A Little of What You Fancy...
If you have been to see a homeopath for a consultation, you may have been surprised to be asked what you like to eat, what you avoid, and what you like but "it doesn't like me". Food preferences can be extraordinarily useful in arriving at a prescription. Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, reckoned that everyone's stomach is "as peculiar as every person's foot, which the shoe of another cannot and will not fit".
When asked how we should decide what to eat, Hahnemann answered "what best suits your individual constitution in every condition" and he believed we have a built-in instinct about food, if only we paid enough attention to what the body tells us. The stomach, "the true guardian of our life", has a "voice" which becomes most audible when we are sick. A person ill with a high fever, such as we find in a Belladonna state, may ask for lemon water because somehow the body knows that lemon juice helps to bring down a temperature. A person who craves chalk, not something we normally regard as a food, may need it to neutralise the acid in the stomach. Hahnemann was obviously fascinated with these sorts of relationships. What they indicated to him was that food preferences demonstrate remedial biochemic imbalances. So, when it comes to mealtimes, can we just listen to what we crave most?
It is a paradox that we sometimes crave the very foods to which we are most sensitive. This can make breaking an allergy cycle quite difficult. Finding alternatives can help when the craving is due to a biochemical imbalance that needs to be corrected. Specific cravings can indicate a biochemical need.
The most common cravings are ice cream, sweets and chocolate. Usually the craving for something sweet and rich is because we need instant energy to cope with stress. By taking a longer view, stocking up at mealtimes on B-complex vitamins in grains can help to even out the desire for a caffeine-and-sugar fix. It's the stress that needs to be dealt with, not the craving, so it helps to short circuit a craving for sweet, rich foods by lying down and relaxing properly for a few minutes, or doing some breathing meditation.
When the adrenal glands can't keep up with your stress levels, you may find you crave salt. Symptoms include headache, depression, fatigue, lethargy, memory impairment and muscle weakness. However, feeding the salt craving alters the water balance in the body and this in turn can lead to hypertension and put a strain on the kidneys. Fresh vegetables, grains and pulses all have some sodium in them, but they also contain potassium, which protects against hypertension. Very few vegetarians suffer from high blood pressure and this may be because the fresh vegetables, whole grains, unsalted seeds and nuts that are the mainstays of their diet, contain generous amounts of potassium.
The biochemic tissue salts, Nat Mur and Nat Sulph, each taken three times a day, may help to regulate the salt and fluid balance in the body.
Clare Goodrick-Clarke RSHom practises homeopathy in Teignmouth, Devon and teaches meditation both in groups and one to one.
tel: 01626 776528
www.wellspringhomeopathy.co.uk