Understanding Sugar and Junk Food Cravings in Order to Shed Excess Body Fat
Do you often crave sugar, sweets, chocolate, or even fatty foods?
Don’t beat yourself up too much about this. It might not be all your fault!
The first thing to consider is that your body might be trapped in the physiological stress response. The stress response results from chronic stress due to toxicity and/or deficiency in our innate genetic requirements for health: that means toxicity &/or deficiency in nutrition, movement or mindset (emotions).
One of the resulting effects of chronic toxicity and deficiency is that stress hormones are produced in excess – stress hormones like cortisol, insulin and others. While these hormones are essential for health and normal function, like so many other things in the body, they should remain in a state of balance and proper ratio so as not to cause harm.
That’s not the case if the stress, toxicity or deficiency is chronic.
If the cause of the stress response isn’t addressed, the body will continue to pump out more and more stress hormones… thus creating more and more negative health consequences.
If you haven’t already guessed it, one of those negative health consequences is that we gain more fat, especially around our mid-sections, and we have a very tough time losing it.
Guess what? Two of the substrates (ingredients) of stress hormones are SUGAR and FAT. Well, since your body is guided by innate intelligence and doesn’t make stupid mistakes, it drives you into CRAVINGS in order to meet the demand for more sugar and fat to make those hormones!
Smart, isn’t it?
Eating toxic or deficient foods makes us crave more sugar and fat.
Deficiencies of movement or toxic movement patterns (e.g. poor posture) can lead us to crave more sugar and fat.
Toxic emotions or deficiencies of core human emotional needs can lead us to crave more sugar and fat.
Obviously, it would behoove us to address our health across the board – to begin adding “good” things to our nutrition, movement and mindset. That’s the first step to nipping the stress response cycle.
The other step is to reduce or eliminate the toxicity and avoid deficiencies. (Adding “good” is easier for most people, in my experience.)
As you’re re-building your health overall, a few simple things you can do offset some of those cravings for sweets are:
1) Choose apples or carrots when your sweet tooth is on the prowl. As your body ‘cleans out’, you’ll find that these particular foods hit the spot.
2) Drink ample pure water throughout the day. Add lemon or lime slices for flavor, variety, and to help alkalize your body.
3) Eat more greens.
Of course, if you are adamant about have those sweets, you can upgrade your ‘tasty toxin’ choices. Make your own or purchase less toxic versions.
Another obvious thing you can do is to give yourself permission to go ahead and have that food you’re craving. If this is the path you choose, I’d recommend two things:
1) Be sure you’re consistently FUELING up with health-promoting foods each day so you know that your body is getting the building blocks it requires for health.
2) Don’t make this a daily habit! There ARE limitations of matter, you know! Particularly if you’re striving to shed excess body fat, you must realistically consider the source of your caloric intake. Toxic calories will result in excess fat.
The bigger nutritional picture involves creating an overall balanced diet, similar to the type of diets our paleolithic ancestors ate – one that meets our innate genetic requirements.
We need a balance of:
1) protein 2) natural fats 3)veggies 4) fruit and 5) water. Simple.
I place these 5 basic types of food in something I’ve called The Circle of Health.
Those 5 basic food choices should come from:
1) real food sources 2) whole foods and foods closest to their naturally occurring state 3) pure foods/the least toxic 4) fresh, local, seasonal and often raw foods. These are my 4 Golden Rules of Nutrition.
The more we stick to these simple guidelines for building better health through common-sense nutrition, the less we’ll encounter cravings for toxic foods… the less we’ll trigger the stress response… and the MORE we’ll experience better health, better function, and a better body.
Dr. Colleen Trombley-VanHoogstraat (“Dr Mom Online”) is a leading expert in Natural Health & Wellness. Her unique perspective and scientific understanding of Wellness, as well as her popular and engaging approach, provides simple solutions and transformational results for those struggling with stubborn weight loss and health issues. To discover her breakthrough approach to achieving better health & a better body, go to
healthy weight loss and fat loss<
Back-to-School Nutrition Tips for a Healthy Breakfast
The thought of providing a variety of health-promoting, kid-approved foods throughout the school year can certainly feel overwhelming!
There’s breakfast to consider, then snacks, lunch, more snacks, dinner, maybe another snack. Those kids can seem like bottomless pits at times!!
I’d like to chunk this subject of kids’ school days nutrition down into simple tips and strategies so we can feel less overwhelmed.
Let’s consider breakfast.
The average North American breakfast typically revolves around some type of refined, processed grain – like cereal, toast or bread, bagels, quick-cooked oatmeal, and a variety of pastries.
