Q: How can I stay away from sweets when I have a really big sweet tooth? I’m finding it really hard.

A: The reason you have a sugar addiction in the first place is because you eat too much sugar. When you eat sugar your body tends to overproduce insulin. This excess insulin causes your blood sugar to drop. Your body then craves more sugar in order to raise your blood sugar level back to normal. You find yourself caught in a vicious circle.

The only way out of this never-ending sugar addiction roller coaster is to break the cycle — that means eliminating sugar from your diet, or at least cutting down on it dramatically. The less you eat, the less you will crave.

Now as you said, it’s not all that easy. The first steps are to eliminate foods containing sugar from your diet, anything with an —ose on the end of the word is a sugar e.g. sucrose, dextrose, maltose, so read the ingredient list carefully. There can be sugar in savoury foods such as tomato ketchup and baked beans.

At the same time, make sure that you eat little and often, not leaving more than three hours without eating as this will stop the roller coaster of blood sugar and reduce the cravings. In order to help your body while you get your blood sugar under control add in a chromium supplement as this mineral is needed for the metabolism of sugar. Avoid chromium in the form of picolinate as this is a synthetic form of chromium and has been linked to DNA damage, liver dysfunction, skin blisters and anaemia (see my book ‘Fat around the Middle’). Chromium polynicotinate is fine.

If you’re taking a good multivitamin and mineral but still find it hard to feel energetic throughout the day it could be time to consider herbs. There is no herbal equivalent to a multivitamin but herbs can help treat symptoms such as anxiety, poor concentration, headaches, insomnia and lack of energy.

For concentration: Ginkgo biloba is the memory herb and studies have shown it can help prevent dementia.

For ageing: Milk thistle is a fantastic herb to help your body get rid of the effects of ageing free radicals.

For anxiety: Valerian and skullcap can help relax your nervous system when you feel anxious and tense. You can take them daily until you start to feel calmer.

For hot flushes: The best herbal supplement for hot flushes is black cohosh. Buy the whole herb in capsules or tincture and get organic where possible. I use a mix of herbs in the clinic containing black cohosh, agnus castus, dong quai, sage and milk thistle; they are contained in Black Cohosh Plus

For headaches: If you get recurring headaches you need to find out why. Are you getting enough sleep? Are you under stress? While you are working out why try taking feverfew everyday.

For mood: Taking St John’s Wort three times a day is a great way to lift your mood. Studies have shown that it is effective as an antidepressant, as long as you are NOT on any other medication, especially the pill or HRT. If stress or tiredness are contributing to your low mood try taking rhodiola daily for four weeks.

For weight loss: The best way to lose weight is to eat healthily and exercise more but some herbs, such as as green tea extract could help rev up your metabolism to help you burn more calories.

More than 25 per cent of the UK suffers from some form of sleep disorder which prevents them from getting the recommended six to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep that your body needs to function properly. And while lack of sleep can have a negative effect on your appearance and energy levels it can lead to long term physical and mental health problems. This is because sleep looks after many processes that affect your personality, your memory, your thoughts and your feelings.

Studies on sleep deprivation show physical and mental health rapidly deteriorates when you take sleep away. Research also shows that lack of sleep can put the body into a high state of alert, which increases stress hormones and can lead to weight gain, high blood pressure and heart disease so it stands to reason that getting a good night’s sleep is essential for your health and wellbeing and your waist line. Here are a few reasons why you might not be sleeping properly:

Sleeping in the wrong position:
The position you sleep in can have an effect on your quality of sleep and according to research the key to a good night’s sleep is to keep your body in a midline position. So if you sleep on your side try putting a pillow between your knees to help support your hips; if you sleep on your back place a pillow under your knees to offload your lower back and always try to avoid sleeping on your front.

Alcohol:
Although alcohol can act as a mild sedative it is one of the causes of poor sleep if you drink too much. This is mainly because of the strong diuretic effect which will leave you with a full bladder and raging thirst half way through the night. Alcohol also quickens the heart rate which makes you wakeful and restless so instead of having a drink to wind down why not try a tea made from soothing herbs such as chamomile, valerian and hops. If you really want a drink try sticking to and savouring one small glass of organic wine.

Caffeine:
As a stimulant, caffeine speeds up the action of not only the nervous system, but of other major body systems, too. Within fifteen minutes of downing a cup of coffee, the level of adrenaline in your blood rises, which triggers an increase in heart rate, breathing rate, urinary output, and production of stomach acids. Basically, caffeine’s effects are the reverse of what you want to happen as you go to sleep.

Caffeine also prompts adrenal hormones to release sugar stored in the liver, which stimulates sugar cravings to replenish the stores. Caffeine heightens the roller coaster effect of blood sugar swings, producing a quick high after a morning cup of coffee, followed by a downturn in the afternoon. So if you want a good night’s sleep cut down the amount of coffee you drink during the day to no more than one or two cups, or ideally eliminate it completely and replace with herbal teas such as chamomile or peppermint.

Feeling pressured:
When you are under stress your body produces stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline which can prevent the production of sleep hormones such as serotonin and dopamine. Try some of the stress management techniques in the Spring Clean Your Mind article, such as simple breathing or visualisation. Hypnotherapy also has excellent results for stress and sleep related problems.

Being a woman:
A recent study from the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy found that women were significantly worse at getting a good night’s sleep than men. This is due to various sleep stealers such as snoring partners, restless children and an inability to switch off from juggling the demands of family life and career. The homeopathic remedies coffea and arsenicum can help when you feel sleepy during the day and anxious at night or consult a qualified homeopath.

What you eat affects how you sleep
One of the keys to a restful night’s sleep is to get your brain calmed rather than revved up. Some foods contribute to restful sleep; other foods and drinks, like alcohol and caffeine, keep you awake. Foods that help you sleep better are tryptophan-containing foods, because tryptophan is the amino acid that the body uses to make serotonin, the neurotransmitter that slows down nerve traffic so your brain isn’t so busy. Foods that interfere with sleep are foods that stimulate neurochemicals that perk up the brain. The following are an example of foods that are high in the sleep-inducing amino acid tryptophan:

• Soya products: organic soy milk, tofu
• Fish
• Whole grains like brown rice, oats
• Beans in general like chickpea containing hummous
• Almonds
• Peanuts
• Eggs
• Bananas
• Dates
• Organic dairy but add in moderation because of the saturated fat content

Lighter meals are more likely to give you a restful night’s sleep. High-fat meals and large servings prolong the work your digestive system needs to do, and all the gas production and rumblings may keep you awake.

Some people find that highly-seasoned foods (e.g., hot peppers and garlic) interfere with sleep, especially if you suffer from heartburn. Going to bed with a full stomach does not, for most people, promote a restful night’s sleep. While you may fall asleep faster, all the intestinal work required to digest a big meal is likely to cause frequent waking and a poorer quality of sleep. Eat your evening meal early and heed the sleep wisdom: “Don’t dine after nine.”