• Resting – Rest is the key to building a healthy body. I have worked with clients who ate healthy all day but were so stressed at work. This causes a hormonal imbalance which can contribute to overeating and weight gain. Lack of enough rest takes the body to a catabolic state. Resting does the opposite and brings the body to an anabolic state.

• Exercise and proper spinal integrity - Moving all the body parts on a daily basis is like using a vehicle on a daily basis. A vehicle’s battery drains out if it is not used for a few days. Similarly, with a sedentary lifestyle, a human body also accumulates toxic wastes. To handle a craving, the key is to ensure that pathogens are starved. For them to starve, the acidic food supply must reduce and so the lymphatic system must move efficiently to disposeit via the excretory organs. For the lymphatics to move efficiently, the joints must be made to move. This is an indirect way to handle cravings.
• Postponing the call for hunger – Work can keep us busy. Not planning ahead, not paying enough attention to healthy eating habits can make food cravings worse. When the body is very hungry and the right food is not available, it may crave more calorie-dense foods than usual, including fried and processed foods. Hence, always plan your meals in advance and stock the fruits, vegetables and greens.
• Gradual lifestyle changes – I always believe in growing mentally, physically and emotionally with a lifestyle change as opposed to just getting into a rapid detox process. Anything that rushes the body into cleansing mode will also bring with it a lot of cravings. Unless you are detoxing from a destructive disease, do not right away switch to a fully raw lifestyle. Grow practically with the lifestyle gradually and learn to manage the cravings.
• Pick healthy alternatives - If a person is prone to binge eating, a better option is to look for alternatives as a stop-gap arrangement. You will be rewarded for this good act in the long term. It’s a good investment and returns on this are 100% guaranteed.

• Salt - Replace salt cravings with a healthy salad that has vegetables, chilli, spinach and lime.
• Fried – Replace with a baked vegetable like potato, carrot, sweet potato or whole grain baked snacks that are gluten-free and oil-free.
• Sweet – A person with a sweet tooth can pick dried fruits like dates, figs and raisins. Reaching for a sweet fruit also helps address the craving.
• Chocolate – Did you know that you can stuff a date with a mix of cacao flavoured nut butter and enjoy this in moderation instead of processed chocolate?
• Cheese – Blending soaked cashew with Italian spices, lime and salt can address a cheesy craving in a relatively healthier way.
• Grains – When people are attempting to reverse from chronic diseases and are trying to avoid grains, rice can be replaced with raw cauliflower with spices. Grain-free flours like Amaranthus, chickpea, buckwheat, water chestnut can be some flours used instead of wheat or millets. Steamed/baked and spiced vegetables can be used as a main meal. Soaked, sprouted and steamed bean varieties can be prepared topped with grated fresh coconut and lime.
• Going Half-way – Soaked, beaten rice or millets can directly be consumed instead of cooking it completely. The acidic nature of the grain reduces in such cases.
• Soda – A fruit juice with some lime and ginger is a great way to address craving for aerated drinks.

Secondary focus

• Sunlight - Human beings derive secondary sources of energy from plants that depend on the sun for their growth. When we can create a technology that can harness the energy from the sun and make appliances and cars work, we must instead apply this logic on our own body and learn how to absorb energy from the primary source, that is, the sun itself for our health and wellbeing.
• Air – Although we cannot avoid pollutions levels in the city today, practising pranayama or any form of regulated breathing exercises on a regular basis helps the body. Taking regular breaks to go on treks outside the city, rejuvenates the cells with air prana.
• Exposure to unnatural temperatures – Exposures to air-conditioner in all seasons and heater during winter is a common practice. This impacts the eliminations from the skin as an organ. Ensuring that we live honouring the seasonal temperature changes, helps the body in regulating its own internal temperatures and related actions effectively.
• Grounding – The autonomic nervous system is independent of our outward consciousness and is responsible for regulating the involuntary actions in the body. Grounding calms this autonomous nervous system. This is exactly why a walk on a lawn/garden destresses people. The sympathetic nervous system which was active during the time of stress calms down and parasympathetic takes over when the body is connected to the ground. Such lifestyle changes indirectly impact craving by reducing the causes of inflammation and bacterial overgrowth leading to miscommunications between the GUT and brain.

Conclusion

Everyone has a craving for something but the wise always learn to manage it with healthier alternatives and plans to address the issue by making healthier lifestyle changes.

(About myself: Formerly I was with the IT industry for 2 decades and also have my venture on healthy vegan baking. I have suffered life-threatening allergies and survived twice. I learnt to heal naturally and applied the same on both my kids aged 13 &10. We as a family, live a healthy, disease-free lifestyle. Based on my experience and what I have gained from reading, I help others in reversing their ailments naturally and holistically.)

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