Sweet Sugar Blues by Integrative Essentials

Sweet Sugar Blues
Kick Your Sugar Habit

Sharing the essentials that bring abundance and vibrancy to life!
Copyright © 2012 Libby Doubler
www.IntegrativeEssentials.com

Libby Doubler, CHC, AADP
Your life is out of balance. One day you look around and do not like what you see.
Overweight, alone, and depressed. What to do?

• You have the desire, but don’t know where to start.
• You’re tired of trying, so close to giving up.
• You know you could succeed, if you had the right support.
• A Certified Health Coach can be just what you need!

At the end of this session, I will introduce some of my programs that will support
your effort and help you take action.


My Personal Story
Like most of us, I’ve always loved food. I remember eating an entire box of donuts
in one sitting. However, about 12 years ago, my wonderful husband needed care by
me while he went through 2 bouts of cancer. It was my privilege. However, I didn’t
notice how much weight I was gaining, nutrition for myself was non-existent. I
became very sick and intolerances to food became apparent. After he passed away
about 7 years ago, I had to look at myself and didn’t like what I saw. I was sad,
obese and felt very alone.

On the left is me 8
sad years and 60
pounds ago

On the right, this
is me now. I’m
not smiling
because I’m
thinner. I’m
smiling because
I’m happy again.


Our Topic Today

Sugar is everywhere. It has not only short-term but also long-term impact on our
health and wellbeing. Getting off sugar is not just the matter of “willpower” – there
are underlying physiological and emotional causes behind the addiction. I will
show you these causes and give you tips on how to counter them.

 Know Thy Enemy
 Yin/Yang Imbalance
 Energy Quick Fix
 Stress Management
 Nutrient Deficiency
 Nourishment for the Soul


Know Thy Enemy
Sugar = carbohydrates = easily accessible energy  our “caveman” body likes that.
We are programmed to have a sweet tooth!
Sugar is a simple carbohydrates that occurs naturally in foods such as grains,
beans, vegetables, and fruit.
When unprocessed, sugar contains a variety of vitamins, minerals,
enzymes and proteins.
Refined sugar (sucrose) is extracted from either sugar cane or beets and
then refined, striped of their vitamins, minerals and fiber. It actually
requires extra effort from the body to digest – the body must deplete its
own store of minerals and enzymes to absorb sucrose properly, creating
deficiency.
Refined/simple sugar enters swiftly into the bloodstream, and has a
negative effect on the blood sugar level, first pushing it sky high –
causing excitability, nervous tension and hyperactivity, and then
dropping it extremely low – causing fatigue, depression, weariness, and
exhaustion.

Know Thy Enemy
Sugar qualifies as an addictive substances for two reasons:
 Eating even a small amount creates a desire for more.
 Suddenly quitting causes withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, mood
swings, cravings and fatigue.
Health issues caused by sugar:
 Suppressed immune system
 Weakened eyesight
 Hypoglycemia
 Weight gain
 Exacerbated arthritis
 Increased risk of osteoporosis
 Increased cholesterol
 Higher risk of prostate and ovarian cancer

Know Thy Enemy
Health issues caused by sugar:
 Increased risk for diabetes
 Premature skin aging
 Increased fluid retention
 Poor concentration
 Mood swings, emotional instability
 Depression

Today, sugar is found in many of our packaged foods: canned vegetables, baby
food, cereals, peanut butter, bread, and tomato sauce.
It is often disguised in fancy language, labeled as corn syrup, dextrose, maltose,
glucose, or fructose.

Yin/Yang Imbalance
Our body wants to maintain balance at all times – if we eat something that throws
our body off balance, it can create a craving for sugar.
Sugar is an extremely Yin food, so if you eat a lot of extremely Yang food, your body
will crave sugar to balance itself out.
Examples of extreme Yin/expanding foods include: sugar, alcohol, dairy,
chemicals, honey, spices.
Examples of extreme Yang/contracting foods include: salt, egg, red meat.

To create balance, we need to limit foods that are too Yin or too Yang.
Refined sugar (an extreme Yin food) causes rapid elevations in serotonin, followed
by rapid declines. When serotonin level falls, we experience depression, low energy,
anxiety and loss of concentration.
When this happens, our body craves extreme Yang foods to balance the equation.
We often overshoot and find ourselves ping-ponging between the two extremes,
using one type of extreme foods to alleviate the effect of the other.

