Sugar Addiction

What do you think triggers sugar cravings and sugar addiction?
1. Candida overgrowth
2. Stress
3. Low serotonin/dopamine
4. Low beneficial GI bacteria

Well, if you answered ‘All of the Above‘ then you are correct but do you understand why?  Let’s dig a little deeper and review each one.

Truth be told, t’s a vicious cycle and once you get control of these triggers then you will be on your way to optimal health.

• Candida Overgrowth: did you know that Candida can change shape and form? It’s so powerful and thrives in places where it should never be, moving from the gut to the organs to the brain. You can see it manifest on your skin, affect your eyes, stubborn belly fat, chronic fatigue, autoimmune issues, mood swings, UTI, itching, migraines, sinuses, mental thinking and much more. Wonder if you have it then get tested with an organic acid test as it detects D-Arabinitol a waste product of Candida yeast overgrowth. An elevated test means an overgrowth of Candida. This test will determine if there is Candida in your upper gut or small intestines.

• Stress: Numerous studies show the link between stress, depression and anxiety along with one’s  food choices. Research shows an increased eating of sweet fatty foods by emotional eaters during stress, and it may compromise the health of susceptible individuals through deleterious stress-related changes in food choice. Since stress results in an altered brain-gut axis, it’s best to incorporate daily stress reduction strategies. We teach this in the Total Wellness Empowerment program since mind and  body need to be worked on together.

• Low Serotonin/dopamine: There’s a link between reward, specific neurotransmitters and the controls of food intake…Dopamine and serotonin in the hypothalamus have been shown to be involved in the regulation of eating behavior. Eating too much sugar affects insulin which in turn affects leptin. Leptin inhibits the motivation to feed by activating dopamine and GABA expressing neurons.  A leptin deficiency is associated with an increase in the drive to eat even when the you’ve  just eaten. Interesting enough, fasting or consuming too few calories on a regular basis can lower sensitivity to leptin, leading to increased hunger, cravings and lack of energy. As you can surmise, there’s a delicate balance going on in your body that impacts your eating so controlling insulin by avoiding high sugar consumption  and balancing your neurotransmitters are important for regulating hunger and sugar cravings.

• Low Beneficial GI bacteria can trigger sugar cravings: Yes, the microbes in your gut could strongly manipulate your behavior while influencing your food choices  Your gut is your ‘second brain’ as the enteric nervous system is connected to the central nervous system ( brain & spinal cord) via gut-brain axis. Fascinating that different microbes prefer different food choices. The beneficial bacteria in your gut helps eat up sugars that you consume helping you not to gain weight. Research has shown that low beneficial bacteria is linked to weight gain. Even though microbes do not have a nervous system, they do produce neurotransmitters! More than 50% of your body’s dopamine and 90% of your body’s serotonin are produced in your gut, along with approximately 30 more neurotransmitters. Best way to combat sugar craving trigger is for you to manipulate your gut microbes by taking daily quality probiotics to assist in balancing the ratio between good and bad bacteria while curbing food cravings. Many people find that their cravings subside substantially after adopting probiotics in their daily regime. 

The overall health and disease-preventative benefits you see from removing sugar from your food intake, are truly just the tip of the iceberg. Many experience positive impact as their body respond immediately with removing sugar and taking quality supplements and probiotics to get to the core (gut) of the problem.

If you still need some support, here’s some of my favorite products.

 Click here to get your quality probiotics and supplements, once you register an account then search for these quality products:

• Product Code: CDX84 Candida Plus enzymes to take on empty stomach to help rid candida overgrowth Many people will lose several pounds of unwanted weight when they incorporate this supplement in their daily regime.
• Product Code FORM5CA Digestive Enzymes to Help breakdown your foods
• Product Code is: THY25  for quality probiotic offering 50 billion good bacteria and contains strains of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus that have been shown to improve anxiety- and depression-like behavior, which tend to alter eating behavior.
• Product Code: DA6707 Aipo-Leptin Benefits
• Product Code: ZEN for stress
• Product Code: V13353 for Dopamine

Just another reason why living a healthy lifestyle is so important to fight off degenerative diseases and to protect our mind-body-spirit

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Tags: addiction, candida overgrowth, dopamine, flora, probiotics, serotonin, stress, weight loss