If we were to discuss the negative consequences of this single food choice alone, this would be a very lengthy article! Suffice it to say, there is an ever-increasing number of health professionals who agree that grains are not a requirement for optimal function.
That’s right. According to experts who study our healthier ancestors and our genetic connections, we do not ‘need’ grains. Especially cereal-type grains. Amongst other physiological ramifications of consuming grains, inflammation is one of the biggest problems that results. The more refined, the worse it is. It’s a horrible way to start the day!
So, what’s a parent to do? Certainly ‘whole’ grains are an improvement over toxic refined grains. Better yet, choose more ancient grains, sprouted, soaked or fermented grains.
So far, I’m not really making your life any easier, am I?
Sorry about that – just wanted to make sure you’re aware of the consequences of grain-centered meals. You certainly don’t get this message if you depend upon sources like the food pyramid, do you? Money apparently speaks louder than health.
Let’s get back to breakfast.
Here’s a hierarchy of improvements to consider making:
1) If you can eliminate refined grains, that would be the ideal option.
2) If elimination isn’t a realistic option right now, at least reduce the consumption of refined, processed grains.
3) Upgrade your choices of grains when possible – at the very least, start with whole grains, and make sure there’s no high fructose corn syrup. Look for high fiber content and low sugar. No artificial sweeteners, colors or flavors. Whenver possible, upgrade even further by choosing the sprouted, fermented or soaked traditional grains.
But, THE most important thing to focus on with breakfast is to create a BALANCED meal.
In order to provide the raw materials for optimal brain function, balanced emotions and mood regulation, and maximized physical performance, we need some healthy protein, natural fats, fresh fiber from vegetables and fruit, and some pure water as the drink of choice.
I discuss these and the 5 basic food groups that our kids require for optimal health & performance in many of my articles, books and menus. I place these foods in something I call the Circle of Health. It’s simple and clear enough that kids, too, can learn how to make healthy choices and structure health-promoting meals and snacks. I think it’s important that they understand the importance of the choices they’re making. It’s a mom thing!
Speaking of being a mom, I understand the temptation of serving cereal for breakfast. Kids love it. It’s cheap (or can be). It’s quick, easy and convenient. What’s not to love?
I also understand that it might not be realistic for you to completely eliminate these types of foods from your kitchen. That’s OK – there are still ways we can add better health to this meal.
If you’re serving grains for breakfast, you can dramatically improve the overall health value of that meal by ADDING some fresh fruit, and a REAL food source of protein (that often comes with its own natural source of fat).
Need an example?
Let’s say your kids are still having cereal for breakfast. Without even getting into the quality of the cereal or the quality and source of the milk, an immediate and simple improvement to that meal would be to start them off with fresh fruit first.
Then, give them something with protein and natural fats, like a whole egg or a handful of raw nuts. If you can swing it, there are some excellent clean breakfast meats that lack the toxic chemicals and nitrites/nitrates… or you can just serve a bit of protein left over from last night’s dinner.
I like to think of it as “diluting” the negative effects of the grains!
You know what you’ll notice as you add protein, natural fats and fresh fiber (fruit & veggies)? Your kids will have more (balanced) energy, better focus, more balanced moods, greater performance… and a number of other overall health improvements, just by ADDING some things.
Just imagine what you’d see if you started to reduce some of the toxic things from their diets!
That’s a topic for another discussion! Baby steps!
Dr. Colleen Trombley-VanHoogstraat (“Dr Mom Online”) is a leading expert in Natural Health & Wellness. Her unique perspective and scientific understanding of Wellness, as well as her popular and engaging approach, provides simple solutions and transformational results for families seeking better overall health. To discover her popular strategy for teaching, and living, the fundamentals of better nutrition, go to
better nutrition and healthy food<
Back-to-School Nutrition Basics
Lately, I’ve been talking a lot about children’s nutrition in our practice as families are heading Back-to-School.
Parents are concerned about providing the best foods for their kids, and avoiding the worst ones, in an effort to maximize health and performance.
Easier said than done, right?
There are some common challenges I consistently hear from parents:
1) They’re not really sure which foods are healthy! Marketing hype tends to cloud the issue.
2) Their kids (and oftentimes, their spouse) are not on board with this mission to get healthy.
3) They’re concerned that it’s too expensive to ‘eat healthy’.
4) They’re struggling for ideas to add variety to their family’s meals.
5) They already feel like they’re short on time, and don’t know how they can devote any MORE time to food preparation.