Yin/Yang Imbalance
To create balance, choose food that are more neutral on the Yin Yang spectrum:
 Sweet vegetables such as corn, root vegetables and winter squash
 Sea vegetables
 Leafy green vegetables
 Nuts and seeds
 Whole grains
 Beans
 Fish


Energy Quick Fix
When we feel tired, we tend to reach for sugary foods because the sugar gets into
our blood stream quickly, giving us a quick energy boost. Unfortunately it comes
with a price – you will crash hard very quickly.
3 strategies to increase energy without relying on sugar for a quick fix:
 Create sustained energy
 Nourish and strengthen the nervous system
 Reduce body’s toxic load


Energy Quick Fix – create sustained energy
Tips to create sustained energy:
 Eat meals with a low glycemic load.
 Eat foods that are rich in vitamin B – critical for body’s energy production. E.g.
whole grains, nutritional yeast.
 Eat foods that are rich in enzymes and good bacteria. E.g. raw foods, cultured
and fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, kombucha, kimchi and sauerkraut.
 Eat the type and amount of protein that works best for your body. Keeping a
food journal is a good idea.
 Drink water! Dehydrating can cause fatigue. It can also mask itself as hunger,
making you to reach out for sugary food.


Energy Quick Fix – nourish nervous system
You will be able to stay focused without the sugar or caffeine jitter. You will be calm
and relaxed, so that you can get the rest you need when you need it, eliminating the
need for a quick fix the next day.
Tips to care for your nervous system:
 To restore and replenish your energy: burdock, dandelion, gingko, nettle, oats
and adaptogens such as Siberian ginseng and Ashwagandha.
 To encourage calm and relaxation: chamomile, valerian, lemon balm and oats.
 Calcium, when taken with Magnesium, has a calming effect on the nervous
system. Eat food rich in calcium for dinner (leafy greens, bone broth). If you do
take a calcium supplement, taking it with dinner in the evening is a good idea.


Energy Quick Fix – reduce toxic load
Your body needs to spend energy to detoxify and eliminate environmental toxins that you
put into your body. The more energy is diverted to processing toxins, the less energy you
will have available for other things that matter.
Tips to reduce toxin exposure:
 Use foods and herbs to support the body’s detox organs:
o Liver: milk thistle, yellow dock, dandelion root, warm water with lemon
o Kidney: dandelion leaf
o Colon: apple and carrot juice, psyllium husk
 Encourage elimination through skin: sweating, dry brushing.
 Buy and eat organic food as much as possible (Dirty Dozen, Clean Twelve)
 Avoid processed and packaged foods
 Reduce high-fat animal produces (fatty tissue retains fat-soluble toxins)
 Use household and personal products that contain as little artificial and chemical
ingredients as possible. www.IntegrativeEssentials.com

Stress Management
Stress often causes us to eat mindlessly. Physiologically, stress hormones
exacerbate sugar cravings because sugar stimulates our brain to produce feel-good
hormones.
Tips for stress management:
 Meditation and breathing exercise; yoga; stretching
 Regular physical activities – releases the feel-good hormone endorphin
 Focus on one task at a time – no multi-tasking!
 Journaling
 Practice a bed-time ritual to help wind down – e.g. shut down TV an hour before
bed, relax with a book and a cup of chamomile tea.
Better and more sleep = less cortisol


Nutrient Deficiency
Low protein intake:
 If your diet is relatively low in protein, try increasing your protein intake.
 If you feel you have adequate protein in your diet, consider assimilation and
absorption – which affect how well your body is able to use the nutrient.
 Good sources of protein: meat, fish, dairy (high quality), nuts and seeds, eggs
and beans.
 For vegetarian and vegan, pay special attention to food combining.
Low chromium:
 Helps regulate carbohydrate metabolism and blood sugar level.
 Reduced absorption is related to aging, diets that are stressful to the digestive
system, excessive fat intake, as well as intake of refined flour and sugar.
 Good sources of chromium: brewer’s yeast, beef, liver, whole wheat, rye, fresh
chilies, oyster, onions, potatoes, wheat germs, eggs, chicken, apple, butter,
banana and spinach.

