Here is an example of what the published research has to say about the potential health benefits of earthing/grounding: Environ Public Health. 2012; 2012: 291541.
Published online 2012 Jan 12. doi: 10.1155/2012/291541
PMCID: PMC3265077PMID: 22291721
Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth’s Surface Electrons
Environmental medicine generally addresses environmental factors with a negative impact on human health. However, emerging scientific research has revealed a surprisingly positive and overlooked environmental factor on health: direct physical contact with the vast supply of electrons on the surface of the Earth.
Modern lifestyle separates humans from such contact. The research suggests that this disconnect may be a major contributor to physiological dysfunction and unwellness. Reconnection with the Earth’s electrons has been found to promote intriguing physiological changes and subjective reports of well-being. Earthing (or grounding) refers to the discovery of benefits—including better sleep and reduced pain—from walking barefoot outside or sitting, working, or sleeping indoors connected to conductive systems that transfer the Earth’s electrons from the ground into the body. This paper reviews the earthing research and the potential of earthing as a simple and easily accessed global modality of significant clinical importance.
2.1. Sleep and Chronic Pain
2.3. Earthing Reduces Electric Fields Induced on the Body
2.4. Physiological and Electrophysiological Effects
4.4. Heart Rate Variability
4.5. Reduction of Primary Indicators of Osteoporosis, Improvement of Glucose Regulation, and Immune Response
4.6. Altered Blood Electrodynamics
Table 1
Subjective sleep, pain, and well-being feedback.
Categories
Test subjects*
Control subjects**
Same
Improved
Same
Improved
Time to fall asleep
4 = 15%
23 = 85%
20 = 87%
3 = 13%
Quality of sleep
2 = 7%
25 = 93%
20 = 87%
3 = 13%
Wake feeling rested
0 = 0%
27 = 100%
20 = 87%
3 = 13%
Muscles stiffness and pain
5 = 18%
22 = 82%
23 = 100%
0 = 0%
Chronic back and/or joint pain
7 = 26%
20 = 74%
23 = 100%
0 = 0%
General well-being
6 = 22%
21 = 78%
20 = 87%
3 = 13%
*Reports not received from three participants.
**Reports not received from seven participants.
4. Conclusion
De
Flora et al. wrote the following: “Since the late 20th century, chronic
degenerative diseases have overcome infectious disease as the major
causes of death in the 21st century, so an increase in human longevity
will depend on finding an intervention that inhibits the development of
these diseases and slows their progress” [33].
Could such an intervention be located right beneath our feet? Earthing research, observations, and related theories raise an intriguing possibility about the Earth’s surface electrons as an untapped health resource—the Earth as a “global treatment table.” Emerging evidence shows that contact with the Earth—whether being outside barefoot or indoors connected to grounded conductive systems—may be a simple, natural, and yet profoundly effective environmental strategy against chronic stress, ANS dysfunction, inflammation, pain, poor sleep, disturbed HRV, hypercoagulable blood, and many common health disorders, including cardiovascular disease. The research done to date supports the concept that grounding or earthing the human body may be an essential element in the health equation along with sunshine, clean air and water, nutritious food, and physical activity.
This simple behavioral change has the potential to initiate powerful improvements in health conditions and is something that may warrant consideration for everyone.
Like many of you, I am constantly tinkering and experimenting with different modifiable lifestyle factors to try to optimize my quality of life – I am truly a biohacker.
As you would know, there is a big difference between Chronological Age and Biological Age. We have all worked with patients and seen individuals who look a lot older – or younger than their Chronological Age.
There are a lot of factors that can influence this difference: we cannot discount genetics however as we all know epigenetic expression can be significantly influenced by lifestyle and environmental factors.
So factors that we typically help our patients with would be included, such as diet, sleep, exercise, mental attitude, exposure to environmental toxins etc. can influence Biological Age.
When I am working with clients, I use a technology device which I have referred to previously – the iHeart technology which functions as a pulse oximeter but as well it measures AoPWV- Aortic Pulse Wave Velocity which is a measurement of aortic flexibility.
