Episode 248: Are We Meant to Enjoy the Sweet Life?
In this episode, I’m answering a listener's question - Are we meant to enjoy the sweet life?
As someone with a Splenic Authority, you’ll hear me talk about the Spleen and its relation to “the sweet life,” and as a 21-Day Sugar Detox Coach, the importance of satisfying our sweet tooth and healing with whole foods. I discuss the importance of balance and even share the backstory of how “balance” is the backbone of Live FAB Life.
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“We are meant to enjoy sugar and sweet things. But that extends to other things in life that bring us joy. Indulgence in food and life can flow the endorphins when done in balance, and deprivation can be as harmful as overindulgence. It’s a matter of understanding when enough is enough – FOR YOU. And it’s up to you to try out and experiment with whatever tools are available to you if it’s something that you’re not sure about. Because balance is bio-individual - balance is very different for each of us, and even within that, it’s evolving relative to where we are in life.”
Read the Transcript:
Hello there, and welcome back to The Live FAB Life Podcast. I'm your host, Naomi Nakamura.
A few months ago, a fellow Splenic Projector reached out to me for my thoughts on “enjoying the sweet life.”
They had healed from multiple autoimmune conditions using several modalities, including Chinese Medicine. And specifically, in Chinese Medicine, the Spleen has a lot to do with the sweetness of life, and if imbalanced, the question is - are we allowing the sweetness of life into our lives?
And while now healed, they still follow a healthy diet for themselves and limit how much sugar they have, does have a sweet tooth.
Their child also has a Splenic Authority and noticed that their child does well when allowed sugar.
And so, as someone who also has a Splenic Authority, they wanted to hear my thoughts on enjoying the “sweet life.”
Are we nourishing our Spleen when we have sweet things?
As a 21-Day Sugar Detox coach, I love this question. Some might think, “Gosh, are you still a 21-Day Sugar Detox coach?” I don't offer group coaching programs anymore because I don’t have the capacity for group coaching currently, but I do offer one-on-one coaching for the program.
So, today, I’m going to address this question in three ways:
First, what is the Spleen? Second, what is the Spleen in Chinese medicine, and then lastly, what can sweet things look like? And, of course, we’ll come full circle and talk about how Human Design factors into this.
So, what’s the Spleen? I'm not a licensed medical professional, but a quick Google search tells me that the spleen is an organ in the upper part of our abdomen, and it’s the largest organ in the lymphatic system, which is critical for detoxification, protects against infections, and regulates the immune system.
Those well-versed in Human Design or who downloaded my free Human Design workbook know that the immune system embodies the Splenic Center.
The Lymphatic System is a filter, removing old and damaged blood cells and anything that might cause or contribute to infection. The Spleen is linked to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which is interesting because that’s something my doctors have been concerned about for me in the past.
The fact that it's been a concern, and then learning that I have Splenic Authority, is one of the things that drew me to Human Design.
A weakened Spleen has also been a recurring theme in the 7+ years I’ve seen my acupuncturist. A typical conversation we’ve had is about how to strengthen my Spleen.
So, things came together, full circle, for me.
According to “Healing with Whole Foods,” a book by Paul Pitchfork that I highly recommend, the Spleen is paired with the stomach as the main organ for digestion in Chinese medicine.
This was also very interesting to me because, as you know, I've had a lot of digestive issues. My digestive issues compelled me to go to nutrition school and become a health coach, and my focus has always been on digestion and gut health.
Digestion is the basis for good health, so the fact that in Chinese Medicine, the Spleen is paired with the stomach and is the main organ for digestion further piqued my curiosity about Human Design, having a Splenic Authority.
So, according to “Healing with Whole Foods,” sugar activates insulin production in our body and fuels brain function. But we become hyperglycemic when there’s too much sugar in our system, which impairs brain function.
It also causes deficient blood sugar levels, which makes us irritable, causes headaches, and general disharmony in our bodies – and everything in Chinese Medicine is about having strong Qi - harmony in the body.
