I’m sure you know how hard it can be to resist certain insulin-spiking foods that score high on the glycemic index – like French fries, potato chips, pasta, and bagels.
But why?
The answer has nothing to do with weak willpower and it certainly has nothing to do with the latest nonsense from mainstream medicine about having a genetic mutation that makes you crave sweet foods.
The real reason your brain craves junk food is far more disturbing…
In a breakthrough study, researchers at Yale and the University of Cologne reveal that your brain has been trained to crave and consume processed foods.
If you don’t do something about it, you won’t just gain weight; you’ll leave yourself vulnerable to all kinds of chronic conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and cancer.
The researchers found that eating these modern carb-loaded concoctions physically rewires your brain, so you subconsciously prefer them over natural, healthy foods.1
The study found that super-processed snacks and desserts activate the parts of your brain responsible for pleasure and reward and also release the feel-good hormone dopamine.
Like it or not, you’ve been turned into an addict by America’s food companies.
The researchers found that the more carb-heavy and processed-sugary products you eat, the more your brain craves them – and the effect lasts for months after you’ve stopped eating them.
You see, the brain’s heightened response to these foods among study participants was even greater after eight weeks, the full length of the study – but the researchers added that their addictive effects were likely to keep increasing long into the future.
That’s bad news because the typical American diet is loaded with carb-heavy, processed foods containing unnaturally high amounts of grains, cheap and unhealthy vegetable oils, dangerous preservatives, and refined sugar.
But the problem is
not just the harm these foods cause. They also leave your body starving for the vitamins, minerals, live enzymes, and micronutrients you need to ward off disease.And now we know why it’s so hard to quit eating them – because they’re also addictive.
The good news is you can retrain your brain by switching to the right foods and the right kind of exercise – just as your primal ancestors did.
You see, your body didn’t evolve to eat fake food. Your primal ancestors evolved to survive and thrive on protein, healthy fats, wild fruits, and vegetables. Today, Big Agra and greedy corporations have turned everything on its head – and they’ve made us addicts in the process.
6 Simple Steps That Will Help You Break Free From
Big Food’s Addictive Junk
So here are a few easy tips I give to my patients to help them break the habits that are lining the pockets of Big Food and destroying your health.
- Severely restrict ultra-processed foods. You can start by reducing processed carbohydrates. That means avoiding products that contain refined sugars and processed grains. Keep grains like wheat, rice, and corn, as well as breakfast cereals, cereal bars, and low-fiber or sweetened foods to a minimum. Instead, eat plenty of above-ground and green, leafy vegetables, onions and garlic, berries, and other fresh fruits, nuts, and seeds. Carbs should never make up any more than 5% or 10% of your total calorie intake.
- Avoid high-fructose corn syrup. This is one of the most processed and concentrated forms of sugar on the planet. One more reason to stay away from processed foods or anything packed in a box, can, or plastic container (even if it’s labeled organic). Once you cut this out, your brain’s sugar and carb addiction will be easier to break.
- Eat quality calories. Conventional doctors will tell you the key to fat loss is cutting back on calories. But it’s not about the quantity of calories. It’s all about the quality of calories. Eat meals based on protein…as many different kinds of protein as you can get. Protein signals your body to stop eating. Getting enough protein retrains your brain from “store fat” to “burn fat” and rids your brain of its refined sugar addiction
- Eat the right fats. Don’t cut back on fat. Instead, eat the right fats like omega-3s. Your body needs them to absorb vitamins and nutrients, and they are non-addictive.
- Practice short-duration, high-intensity, progressively challenging workouts. Exercise is one of the best ways to retrain your body and brain to eat the right foods. It also helps your body shed fat and resets your insulin response which goes haywire with an excess of carbs and refined sugar.2
- Eat low glycemic index foods. High glycemic index foods, which are usually processed ones, are loaded with sugars, starches, and grains that cause hormonal hunger and trigger addictive brain patterns. But low glycemic index foods – those that don’t raise your blood sugar and are also the most nutrient-dense – curb your appetite. These include seeds, nuts, wild-caught salmon, grass-fed beef, free-range poultry, eggs, berries and fruits, and vegetables.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
References:
1. E Sharmili, et al. “Habitual daily intake of a sweet and fatty snack modulates reward processing in Humans.” Cell Metabolism. 22. March 2023
2. Reseland, Janne E. “Effect of long-term changes in diet and exercise on plasma leptin concentrations,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2001;73(2): 240-245