This biomarker is increasingly being used by progressive cardiologists and other health care practitioners as an indication of CV health and the potential for future events including sudden death, strokes and heart attacks.
This is considered a more accurate predictor of these events vs. lipid panels due to the fact that approximately 40% of individuals who have one of these events have normal lipid panels.
But what I really love about the iHeart is that it has an algorithm which compares Chronological Age vs. Biological Age.
I use this technology with all my clients and I find it works well to convey the concept of Healthspan and to optimize compliance.
I use this device regularly on myself and I get good results: I am 66 years old and my Biological Age result is typically around 25 years of age.
I take a lot of supplements and I have been doing some experimentation recently whereby I would check my Biological Age before and after taking my supplements to see if they were having any impact on my Biological Age results.
And sure enough, recent experimentation has shown that prior to taking my supplements my Biological Age reading was around 40 years – and then an hour or two after taking my supplements it was down to around 25 years of age.
And then I wanted to see if I could determine which of my supplements was having the most significant effect.
Sure enough the most significant impact came from just two supplements which would decrease my Biological Age by approximately 15 years and these two supplements turned out to be our two key Integra Nutrition formulations: Pricera, our very popular NAD+ precursor formulation as well as our GenZogenol formulation.
I won’t go into detail on these two formulations in this article: if you want more details on them, have a look at our Integra Nutrition website.
GenZogenol: this formulation includes a key ingredient – Enzogenol which has been shown in a rat study to LENGTHEN telomeres by 40% and in a mouse study to to lengthen healthspan and lifespan by the equivalent of approximately 15 years in humans.
Pricera: is an NAD+ precursor formulation and according to the published literature the best on the market.***
NAD+ levels decrease by 50% by the age of 50 and they are down by 90-96% by the age of 80.
One key factor about NAD+ is it is necessary to activate the Sirtuin longevity genes so if these are not being activated, it accelerates vascular aging which has an impact on virtually every cell in the body.
Optimizing NAD+ levels can have a significant impact on energy levels due to its impact on mitochondrial function: many users feel a surge in energy levels even within 24-72 hours.
These two formulations can have a dramatic positive impact on your personal aging process and healthsplan.
In addition, they can have a significant positive impact on pretty much all chronic, degenerative conditions.
If you would like to get some additional documentation of these two formulations – including some of the published research, reach out to me.
Pricera Testimonials
Liking Pricera 🙂
Definitely boosting energy and focus. It’s been ages since I got out in the evening for a bike ride just because I was so knackered.
This changed within 2 days of starting the Pricera. Also more mental clarity.
Chris Spooner, ND Vernon, BC
For a number of years I have been dealing with low energy and stamina, Chronic Fatigue and hand tremors.
One of the key areas where Pricera impacts me is my energy levels – in the past, I often could only work for 4-5 hours before I felt exhausted and would have to stop.
Some days it felt like my energy levels were so depleted that it was a struggle to get out of bed.
Since starting on the Pricera, I have experienced a tremendous boost to my energy levels and I can now work 8-10 hours at a stretch.
I have gained more stamina, energy and clarity and I have seen a significant improvement in my exercise capacity.
For myself, Pricera has been a life saver, and I will not miss a single day taking it!
Pricera our NAD+ precursor formulation is now available!
Why maintaining optimal NAD+ levels as we age is critical to our quality of life, healthspan and potentially lifespan
I wanted to share with you today why I believe that maintaining optimal NAD+ levels is critical for healthy aging, extending healthspan – and potentially lifespan (as has been shown in animal studies).
“In my opinion, NAD therapy will turn out to be one of the greatest advances in medical science since Fleming developed penicillin”.
Dr. Phil Milgram, MD
NAD+ levels decrease with age:
People aged 50 have about 40% less NAD+
By the age of 80 years, NAD+ levels decline between 90-98%
NAD+ and the Sirtuin Longevity Genes
Optimal NAD+ levels are critical for the activation of the Sirtuin longevity genes.