The book also points out that carbs and sugar promote warmth in the body. Sugar from unrefined carbs fuels our bodies - our muscles, nerves, and brain, and some unrefined carbs have historically been used as ancient medicines, like honey and licorice as cough syrups.
These are all good things, but we know that too much of a good thing becomes a not-so-good thing.
Too many sweet things – sugar – impacts how our bodies metabolize foods, acidify our blood, and deplete our nutrient stores. However, sugar is a source of life force energy, so we need some of it to fuel that fire of life.
Even though sugar is demonized, sugar is not bad when it’s sugar from whole foods and balanced with the appropriate minerals.
It's refined sugar that problematic and upsets the natural balance in our bodies. It causes blood sugar imbalance, shocks our system, disrupts digestion, disrupts mineral balance, and incites more cravings creating an addictive cycle that we get stuck in that can then lead to illness and disease. And when we’re ill, we don’t feel well and are unhappy.
So, back to the question, are we meant to enjoy the sweet life? And how do we go about enjoying it?
When it comes to satisfying your sweet tooth, it’s all about balance. Of course, sweet whole foods include beets, carrots, sweet potatoes, fruit, honey, molasses, and stevia.
I know, you’re probably thinking, “Oh sure, because when I have a sugar craving, the first thing I want is a carrot…” trust me, I feel you, but I do admit that when I juice, I always add carrots – I honestly like green juices – and carrots do sweeten it.
But let’s be honest; your sweet tooth wants the sweet things! There’s nothing wrong with that – have the cookie! We just need to be aware of the cycle I talked about earlier – how, if not careful, refined sugar creates an addictive cycle of wanting more of it.
It comes down to balance - yin and yang.
If you want the cookie, have it - one cookie will not hurt you, and thinking it will is harmful.
But it's essential to balance things out - the savory with the sweet.
Because if you have too much of one thing, which goes beyond food, you’re out of balance.
I’m ultra-clued into the signals my body sends me, and I can feel when my blood sugar is wrecked because I’ll want to eat protein. Sometimes I’ll only have meat sauce for dinner, and someone will comment and ask where’s the pasta, but my body doesn’t want pasta, just the protein. I like to think it’s my body’s natural way of returning to balance.
But balance is a tricky thing, right? As a non-Sacral, I have to know what an imbalance feels like to understand what balance is for me. Remember, Sacrals – Generators and Manifesting Generators, have an inherent sense of knowing when they’ve had enough of something. I’m curious – if you’re one of these Types, are you able to regular when you have enough sweets?
In my experience, as a non-Sacral, a Projector, who struggles with knowing when enough is enough, I’ve gone to extremes. I’ve experienced binge eating and complete deprivation, and I’m sure you can imagine, or perhaps you know from personal experience, neither is enjoyable, and both put me under more stress.
So, for those who struggle with knowing when enough is enough, how can we figure out our balance without going to extremes?
We can use tools to help us build awareness and learn how to listen to our bodies, and then follow our authorities to make the best decisions for ourselves. Because your Authority isn’t only for big decisions, it's for every decision you make daily.
Tools like my Oura ring – that I use daily- help me recognize when my body isn’t fully recovered, and I need to take it easy – when enough is enough for activity and exercise. Or what my sleep patterns are and, based on my patterns, what’s the best window for me to go to bed to get the best possible sleep possible.
Tools like My Fitness Pal help me recognize when I’m hungry and full. It might sound silly that you’d need a tool like My Fitness Pal to help you understand this, but when your hunger hormones, leptin, and ghrelin are off, or you're just completely out of touch with your body, it happens. I know this tool is controversial, but it's an awareness tool, like anything else.
Tools like the mySymptoms app, which I’ve referenced a few times over the years, where you track what you eat, how you feel, what medications, supplements, and vitamins you’re taking, when, your cycle, all factors that contribute to how you’re feeling so you can get a bigger view of what’s going on.