Nutrient Deficiency
Low phosphorous:
 Needed in many enzyme systems that affect energy production and exchange.
 Absorption can be reduced by use of antacid, as well as too much iron,
aluminum or magnesium.
 Caffeine causes increased phosphorous excretion by the kidney.
 Good sources include: meat, fish, chicken, milk, cheese and egg.
Low sulfur:
 Critical in the body’s detoxification process.
 Important in estrogen metabolism – a healthy estrogen level can reduce PMS,
which causes sugar cravings in many women.
 Good sources include: meat, fish, poultry, egg (yolk in particular), milk,
legumes, onion, garlic, cabbage and kale.


Nutrient Deficiency
Low tryptophan:
 L-tryptophan and 5-HTP have been found useful in the treatment of depression
and insomnia – both of which can lead to sugar cravings. Remember, if you are
highly stressed and thus have high cortisol levels, use L-tryptophan and not 5-
HTP (which can raise cortisol levels).
 Tryptophan is the precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin, which influences
sleep and mood.
 Good sources include: turkey meat, eggs, dairy products, nuts and seeds.


Nourishment for the Soul
Non-food related reasons behind sugar cravings:
 Boredom
 Loneliness
 Need emotional and spiritual support
 Need to fill a void in life
 Need for comfort – foods that are often associated with positive childhood
memories
 Need a hug (translate into craving for sugary, creamy foods such as ice cream)


Nourishment for the Soul
Find nourishment for your soul in these areas:
 Relationship – do you have a relationship that fulfills you?
 Spirituality – do you have a spiritual practice that is nourishing for you? Beside
religion, consider yoga, mediation, gratitude, or being in nature.
 Career – do you do the work you love, and have a career that you enjoy?
 Physical activities – do you move your body in a loving way that is appropriate
for your body type?

Create a “Soul Nourishment Menu” for yourself, and keep it handy so that you can
do something to nourish your soul rather than using sugar to fill the void.


Recap

 Know Thy Enemy
 Yin/Yang Imbalance
 Energy Quick Fix
 Stress Management
 Nutrient Deficiency
 Nourishment for the Soul

What did YOU find most useful?
What are the three things that you can do right away to improve your health and
cut your sugar cravings, starting today?


Get Support, Take Action
This workshop gave you a ton of information. However, knowing is not doing. You
can’t succeed by knowing something. You have to decide you want change in your
life, take control and just do it! You will need the right consistent support and take
action to create healthy habits that will help you feel good now and also bring you
life-long vibrant health.


Nutrition for Energy
The Sugar Blues class mentioned that low energy makes people
look for a quick fix in sugar, and I just gave you a taste of the
energy strategies that I offer. Check out my Nutrition for Energy
Class for more in-depth information about getting more energy.

For more information, go to http://IntegrativeEssentials.com


Detox 101
I discussed how lowering toxic load can increase energy and
reduce sugar cravings for a quick fix. The Detox 101 Class goes
into greater depth on how to detox.

For more information, go to http://www.IntegrativeEssentials.com


Free 30-minute Strategy Session
Get Support, Take Action

• Private 30-minute, no strings attached
• Discuss health and wellness goals
• Create roadmap to support your goals
• Select a program to help you take action

Sign up and make an appointment. You’ll be glad you did!


Libby Doubler, CHC, AADP, AHMA
As a certified Health Coach (certified by the American Association of Drugless
Practitioners) and a member in good standing with the American Holistic Medical
Association, I am here to share the essentials that bring abundance and vibrancy to
life. I have several programs that allow you to make small painless moves that will
eventually lead you to a beautiful place. You’ll be singing Louis Armstrong’s “What
a Wonderful World” all day long!
• Feel great in the skin you’re in.
• Wake up feeling like it’s going to be a good day.
• Learn how to be good to yourself. Love yourself.
• Watch weight drop off without counting a calorie or carb.
• All from the comfort and safety of your home using Skype or a phone.
• What will your life look like if you don’t take action to get it back?
Sign up for free strategy session and find out how this works!
Copyright © 2012 Libby Doubler

Sweet Sugar Blues by Integrative Essentials

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