Silent Signs Your Body Craves A Diet Tweak

Signs You’re Getting Too Much …

- Marissa Laliberte with Gagan Dhillon

COFFEE: Getting a caffeine jolt is often easier than enjoying a solid night of sleep, but jitters, a racing heart and sleeplessness are all signs of too much caffeine. Plus, caffeine and catechols in java can irritate the stomach, leaving you with heartburn and bellyaches.

CHEESE: It is loaded with saturated fat—the ‘bad’ fat linked to forgetfulness. One study found that women over 65 who ate the most saturated fat had the worst memory over four years. It also takes a long time to digest, causing excess stomach acid to splash back into your oesophagus; keep track of your heartburn symptoms and cheese consumption to see if they’re connected. For the creaminess you crave, replace some cheese with pureed chickpeas in recipes.

SUGAR: Excessive sugar spikes blood glucose, leaving you wiped out after it comes down; frequent spikes can up the risk of depression. Out of whack blood sugar can increase your risk of heart attacks and diabetes that’s nearly reached epidemic proportions in India. Alarmingly, a 2016 Lancet study found that prevalence of diabetes has doubled among Indian men and had increased by 80 per cent among women. Check nutrition labels for sneaky sugar in foods like yogurt, salad dressing and cereal.