Limited Sirtuin longevity gene activity can lead to an acceleration of the aging process: one example of this is vascular aging.
Vascular aging is responsible for a constellation of disorders, such as cardiac and neurologic conditions, muscle loss, impaired wound healing and overall frailty, amongst others.
Multiple animal studies have demonstrated that increasing sirtuin activity leads to:
•Longer life •Less age-related loss of function •Less DNA damage
NAD+ maintains and builds sirtuin levels and activity
Exercise Performance
Another impressive benefit of optimizing NAD+ levels is in the area of exercise:
In a mouse study, the cohort which was supplemented to optimize NAD+ levels it increased their exercise capacity between 56 and 80 percent, compared with untreated mice.
David Sinclair, PhD commented about the results of this study:
“Even if you’re an athlete, you eventually decline,” Sinclair said. “But there is another category of people—what about those who are in a wheelchair or those with otherwise reduced mobility?”
In another study involving elderly men, supplementation with an NAD+ precursor resulted in improved exercise performance:
The men in this study had an 8% improvement in peak isometric muscle torque (a measure of muscle force) and a 15% improvement in fatigue associated with exercise.
Other Research Highlights:
• Boosting NAD+ biosynthesis by using key NAD+ intermediates is now drawing significant attention for: Alzheimer’s/Type 2 Diabetes/Heart Failure/ Hearing Loss • NAD+ precursors have been shown to increase stem cell colonies by 75% in the gut of aging mice • Other studies point to the role of NAD+ in restoring circadian rhythms needed for restorative sleep • SirT1 overexpression protects against Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease as well as ALS
Low NAD+ Levels Can Contribute to the Following:
•Accelerates aging •Increases sunburn and skin cancer •Decreases cellular antioxidants •Decreases metabolism along with thyroid hormones •Harms immune function •Increases inflammation •Impairs brain function •Can cause hypoxia intracellularly •Associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome •May worsen weight gain and metabolic syndrome •May worsen cardiovascular diseases May contribute to MS (multiple sclerosis)
Why Is It Important to Increase NAD+ Levels?
General Benefits
•Low NAD+ levels can accelerate the aging process •NAD+ is vital for mitochondrial health •NAD+ plays a key role in cellular metabolism and energy production •NAD+ is a rate-limiting co-substrate for sirtuins •High NAD+ levels are essential for DNA repair and recovery •NAD+ activates CD38, which is present on many immune cells (white blood cells) and associated with impaired immune responses. •Enhances autophagy •Helps maintain redox potential
Specific Conditions
•Positive impact on the Diabesity Spectrum •Low NAD+ levels may worsen cardiovascular diseases •Low NAD+ levels may increase inflammation
In my opinion, you cannot age well and extend healthspan without addressing and maximizing NAD+ levels, especially with older patients.
For more information about Pricera or where you can get some reach out to me.
This article was based upon a published study done at Washington State University and published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology – the citation is included at the end of this article.
” Due to its phenolic structure BPA has been shown to interact with estrogen receptors and to act as agonist or antagonist via estrogen receptor (ER) dependent signalling pathways. Therefore, BPA has been shown to play a role in the pathogenesis of several endocrine disorders including female and male infertility, precocious puberty, hormone dependent tumours such as breast and prostate cancer and several metabolic disorders including polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)”
Due to the prevalence of exposure to BPA in our environment – as well as other chemicals and heavy metals periodic monitoring and supervised detox programs to clear out this toxin load are serious considerations for optimizing health and potentially extending healthspan.
Summary:
Researchers have developed a more accurate method of measuring bisphenol A (BPA) levels in humans and found that exposure to the endocrine-disrupting chemical is far higher than previously assumed. The study provides the first evidence that the measurements relied upon by regulatory agencies, including the US Food and Drug Administration, are flawed, underestimating exposure levels by as much as 44 times. Researchers have developed a more accurate method of measuring bisphenol A (BPA) levels in humans and found that exposure to the endocrine-disrupting chemical is far higher than previously assumed.
