An edited version of this article written by Lela was published in issue 45 of The South African Journal of Natural Medicine, available in stores nationwide on a monthly basis or on: www.naturalmedicine.co.za.

Balancing blood sugar through diet.

When I was a child and was having a tantrum about something, the first thing my mother would ask was, ‘Have you eaten?’. At the time I couldn’t understand why this was important and as a teenager I was convinced she was encouraging an unhealthy emotional relationship with food but now, as so often happens in hindsight, it seems that my mother, was right.
I have since discovered that I have a family tendency to hypoglycaemia, also known as low blood sugar and thus I have to be very conscious of keeping my blood sugar levels stable as this can often be a precursor to adult onset diabetes. As a result I have tried and tested various ways of eating until I found what works for me. Even if you are not hypoglycaemic, balancing your blood sugar through diet is a great way to keep your mood and energy levels up and your weight down.

In modern society many people are choosing 100% wheat-free diets or diets largely wheat-free, some out of necessity due to coeliac disease or a wheat intolerance, others merely to add more variety to their diets. However, what does one use to replace wheat? Below are three different grains which can be added to a balanced diet as alternatives to wheat. Please note that not all 'wheat-free' grains are suitable for coeliacs as they may still contain some gluten. Always consult with your personal nutritionist before changing your diet in any long term way.

A well hydrated body is able to respond to internal and external signals of change in its health picture with ease and to the best of its abilities, thus furthering the beings development and creating optimum health. On the other hand, a dehydrated or underhydrated body is not able to respond as efficiently or speedily to these signals. De-hydration causes cells to coat themselves with cholesterol in order to preserve their internal environment, thereby making cellular communication more difficult. The cells are not able to function to full capacity as the more de-hydrated a body becomes, the more 'cut-off' the cells become and the increased mucus load leads to a stagnation in the movement of fluids. The body only functions with what is available to it and thus dehydration causes more and more cells to become ‘cut-off' so the body will be functioning more and more below par. The seasons play an important role in our health picture...