So, what’s the solution? Just give up? Give in and feed our kids the easiest, cheapest, most convenient foods that cause no fuss or resistance from our children? Sorry, Charlie. I understand the financial and time constraints that many families face, but I’ve got to focus on HEALTH here. I’ll let the savvy marketers and conventional food manufacturers take care of the “cheap, easy, convenient” elements! They’re so good at it!
Trust me, I also understand the “resistance” kids can put up. First, I don’t believe in a militant approach to nutrition, contrary to what you may think! I DO allow our kids to have ‘tasty toxins’ often enough, provided they’ve been respectful of their bodies’ innate genetic requirements for health and have provided ample fuel for optimal function already.
A real life example plays out like this: “You’d like to have {fill in this blank with a more toxic food choice}? Ok, let’s make sure you’ve had enough protein, natural fats, fresh fiber (veggies & fruit) and pure water already today.” Simple. Bodies need fuel to perform and function. The better the fuel, the better the performance and function.
So, no nutrition military here. But, I DO wear the Nutritional Pants in our family! One of my most important jobs as a parent is to protect my kids and keep them safe. Conventional foods – and conventional thinking about food – is not safe. It does not ensure a healthy future. We can do better for our children. It’s not as hard as you may think.
I think that improving the nutrition and health of kids is a two-party job. Parents need to acquire up-to-date and accurate nutrition knowledge AND commit to providing healthier options at home (while providing fewer toxic options). Kids, on the other hand, would be more accepting of mom and dad’s efforts to improve their health if THEY TOO had a better understanding of nutrition and health basics. Knowledge is power!
These are some of the major reasons I made a Healthy School Days Menu for our own family. In a simple, straightforward manner, it teaches what the basic requirements are for proper nutrition, as well as how to create healthy meals and snacks that follow the basic ‘rules’ of healthy physiology.
Although recipes are good, I feel that a basic understanding of Nutrition should be behind those healthy recipes. It’s like that old saying about ‘teaching a man to fish…’. Once we learn “how to fish” (i.e. what our bodies need for health, and how to create this in simple meals and snacks), we’re good for life!
That’s why I’ve loved teaching our kids with this menu. They’ve gained the tools and keen strategies for making healthier choices for life… not necessarily perfect, but definitely healthier! They know what their bodies need and how to provide it. Anybody can follow a recipe – but that doesn’t teach us how to make healthy choices for life. Knowledge first, recipes second!
As far as the time and money issues, I have some tips that help. It may not make it perfect, but it will help.
I admit, many “healthy” foods do seem to ‘cost’ more. I have two major thoughts on that subject:
1) Consider all the money being spent on toxic, harmful garbage food first – there’s SO much money spent on things like junk food, fast food, convenience foods, packaged processed snack foods, desserts, breakfast cereal, pop, juice drinks, sports & energy drinks, coffee drinks, and so on. Even just decreasing spending in one or two of these areas would free up some funds to upgrade basic choices, like the quality of meats, eggs and so on, as well as allow us to invest more in health-promoting foods like vegetables and fruit.
2) Healthy “fuel” is an investment in both current and future health, not a ‘cost’. Every choice does matter, good and bad. Although there is not ONE magical key to guarantee excellent health in the future, nutrition is certainly ONE of the keys. We’ve scientifically moved beyond the age of ignorance where anyone could possibly get away with the argument that what we eat doesn’t really matter all that much! It matters.
The other issue is time.
The two major shifts that have helped ME feel better about the time involved in eating healthier are:
1) See #2 above! When I feel overwhelmed with food selection and preparation, I remind myself that it’s one of the most important and loving things I can do for my family, and myself.
2) Meal planning has saved my sanity! It has also saved us a ton of money, saved me the headaches of scrambling for meal ideas at the last minute and helped with overall stress reduction. I build in some room for spontaneity, too. There’s no fun if there’s no wiggle room for spur-of-the-moment changes in plans!
If your family needs a “nutrition overhaul”, keep these simple thoughts in mind: Food is fuel. It’s an investment in your health. You certainly can take the time to make better choices in nutrition, knowing that your family’s current and future health are at stake. Every better choice matters… and adds up!
Dr. Colleen Trombley-VanHoogstraat (“Dr Mom Online”) is a leading expert in Natural Health & Wellness. Her unique perspective and scientific understanding of Wellness, as well as her popular and engaging approach, provides simple solutions and transformational results for families seeking better overall health. To discover her popular strategy for teaching, and living, the fundamentals of better nutrition, go to
better nutrition and healthy food<
Help for Sugar and Junk Food Cravings
Do you often crave sugar, sweets, chocolate, or even fatty foods?
