Hurray! I always love finding someone or something else to blame.
So when I got an email from our supplier of 100% grass fed and pasture-raised meats that had a headline of “It’s Not Your Fault – Study Proves It” – I just had to read it.
They said that losing willpower is actually a little hiccup in your brain…and they went straight to their study. It was published in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences and showed that low-grade inflammation interferes with our dopamine signaling system.
Before I could search “dopamine”, they answered my question. It is the neurotransmitter that enhances our willingness to work hard for reward – like the satisfaction of checking something off a To-Do list – such as New Year’s resolutions.
Their point? The more dopamine you have, the greater your willpower… But inflammation can tank dopamine levels fast (and significantly). How? The explanation was that when inflammation is present, your body requires more energy to heal itself. Therefore, the brain adapts and suppresses dopamine release – and THAT reduces your drive to accomplish goals.
Common sense would agree with their premise that the brain can then use the energy to fight the inflammation since you no longer feel like exerting yourself to accomplish goals – energy is re-directed. Smart brain – knows it needs the energy and takes it.
That does help explain why lack of motivation is closely associated with depression. And why sticking to your goals after the holidays feels SO hard. They are a food-related company, remember? So they are fully aware of the holiday excess which increases the amount of inflammation in our bodies. (Carbs, sweets, alcohol anyone?)
More inflammation = less dopamine.
Okay – I have to check this out with my Naturopath resource, Dr. Peter J. Glidden in his book Attempt A Cure. He dedicates the whole of Chapter 5 in his book to “Inflammation & You”. So it must be a big item.
He leads off with this – “You would be hard-pressed to find a disease that is not in some way related to inflammation.”
And he, too, went practical saying “it is common sense to attempt to figure out the cause of the inflammation and fix it, rather than just to manage it.” His wholistic point of view, he says, is that the inflammation that is present in the body is not the disease. It is the result of the disease.
So that is where he diverges from the MD treatment based on their difference in theory. And I do remember what my MD said when I went to him about my eye/vision blacking out for just under a minute and then coming back (occurring on a monthly basis). He told me it was an early sign of TIA’s (mini-strokes) and there was nothing he could do for that problem. But he prescribed a baby aspirin to address the symptoms – he said he could only manage the symptoms—starting with baby aspirin. If he followed the MD path, and the underlying problem did not get addressed, he would later recommend pharmaceuticals.
Then, as I learned about Naturopath philosophy from Drs. Glidden and Wallach, I learned their method was to support and promote the body’s built-in God-given ability to fix itself. As Dr. Glidden described it, when the therapeutics he recommends are successful, the inflammation goes away of its own accord – because the body has eliminated the cause of the problem.
That was much more hopeful and helpful to me. So I went further into the natural world and agree with Dr. Glidden’s premise that it is fine to deliver anti-inflammatory holistic treatments while at the same time attempting to support and promote the body’s ability to fix the problem from the ground up.
Of course, I then went further into Glidden’s basic recommendations, which are in his book and on his website HERE. Let me do a quick summary of the strategy he follows to stimulate your body “fixing itself”:
- Fill up the nutritional tank with all 90 essential nutrients (Youngevity’s Healthy Body Start Pak)
- Stop putting diesel fuel in an unleaded engine – that references the 12 bad foods (smart eating) which is a free video on his website
- Pump up the O.R.A.C.
What, you say, is O.R.A.C.? You need to know — because it relates to inflammation.
While Glidden explains many things can cause inflammation — bacteria, trauma, pollution, and alcohol – he says these are infrequent offenders.
Want to know what the King of offenders is? He says it is something called a “free radical.” These free radicals are in some foods and drinks and are also formed by the liver as it detoxifies nasty things (alcohol, pesticides, nicotine and more) that have found their way in the body.
Interestingly, as I went into medical websites to see what conventional MD medicine said, they agreed with him.
Remember those “free radical” things? I have blogged about them before. Glidden likens them to “Velcro” because they stick to just about anything – things in the body. And that thing becomes oxidized, which means it turns to rust and is destroyed.
I have blogged about the response to free radicals – those antioxidants, i.e. our “fire department” that puts out the flames of the free radicals which are harming us.
And that brings up the O.R.A.C. – Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity. The effectiveness of an antioxidant is measured by its ORAC score. Glidden says most Americans accidentally consume about 1,500 ORAC points of antioxidants a day. Okay, how does that measure up?
Both Glidden and Wallach agree that the current research on longevity shows that to extend our life-spans and secure health throughout, we need to consume a minimum of 20,000 ORAC points a day! That is quite a task — especially without supplementation of our food diet.
What I know is that I want to try to get those 20,000 points! Especially as I am in my later years. First step is my daily drink – Beyond Tangy Tangerine (which is part of the Youngevity Healthy Body Start Pak) — supplies 8,000 ORAC points. Good start!
But my ‘coup de grace’ is the item about which I have blogged before – the Triple Treat Chocolate (made by Youngevity). One square has 16,900 ORAC points. I LOVE chocolate and relish the fact this particular chocolate is SO GOOD FOR ME!
And that gives me 24,900 ORAC points daily (unless I sneak a 2nd Triple Treat chocolate) – yes, I am smiling!
So, just being smug about having a pretty good excuse for “losing willpower” really is not very satisfying, after all. I do not wish to have to suffer inflammation and its destructive effects on my body as a part of that excuse. I want those anti-oxidant firemen dousing those fires of oxidation
Hope you join me in racking up those ORAC points in a nutritious way – then we can direct our extra energy into FUN things!P.S. Here are few items Glidden said are high in ORAC value: green tea, yerba matte tea, curry power, cinnamon, red wine, dark skinned fruits, unsweetened, unpasteurized chocolate. Just sayin’.
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