There is no way for our bodies to operate without sugar (glucose) but here we’re talking about choosing healthier options that come with other benefits like added nutrients, fibers and vitamins. Eating a chocolate bar brings only ‘’empty calories’’ and loads your body with refined sugar without fuelling you with beneficial compounds.

Also, there are differences in how our bodies metabolizes the naturally occurring sugar and the refined sugar. Added sugar causes the insulin and blood sugar levels to skyrocket as it is broken down more rapidly. Then the ‘’sugar crash’’ happens. After eating it you do not feel full and your cravings arise again and faster.

On the other hand, if you want to effectively satisfy sugar cravings, with the added benefit of ingesting some good nutrients and fibers, and keeping your metabolism more stable - Medjool dates are incomparably better than any processed foods.

A very useful trick that provides immediate results - when you notice you are going into a roller coaster of bad or anxious thoughts you need to distract your brain for a minute to break this cycle. What will work instantly is the 5-4-3-2-1 technique - try to identify:

• 5 things you can see - notice furniture, window, the sky, whatever is in your surroundings
• 4 things you can touch - touch your clothes, your nose, walls around you, pillows, etc.
• 3 things you can hear - can you hear noise from the neighbours, traffic sounds, your breathing, etc.
• 2 things you can smell - can you smell your parfum, the fresh air that comes from the outside, soap in your bathroom, food that is around you
• 1 thing you can taste - do you have bitter, fresh, sweet taste in your mouth? Or maybe you’re chewing a gum?

This is known to help people with anxiety attacks but the concept works equally well when you catch yourself spiraling bad thoughts.