The study, published in the journal The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology
on Dec. 5, provides the first evidence that the measurements relied
upon by regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration, are flawed, underestimating exposure levels by as much
as 44 times.
“This study raises serious concerns about
whether we’ve been careful enough about the safety of this chemical,”
said Patricia Hunt, Washington State University professor and
corresponding author on the paper. “What it comes down to is that the
conclusions federal agencies have come to about how to regulate BPA may
have been based on inaccurate measurements.”
BPA can be found in a wide range of
plastics, including food and drink containers, and animal studies have
shown that it can interfere with the body’s hormones. In particular,
fetal exposure to BPA has been linked to problems with growth,
metabolism, behavior, fertility and even greater cancer risk.
Despite this experimental evidence, the
FDA has evaluated data from studies measuring BPA in human urine and
determined that human exposure to the chemical is at very low, and
therefore, safe levels. This paper challenges that assumption and raises
questions about other chemicals, including BPA replacements, that are
also assessed using indirect methods.
Hunt’s colleague, Roy Gerona, assistant
professor at University of California, San Francisco, developed a direct
way of measuring BPA that more accurately accounts for BPA metabolites,
the compounds that are created as the chemical passes through the human
body.
Previously, most studies had to rely on
an indirect process to measure BPA metabolites, using an enzyme solution
made from a snail to transform the metabolites back into whole BPA,
which could then be measured.
Gerona’s new method is able to directly measure the BPA metabolites themselves without using the enzyme solution.
In this study, a research team comprised
of Gerona, Hunt and Fredrick vom Saal of University of Missouri compared
the two methods, first with synthetic urine spiked with BPA and then
with 39 human samples. They found much higher levels of BPA using the
direct method, as much as 44 times the mean reported by the National
Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The disparity between
the two methods increased with more BPA exposure: the greater the
exposure the more the previous method missed.
Gerona, the first author on the paper, said more replication is needed.
“I hope this study will bring attention
to the methodology used to measure BPA, and that other experts and labs
will take a closer look at and assess independently what is happening,”
he said.
The research team is conducting further
experiments into BPA measurement as well as other chemicals that may
also have been measured in this manner, a category that includes
environmental phenols such as parabens, benzophenone, triclosan found in
some cosmetics and soaps, and phthalates found in many consumer
products including toys, food packaging and personal care products.
“BPA is still being measured indirectly
through NHANES, and it’s not the only endocrine-disrupting chemical
being measured this way,” Gerona said. “Our hypothesis now is that if
this is true for BPA, it could be true for all the other chemicals that
are measured indirectly.”
This study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health.
Roy Gerona, Frederick S vom Saal, Patricia A Hunt. BPA: have flawed analytical techniques compromised risk assessments?The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/S2213-8587(19)30381-X
Bisphenol A (BPA) belongs to chemicals
that are produced in large quantities worldwide. It is commonly used as
monomer in polycarbonate synthesis, plasticizer in the production of
epoxy resins, as well as an additive for the elimination of surfeit of
hydrochloric acid during the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production. BPA is
not only used in the production of plastics intended to a direct
contact with food, including plastic packaging and kitchenware, but also
in inner coatings of cans and jar caps. There are various routes of
human exposure to this substance such as oral, by inhalation and
transdermal. The main sources of exposure to BPA include food packaging
and dust, dental materials, healthcare equipment, thermal paper, toys
and articles for children and infants. BPA is metabolized in the liver
to form bisphenol A glucuronide and mostly in this form is excreted with
urine. Due to its phenolic structure BPA has been shown to interact
with estrogen receptors and to act as agonist or antagonist via estrogen
receptor (ER) dependent signalling pathways. Therefore, BPA has been
shown to play a role in the pathogenesis of several endocrine disorders
including female and male infertility, precocious puberty, hormone
dependent tumours such as breast and prostate cancer and several
metabolic disorders including polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Because of the constant, daily exposure and its tendency to
bio-accumulation, BPA seems to require special attention such as
biomonitoring. This observation should include clinical tests of BPA
concentration in the urine, which is not only one of the best methods of
evaluation of the exposure to this compound, but also the dependence of
the daily intake of BPA and the risk of some endocrine disorders.
