In my last post with naturopath and wellness expert Karina Francois ,  she shared her thoughts about clean eating. Today we are talking mindset and how it impacts your food choices along with strategies for implementing change in your diet and about her amazing new tea.

What is the most common obstacle people have to overcome to achieve their goal?

Emotional eating can be very challenging to overcome.  However by being more mindful when it comes to your emotions, and also more conscious of the food habits that people attach to their emotions, you can make a change.

Food addictions can often arise due to unresolved emotions, a deficit of pleasure in your life, or a lack of life balance.

Compulsive eating or bingeing is usually triggered when you keep your feelings at bay. People often control negative feelings without actually dealing with them, which eventually wears thin. Many people then turn to binge eating as a coping mechanism.

Another driver of negative food behaviours is lacking pleasure in your life or a balance between work and play, which can be satisfied by food quite easily. Human beings are driven by pleasure, and if you life is fuelled by stress and responsibility, a quick chocolate fix at the end of the day can seemingly satisfy this drive.

The best thing to do is understand is that addictions and compulsions are a signal that there is something bigger going on beneath the surface. Become more aware of your behaviours and what is driving them, and try to take the mask off and be more open to experiencing your emotions.

Look for pleasure in your life. What is it that makes you happy and makes you come alive? Explore these pleasures, instead of replacing this with food. If you adopt this mindset, you will no longer look to food as your lone source of pleasure.

What advice do you have for someone who wants some simple to implement that can make a big difference

• Take the time to get your mindset right
• Avoid alcohol, coffee, sugar and processed foods
• Focus more on what you can eat rather than feeling deprived
• Plan your food for the week
• Surround yourself by like-minded people that are on the same mission.  The energy is infectious!
• Seek support from a healthcare practitioner
• Education and motivation is the key

Tell us about you Clean Eating Tea and how it works?

I created this tea for its suggested therapeutic benefits. The herbal combination is designed to assist all your elimination organs to function better, thus keeping the body’s systems ‘clean’. Chamomile and peppermint is amazingly soothing to the gut and helps the nervous system relax, while lemongrass can be cleansing and relaxing. Clivers has been traditionally used to reduce fluid retention and help keep the kidneys and lymphatic system clean. Dandelion and liquorice assist with improving gut , liver and bowel function. Lemon balm is soothing to the gut and nervous system. Fennel helps with wind..

The tea is a perfect addition to your clean eating lifestyle. You can drink it hot or cold and preferably with breakfast and lunch as it contains hibiscus flower which is very high in chromium, a trace mineral that has been shown to help balance blood sugar and reduce cholesterol.

The tea can assist with the following issues:

• natural detox processes of the body
• insomnia
• immunity-antibacterial and antiviral
• menstrual cramps
• anxiety/stress/depression
• IBS, digestion, pain and discomfort
• soothing to the gut
• menstrual cramps
• period regulator
• useful in skin irritations
• body fat and cholesterol lowering
• blood pressure regulation
• anti-oxidant
• blood sugar control
• rich in vitamin c
• heart tonic
• gallbladder/liver and thyroid support in graves
• headaches
• congestion
• fatigue
• oedema and swelling of the lymphatic system, swollen glands and cysts
• useful in water retention, cystitis
• mood regulator

If you want to read more about clean eating and how it can benefit your health make sure you pick up a copy of Karina’s  book Clean Food Clear Thinking and you can purchase her tea from her website Infinite Health.