In the last Episode, 247, I talked about Gate 5, The Gift of Divine Timing, and even if you have this gate in your design, sometimes you still need help in recognizing what this gift is, how it feels, and how you embody it, and I’m not opposed to using tools to help you do so.
In the same way, the 21-Day Sugar Detox program can help you refine what the sweet life looks like for you.
I don't demonize these kinds of tools because when they're used to want to gain perspective and self-awareness, they can be beneficial when used in an exercise of self-observation with non-judgment.
And only some of these tools are meant to be used for the long term. There’s a reason the 21-Day Sugar Detox is just 21 days. It’s not a long-term way of living. Still, it is incredibly helpful with specific use cases and, when used objectively, can help you build self-awareness, connect to your emotions, and collect all kinds of clues about yourself that can help you figure out what “the sweet life” looks like for you.
Because your sweet life is sure to look different than mine, and mine looks different from the following persons.
I want to share a few more thoughts on balance and share a story with you on how “Live FAB Life” came to be.
Back in 2015, when I started my coaching practice, I decided to name it “Live FAB Life,” with the “FAB” being capitalized and standing for “fit and balanced” because, at that time, I was coming out of a period of healing from overtraining. I was fit but not balanced, and it caused several health issues.
Over time, it's evolved to where I refer to it as “functional and balanced” when I went on to specialize in Functional Nutrition, but the origin of all of this was emerging from a place of imbalance.
My fitness wasn't balanced, my digestive system wasn't balanced, my endocrine system wasn’t balanced, and my blood sugar wasn’t balanced, and tools like the 21-Day Sugar Detox helped me bring myself back into balance.
But as we know, balance is an ongoing thing, and as life progresses and we live our lives, the tools we need change, and what the sweet life may look for us also evolves.
I’m saying we are meant to enjoy the sweet life.
We are meant to enjoy sugar and sweet things. But that extends to other things in life that bring us joy.
Indulgence in food and life can flow the endorphins when done in balance, and deprivation can be as harmful as overindulgence.
It’s a matter of understanding when enough is enough – FOR YOU. And it's up to you to try out and experiment with whatever tools are available to you if it's something that you’re not sure about.
Because balance is bio-individual - balance is very different for each of us, and even within that, it's evolving relative to where we are in life.
So, to the person who prompted this episode with the question, “Are we meant to enjoy the sweet life” because their child thrives when given sweet things – the answer is yes.
And follow your Splenic Authority – your inner knowing - and cultivate an environment for your child to know how to follow their Splenic Authority to help you both know what the balance looks like – for the both of you.
And if you’re having digestive, lymphatic, and detoxification challenges, then take a look at how your Spleen is doing and if you’re following your Splenic Authority.
But hey, if your child is thriving – keep doing what you’re doing!
This is the first episode I’ve done in a long time that touches on nutrition and reminds me of how much I enjoy these topics!
If you enjoyed it too and want more episodes like this one, let me know by leaving a comment on the show notes for this episode at www.livefablife.com/248 for Episode 248, or come on over and find me on Instagram at @livefablifewithnaomi.
And if you want to explore anything we talked about today in your life – your relationship with sweet things in your life and your Human Design supports it- head over to the Services section on my website and see what offerings are best for you.
Thank you so much to the person who asked this question, and thank you so much for listening. I always appreciate your time and your attention, and, as always, I’ll see you right back here again next time. Bye for now!
Naomi Nakamura is a Health x Human Design coach who’s creating a healthier society through aligned energy.
She blends a bespoke mix of Functional Nutrition and Human Design to help others shift into alignment to leverage and correctly manage their energy to support their body, mind, and spirit.
She believes that when we embrace our authenticity and lean into our bio-individuality, we naturally live a life of freedom, empowerment, and optimal health.
Naomi resides in the San Francisco Bay Area and can often be found exploring the area with her puppy girl, Coco Pop!
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