PMID: 25813067
Fasting in its many forms can provide profound beneficial health benefits.
Following is an article on this topic authored by Dr. Dan Pompa which provides a good overview.
Regards,
Robert (Rob) Lamberton
Fasting is a very old ritual to boost health that is found in religions all over the world and is rooted in natural ancestral cycles of feast and famine. Before we had grocery stores, restaurants, and even food delivery services- there were often times with very little to no food. Following times of famine, there was an abundance of food (following a successful harvest, forage, or hunt). Even animal wisdom harnesses the power of fasting- like dogs, that will intuitively stop eating when they are sick. More and more studies are emerging on the incredible benefits that fasting can have, on not only for health but also suggesting a boost in longevity.
Fasting diets
have nothing to do with WHAT or HOW MUCH you eat, but WHEN you eat.
Intermittent fasting (or IF) is the art of restricted time eating, so instead
of counting calories or restricting what types of foods you eat- the entire
“diet” relies on when you do, and don’t eat.
Recent Research on Fasting
Have Your Cake And Eat It Too: Boost Health
and Longevity Not By Changing What You Eat, But When You
Eat.
Intermittent Fasting Research
Although Intermittent Fasting to boost health has gained
popularity in more recent years, its wisdom dates back to our ancestors from
the stone age. Apart from periods of feast and famine, our ancestors’ lives
were also heavily dictated by the rising and setting of the sun; activities
like eating naturally happened during day time. Our exposure to light, food,
and movement are the main tenets that inform and program our circadian rhythm.
This internal rhythm influences everything from sleep-wake cycles, hormone
release, eating habits and digestion, body temperature, and other important
bodily functions.1 Intermittent fasting plays a role in giving the
body an adequate period of rest from digestion, enabling it to not only heal-
but thrive.
Research on Fasting is Extensive
Many of the
studies regarding fasting to boost health and longevity have been done on
animals. However, these studies suggest promising effects on metabolic
functions, health, and lifespan for humans. Although there are many variables,
Rafael deCabo, a scientist at the National Institute on Aging and the
study’s lead author explains that;
“in the absence of
calorie restriction, and independent of diet composition, fasting mice do
better than non-fasting”.2
Boost Health! The ever-increasing research
regarding fasting suggests some incredible health and longevity benefits
including:
Autophagy
A boost in stem cells
Boost in ketones
Hormone optimization
Increased insulin sensitivity
Reset of the microbiome
Reset of the DNA (gene code)
Decrease in inflammation
A decrease in oxidative stress
Reduced instances of chronic disease and obesity
Protection against unusual deterioration of cognitive function
Fat loss
Cancer prevention
Promotion of better sleep
More satiety/ reduced hunger
Although benefits
are often examined as individual points, they are in fact very much intertwined
to promote overall longevity. One of the main ways IF leads to longevity is
“multi-system regeneration,” which fasting researcher Dr. Valter Longo explains
occurs during the presence of ketones in the blood. The autophagy process that
happens during a fasting period breaks down weak and damaged cells, which are
then replaced with new stem cells after food is reintroduced.
“You get rid of
the junk during starvation — and once you have food, you can rebuild… The
damaged cells are replaced with new cells, working cells — and now the system
starts working properly.”
Research on Fasting: Health and Longevity
All these
benefits suggest a direct link between fasting and longevity, although
conducting a clinical longevity study in humans is unfeasible at the moment,
for would cost “a hundred million dollars or more,” according to Longo. “But if
you look at the data from our trial … it would be hard to see how they would
not live longer.”