The first thing to consider is that your body might be trapped in the physiological stress response. The stress response results from chronic stress due to toxicity and/or deficiency in our innate genetic requirements for health: that means toxicity &/or deficiency in nutrition, movement or mindset (emotions).
One of the resulting effects of chronic toxicity and deficiency is that stress hormones are produced in excess – stress hormones like cortisol, insulin and others. While these hormones are essential for health and normal function, like so many other things in the body, they should remain in a state of balance and proper ratio so as not to cause harm.
That’s not the case if the stress, toxicity or deficiency is chronic.
If the cause of the stress response isn’t addressed, the body will continue to pump out more and more stress hormones… thus creating more and more negative health consequences.
Guess what? Two of the substrates (ingredients) of stress hormones are SUGAR and FAT. Well, since your body is guided by innate intelligence and doesn’t make stupid mistakes, it drives you into CRAVINGS in order to meet the demand for more sugar and fat to make those hormones!
Smart, isn’t it?
Eating toxic or deficient foods makes us crave more sugar and fat.
Deficiencies of movement or toxic movement patterns (e.g. poor posture) can lead us to crave more sugar and fat.
Toxic emotions or deficiencies of core human emotional needs can lead us to crave more sugar and fat.
Obviously, it would behoove us to address our health across the board – to begin adding “good” things to our nutrition, movement and mindset. That’s the first step to nipping the stress response cycle.
The other step is to reduce or eliminate the toxicity and avoid deficiencies. (Adding “good” is easier for most people, in my experience.)
As you’re re-building your health overall, a few simple things you can do offset some of those cravings for sweets are:
1) Choose apples or carrots when your sweet tooth is on the prowl. As your body ‘cleans out’, you’ll find that these particular foods hit the spot.
2) Drink ample pure water throughout the day. Add lemon or lime slices for flavor, variety, and to help alkalize your body.
3) Eat more greens.
Of course, if you are adamant about have those sweets, you can upgrade your ‘tasty toxin’ choices. Make your own or purchase less toxic versions.
Another obvious thing you can do is to give yourself permission to go ahead and have that food you’re craving. If this is the path you choose, I’d recommend two things:
1) Be sure you’re consistently FUELING up with health-promoting foods each day so you know that your body is getting the building blocks it requires for health.
2) Don’t make this a daily habit! There ARE limitations of matter, you know!
The bigger nutritional picture involves creating an overall balanced diet, similar to the type of diets our paleolithic ancestors ate – one that meets our innate genetic requirements.
We need a balance of:
1) protein 2) natural fats 3)veggies 4) fruit and 5) water. Simple.
I place these 5 basic types of food in something I’ve called The Circle of Health.
Those 5 basic food choices should come from:
1) real food sources 2) whole foods and foods closest to their naturally occurring state 3) pure foods/the least toxic 4) fresh, local, seasonal and often raw foods. These are my 4 Golden Rules of Nutrition.
The more we stick to these simple guidelines for building better health through common-sense nutrition, the less we’ll encounter cravings for toxic foods… the less we’ll trigger the stress response… and the MORE we’ll experience better health and function!
Dr. Colleen Trombley-VanHoogstraat (“Dr Mom Online”) is a leading expert in Natural Health & Wellness. Her unique perspective and scientific understanding of Wellness, as well as her popular and engaging approach, provides simple solutions and transformational results for families seeking better overall health. To discover her popular strategy for teaching, and living, the fundamentals of better nutrition, go to
better nutrition and healthy food<
Back-to-School Nutrition Tips – Building a Healthier Sandwich
Sandwiches are a staple in many school lunches. Day in and day out, kids are chowing down on this star of the school lunch box!
Especially since this is such a consistent part of our children’s nutrition, it would benefit them greatly if we could make the sandwich healthier, yes?
Too often, the usual sandwich ingredients consist of preserved, toxic meats, processed cheeses, processed refined breads, and condiments loaded with high fructose corn syrup, sugar, artificial colors, and polyunsaturated oils and trans fats. Ick.
Let’s talk about bread.
It was the introduction of baker’s yeast that propelled the modern sandwich to its current level of popularity. As compared to “old style” breads like sourdough and slow-rise that are generally pretty hard for sandwiches, the baker’s yeast makes bread softer, the way we’ve grown accustomed to.
We’d have a lot of broken teeth otherwise!
