An elderly doctor gave me some advice years ago that I was reminded of today. He had retired from his medical practice of nearly half a century and had begun treating patients using nutritional therapies.

This was in the 70’s when nutritional medicine was a more secretive practice than it is today. On one of my evening visits to his Trenton, New Jersey office, Dr. Getlen diagnosed my hypoglycemia.

Until that time, other doctors had attributed my symptoms to a variety of things. Among their suggested diagnoses were newlywed shell shock and a possible brain tumor. I’m not kidding.

That same night I confided to Dr. Getlen that I ate uncontrollably whenever I felt nervous. We didn’t call it stress back then. We didn’t call ourselves emotional eaters or food addicts in those days either.

Whenever my blood sugar would drop, I would crave sweets. Once the addictive feelings began, I ate until the candy was gone. Food addiction creates more problems than just weight gain, and no one knows that better than me.

Today, I was watching a small child eat candy at the urging of her mother. “Try this one, Honey.” The child chewed the jellied candy vigorously and then spit it out. She did this repeatedly until the woman threatened to keep all the candy for herself. No comment on that one.

She asked the little girl why she kept spitting out the candy. The little girl replied very politely and matter-of-factly, “I already tasted it”.

Suddenly, Dr. Getlen’s words came back to me. He told me how to eat what I wanted without having to feel guilty about eating or worrying about gaining weight.

He told me that when I got the urge to overeat sweets to do it. He said to be sure to chew whatever I ate thoroughly and savor every bite.

Then, to my surprise and puzzlement, he told me not to swallow the food, but instead to spit it out. He said it was my mind that was in control and it was only interested in pleasing my taste buds.

He was right. I did it and it worked, especially with jelly beans. That little girl knew the secret and observing her, I was reminded of it.

It may sound like a terrible waste to spit out the food, and it would be rather disgusting if you did it at a restaurant.

The object of the exercise, however, is to satisfy your hunger without turning your body into a garbage dump. So, try it and see if it works for you too. But only at home.

P.S. It doesn’t work with ice cream.