Dr. Valter Longo
and Dr. Satchin Panda’s study demonstrated that a 12-hour feeding window
reduced blood cholesterol, fasting blood sugar, body weight, body fat,
inflammation, and dysbiosis, and increased energy expenditure, motor control,
endurance, sleep, and cardiac function.3 Their study examined the
intricate relationship between time-restricted feeding (IF), circadian health,
and ultimately concluded that simply limiting your eating window to a minimum
of 12 hours reduces biological age irrelevant of any dietary changes! Indeed,
their study suggests that you can have your cake and eat it too… so long as you
do so within your eating window.
Research on Fasting: How To Do It
There are many
different fasting styles that range from multiple days water-only fasts, to
bone broth fasts, to alternate day fasting… but intermittent fasting itself is
conceptually incredibly simple: engage in a particular restricted eating
window, preferably rooted in 2 meals (and no snacking). This might seem not too
far off from your current habits, but studies show the average American eats
17-21 times a day! This is detrimental to our health and longevity.
Classic Intermittent Fasting: The Eating
Window
The key is,
aforementioned, restricting your eating window. The science suggests a very minimum
of 12 hours to see any benefits, so if you have no experience fasting- start
there. If you eat your first meal at 8 am, no food (or beverage other than
plain water) after 8 pm.4 From there, extend the fasting window to
ideally (at least) 16 hours. Whether you decide to skip breakfast or dinner is
completely personal, find what works best for your schedule and which option is
more sustainable over the long run. A 2018 study comparing a 12-hour feeding
window to an 8-hour feeding window demonstrated that although both groups lost
weight, those in the 8-hour feeding window group dramatically lower insulin
levels, improved insulin sensitivity, and significantly lower blood pressure in
only five weeks.5
Research on Fasting: One Meal a Day
“One meal a day”
(or OMAD) is an extreme version of intermittent fasting. An individual shortens
their eating window to essentially the duration of one single meal. The
benefits of this technique essentially amplify all the aforementioned benefits
of a 16/8 IF protocol. OMAD gives the body even more time in this resting
(vs. digesting) state. OMAD is not, however, for everyone- nor should it be the
goal. Consuming one meal a day can be more taxing on the adrenal system. OMAD
could even induce more detoxification than an individual can handle at once.
Like any type of
good stress (exercise, sauna, cold therapy), the adrenals and overall system
need to be strong enough to withstand the short term stressor. Ease into
intermittent fasting at your own pace, and always listen to your body. A great
way to transition into it and/ or reboot your system is to take part in the
5-day Fasting Mimicking Diet™.
Research on Fasting to Boost Health and
Longevity: The Fasting Mimicking DietTM
Fasting for health and longevity can be a daunting endeavor for someone who is used to eating 3+ meals a day their entire lives, and this is where the fasting mimicking diet comes in. Fasting expert and researcher Dr. Valter Longo created the Fasting Mimicking Diet program that mimics the benefits of a fasting protocol, combining both the benefits of intermittent fasting and a longer term fast (through caloric restriction). Prolon® takes out the guesswork but providing clients with all their meals for a 5 day period. Longo is the Director of both the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California and The Program on Longevity and Cancer at IFOM in Milan, and his clinical study demonstrated remarkable benefits that fasting has to offer in just 5 days (repeated for 3 months):
Promote stem cell-based renewal in the body
Decrease excess body fat while preserving lean muscle mass
Maintain healthy levels of blood glucose, cholesterol, & blood pressure
Decreased hormone IGF-1 (which has been implicated with aging and disease)6
We suggest using
this fasting
mimicking diet to boost health if you are completely new to fasting
or are trying to break destructive eating patterns! This can be a bridge to
continue on with regular Intermittent Fasting thereafter!
References
Longo, Valter D., and Satchidananda Panda. “Fasting, Circadian Rhythms, and Time-Restricted Feeding in Healthy Lifespan.” Cell Metabolism, vol. 23, no. 6, 2016, pp. 1048–1059., doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2016.06.001.
