Hop hop, here comes the Easter Bunny! With a basket of eggs and a bag full of Peeps, he has already made his delivery to the pharmacy. A walk through Phoenix brought me out in a cold sweat this morning. I went in for eye make-up remover but almost left with an armful of chocolate I didn’t know I wanted and some paraphernalia I definitely didn’t need. Seasonal holidays are an issue for shopaholics and chocoholics alike. And God help you if you are both!

The problem is that Easter candy is everywhere. It used to be that the pharmacy just sold medicine and the gas station just sold gas. But as retail outlets began to multitask, so did our taste buds. The most popular junk has a combination of fat, salt and sugar, all in one hit thank you very much. And manufacturers have spent years perfecting their recipes so that their chocolate melts luxuriously on your tongue. It’s why most milk chocolate melts instantly at body temperature and why the classic Easter items are so popular. It’s a precise science and one that the food industry has exploited relentlessly — to the benefit of their pockets but the detriment of your health.

So as sweet as all those mini eggs are, it leaves a bitter taste in our mouths to know that our cravings have been manipulated to such an extreme. Sugar is addictive and unfortunately we reach a tolerance level all too soon. It takes more and more to feel satisfied and it’s really hard to stop at “just one” or “a little”.

As a child who grew up pinching spare change out of my dad’s pockets to buy sweets (sorry Dad!), I am all too aware that I was addicted for a long time. Not any more though. I was finally tired of the hormonal rollercoaster, mood swings, fatigue, breakouts and weird abdominal bloating that went along with my massive sugar intake. As I spent four years learning about nutrition, the cravings fell away. Sure I’ve been on and off the sugar wagon a few times since then but I am the one with the control these days. Very liberating!

All my nutrition classes come from an honest place — that my own health and nutrition was far from perfect. And though I would never claim to have 100 per cent health or to eat like a saint, I feel radically different to how I did years ago. It took me a long time to find my way, through personal experience and professional education. The good news is that helps me to fast-track our clients. We’re not talking overnight changes, but we can make significant differences in sugar consumption in a matter of weeks. That’s not just reducing the amount you actually eat, but the amount you want to eat too.

Our next sugar detox starts on Wednesday, so if you would like a little help getting through Easter without derailing big time, check out the details at www.natural.bm. We have six weeks of fun nutrition classes and an extra layer of success coaching to help you look and feel your best yet! If you’d rather get started with some simple tips for a healthier Easter, here are three family-friendly ideas below. Have a great weekend one and all!

Three top tips for a healthier Easter:

Give toys instead of chocolate

Is it mean not to give your kids chocolate at Easter? Not necessarily, especially if they’ve already brought plenty home from well-meaning classmates, friends and family. I do give my kids a chocolate bunny, but we try and dilute the madness with a few small toys. You can try stuffing those plastic Easter egg hunt eggs with small toys and stickers too, as well a few chocolates. Let’s face it, your kids having less means that you will have less too. How often do you swipe something from “the kid’s cupboard”?!

Choose cleaner options

Have you ever read the label on the Peeps box? It’s basically sugar, gelatin, sugar, artificial colours and more sugar. We’re not talking small doses of colours either — those are some fluorescent chicks on the shelves and they literally make my skin crawl. We wouldn’t ever think it was OK to feed them to an animal, and yet somehow we don’t bat an eyelid when we give them to our kids. What’s up with that? So check your ingredient labels — there are lots of better options out there that don’t have all the chemical dyes. Look for natural food colours (in most British brands for example) and try to avoid heavy doses of high fructose corn syrup. This makes simple chocolate (in moderation) your likely best option.

Build activity into your traditions

If Easter is a time of excess for you then build some activity into your traditions. A treasure hunt in the Botanical Gardens, a long walk on the beach, even a lively game of mini-golf. Simply getting up and moving is a good start. People usually massively overestimate how much they are burning off though, so you will need a really, really long walk if you go for brunch!

The advice given in this article is not intended to replace medical advice, but to complement it. Always consult your GP if you have any health concerns. Catherine Burns BA Hons, Dip ION is the managing director of Natural Ltd and a fully qualified nutritional therapist trained by the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in the UK. Please note that she is not a registered dietitian. For details, please go to www.natural.bm or call 236-7511. Join Catherine on Facebook: www.facebook.com/nutrifitandnaturalnutritionbermuda