6 ways to fix food cravings

Struggling with your diet because food cravings are overwhelming you? Or are you simply trying to cut down on unhealthy indulgences?

Try our strategies for when you need a foodie fix.

Make a few food swaps

Incorporate good snacks into your diet every 2-3 hours. Looking forward to something you can have, rather than angsting over something you can’t, will turn cravings around.

If sugar is your thing, reach for fruit rather than sweets. Satisfy a sweet tooth with a few pieces of pineapple. For a while after you’ve eaten it, anything else tastes decidedly odd, says naturopath Sarah-Bowels Flannery.

Read more: Simple food swaps to help you eat healthier

If you’re craving something fatty, try a spoonful of natural peanut butter and an apple rather than processed salty biscuits and cheese.

Skip the chips and try some raw, sliced veggies with a yoghurt-based dip.

Break the coffee/pastry habit

Double chocolate and bran rusks erved with a caffè macchiato.

Cravings can also be down to old habits. Shift your routines and those cravings can get sidelined. Moving your desk around, changing a room, switching coffee shops or taking a different route to work can help to break the cycle.

If you normally eat a croissant with your coffee, switch to a smoothie to kill off a nasty fat/carb/caffeine combo. Try a banana and berry smoothie with natural yoghurt and a dash of honey instead.

Kill the caffeine craving

Your longing for all-day drinks has less to do with hydration and more to do with the caffeine or sugar hit. If your coffee cravings are ruling your life and making you more wired, try a tip from pharmacist Margo Marrone.

“Siberian ginseng is definitely worth a try,” she says. Try taking one capsule a day preferably with meals.

“This powerful herb energises the body and helps you cope with coffee withdrawal. Also switch to green tea so that you don’t get completely stressed out,” she adds.

Eat more healthy food

Chicken salad. Picture: iStock

One of the main reasons for cravings is blood sugar dips, says well-known nutritionist, Ian Marber. He reckons that by eating a balance of protein, complex carbs and veggies at each meal and snack, you’ll kiss cravings goodbye.

Try scrambled egg on wholegrain toast for breakfast, tuna and salad sandwich for lunch, and chicken with loads of fresh veggies for dinner.

Use acupressure

When a craving hits, a hands-on therapy such as acupressure can help. There are many pressure points on the ear, and if you stimulate them, cravings can subside.

Curb wine time

Photo: AFP/Justin Sullivan

We know it’s the relaxant of choice for so many of us, but drinking wine all the time can slip into overindulgence. Is there anything that can distract you?

There’s a homeopathic remedy called Pegasus Liver 30c, which is excellent at helping reduce the craving for alcohol, and is also great to relieve that headache the morning after.

Brought to you by Woman and Home

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