As usual, there’s a blessing and a curse with our so-called ‘advances’ in nutrition. The baker’s yeast allows for a a quick-rise bread that’s ready faster. That’s nice. But, this quickness results in the phytates in the whole grains not being neutralized properly. That’s the inherent problem with conventionally prepared grains in the first place, whether we’re talking about whole grains or refined grains and flour.
Then, add to that, the other toxic ingredients in conventional breads – preservatives, dough conditioners, artificial ingredients, sugars, high fructose corn syrup. Trouble’s brewin’.
The good news is that there are some alternative bread choices that are definitely healthier. Most are still made with brewer’s yeast, but at least the grains are first allowed to sprout. You can usually find these in the freezer section of grocery stores. Real sourdough bread is another good option.
We also like to use sprouted wraps even more so than breads. It’s not just a “lunch thing”, either. We use them for breakfast wraps and at dinner time. I even bake them once in awhile for homemade “tortilla chips”.
Pita bread is an acceptable option, since it isn’t made with yeast. But, the dough hasn’t been allowed to sour, so it’s not the choice for those with grain sensitivities.
Now, how about those sandwich fillings and all the extras?
Are your kids “meat people” at lunchtime? If so, a great choice is to use fresh meats and meat that has been roasted, baked, braised or slow-cooked… perhaps even left overs from dinner. If your kids love their deli meats, definitely consider upgrading to “clean” meats from free-range or grass-fed livestock that lack the hormones, antibiotics, nitrates/nitrites and other preservatives. Many of these are known carcinogens.
You’ve also got some meat ‘salad’ options like chicken or turkey salad, and tuna salad (although tuna tends to bioaccumulate mercury more than deep, cold water fish, like wild salmon). Opt for homemade mayonnaise or a brand made with real, clean ingredients.
Have you ever tried spreading the bread with mashed avocado? Equally as yummy! Add some sprouts… perfect!
Basic Homemade Mayonnaise:
To make 1 and 1/2 cups…
1 whole egg at room temperature
1 egg yolk at room temperature
1 tsp Dijon or other favorite mustard
1.5 tbsp lemon juice
3/4 – 1 cup extra virgin olive oil (or sunflower oil, if you think the olive oil taste is too strong)
a generous pinch of sea salt
In your food processor or Vitamix, place egg, egg yolk, mustard salt and lemon juice – process until well blended (approx. 30 seconds). Add the oil drop by drop with the motor running. Taste and check seasoning. You might choose to add more salt or lemon juice.
For variations on your mayo, you could add fresh herbs or onions or cayenne pepper, or whatever floats your mayo boat!
The meat loaf sandwich is another fun option for those meat-eating kids. It’s certainly adds a home-cooked feel to the lunch box!
Don’t feel like you always have to pack meat in the sandwich. You can also use healthy natural nut butters, like almond or cashew butter with naturally sweetened jam, apricot butter or raw honey. Or, skip the sweets altogether and just use something like bananas. One of our kids’ favorites is banana “tacos”. I just spread some almond butter on a sprouted wrap, add some bananas sliced lengthwise, and roll them up. They’re a hit with our kids… and with me when I’m in a rush to make lunch!
Another idea is to make veggie sandwiches with whatever fresh (or roasted) vegetables your kids like – add some homemade cream cheese and, voila! Yummy and a nice change. Don’t forget to add fresh sprouts for a heaping dose of health. Raw cheese sandwiches are a good option every so often, too. Spread your healthy bread choice with real butter or your homemade mayonnaise and some raw cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese.
Moving beyond bread, you’ve got even more options to add variety: wraps, roll-ups, pita sandwiches… oh my!
One that might make heads turn in your kids’ classroom is the pita bread falafel sandwich: falafel with tahini sauce and thinly sliced cucumber and tomato.
Don’t forget about all the options for spreads, preferably your healthier homemade versions: guacamole/avocado spread, cream cheese and mayo varieties, and traditional condiments that lack high fructose corn syrup and artificial ingredients.
Serve up those sandwiches with fresh veggies and maybe some fruit. Need more? Homemade trail mix, homemade ‘health’ bars and even the occasional homemade cookies are healthier options than packaged, processed lunch foods, snacks and desserts.
Dr. Colleen Trombley-VanHoogstraat (“Dr Mom Online”) is a leading expert in Natural Health & Wellness. Her unique perspective and scientific understanding of Wellness, as well as her popular and engaging approach, provides simple solutions and transformational results for families seeking better overall health. To discover her popular strategy for teaching, and living, the fundamentals of better nutrition, go to
better nutrition and healthy food<