Mitchell, Sarah J., et al. “Daily Fasting Improves Health and Survival in Male Mice Independent of Diet Composition and Calories.” Cell Metabolism, vol. 29, no. 1, Jan. 2019, doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2018.08.011
Sutton, Elizabeth F., et al. “Early Time-Restricted Feeding Improves Insulin Sensitivity, Blood Pressure, and Oxidative Stress Even without Weight Loss in Men with Prediabetes.” Cell Metabolism, vol. 27, no. 6, 2018, doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2018.04.010.
Wei, Min, et al. “Fasting-Mimicking Diet and Markers/Risk Factors for Aging, Diabetes, Cancer, and Cardiovascular Disease.” Science Translational Medicine, vol. 9, no. 377, 2017, doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.aai8700.
We love sweet treats. But too much sugar in our diets can lead to weight gain and obesity, Type 2 diabetes and dental decay. We know we shouldn’t be eating candy, ice cream, cookies, cakes and drinking sugary sodas, but sometimes they are so hard to resist.
It’s as if our brain is hardwired to want these foods.
As a neuroscientist my research centres on how modern day “obesogenic”, or obesity-promoting, diets
change the brain. I want to understand how what we eat alters our
behaviour and whether brain changes can be mitigated by other lifestyle
factors.
Your body runs on sugar – glucose to be precise. Glucose comes from the Greek word glukos which means sweet. Glucose fuels the cells that make up our body – including brain cells (neurons).
Dopamine “hits” from eating sugar
On
an evolutionary basis, our primitive ancestors were scavengers. Sugary
foods are excellent sources of energy, so we have evolved to find sweet
foods particularly pleasurable. Foods with unpleasant, bitter and sour
tastes can be unripe, poisonous or rotting – causing sickness.
So
to maximize our survival as a species, we have an innate brain system
that makes us like sweet foods since they’re a great source of energy to
fuel our bodies.
When we eat sweet foods the brain’s reward system – called the mesolimbic dopamine system – gets activated. Dopamine
is a brain chemical released by neurons and can signal that an event
was positive. When the reward system fires, it reinforces behaviours –
making it more likely for us to carry out these actions again.
Dopamine “hits” from eating sugar promote rapid learning to preferentially find more of these foods.
Our
environment today is abundant with sweet, energy rich foods. We no
longer have to forage for these special sugary foods – they are
available everywhere.
Unfortunately, our brain is still
functionally very similar to our ancestors, and it really likes sugar.
So what happens in the brain when we excessively consume sugar?
Can sugar rewire the brain?
The brain continuously remodels and rewires itself through a process called neuroplasticity.
This rewiring can happen in the reward system. Repeated activation of
the reward pathway by drugs or by eating lots of sugary foods causes the
brain to adapt to frequent stimulation, leading to a sort of tolerance.
In the case of sweet foods, this means we need to eat more to get the same rewarding feeling – a classic feature of addiction.
Food addiction
is a controversial subject among scientists and clinicians. While it is
true that you can become physically dependent on certain drugs, it is
debated whether you can be addicted to food when you need it for basic survival.
The brain wants sugar, then more sugar
Regardless of
our need for food to power our bodies, many people experience food
cravings, particularly when stressed, hungry or just faced with an
alluring display of cakes in a coffee shop.
To resist cravings, we
need to inhibit our natural response to indulge in these tasty foods. A
network of inhibitory neurons is critical for controlling behaviour.
These neurons are concentrated in the prefrontal cortex – a key area of the brain involved in decision-making, impulse control and delaying gratification.
Importantly,
this shows that what we eat can influence our ability to resist
temptations and may underlie why diet changes are so difficult for
people.
Importantly,
the brain’s neuroplasticity capabilities allow it to reset to an extent
following cutting down on dietary sugar, and physical exercise can augment this process.
Foods rich in omaga-3 fats (found in fish oil, nuts and seeds) are also
neuroprotective and can boost brain chemicals needed to form new
neurons.
While it’s not easy to break habits like always eating
dessert or making your coffee a double-double, your brain will thank you
for making positive steps.
The first step is often the hardest. These diet changes can often get easier along the way.
