Crave Sugar

  Crave Sugar

Most people have a sweet tooth. As a matter of fact, humans are predisposed to like sweet things. Science has long known that there are sweet “receptors” on the tongue that practically guarantee that we are going to want a sweet treat every now and again.

And, many scientists agree that this predisposition was born of a need for nature to ensure that humans were drawn to the taste of nutritional necessities such as apples, oranges, bananas, and other naturally sweet, and vitamin packed, biologically indispensable foods.

But, a desire for a piece of chocolate after a meal or even for an apple as a mid-afternoon snack is not the same as craving sugar-laden foods. A craving is more than a desire; it’s a physical reaction to a physiological need.

The body craves what it feels it is missing. And, in the case of a sugar addiction, the body interprets a lack of sugar, and other high-carb foods, as an actual nutritional deficiency.
Why Do I Crave Sugar?
Yet, it’s what’s in those sugar-laden foods that the body really wants. It only associates the need for sugar as part of the usual method of getting those nutrients. For instance, at the core of every chocolate bar is the cacao bean. And cacao beans are loaded with magnesium.

So, when you crave a chocolate bar, your body actually wants more magnesium. Satisfy the body’s need for magnesium and you might eliminate those late-night cravings for chocolate.

The body craves other high-carb foods for the same reason. Once upon a time, carbs were less of a taste temptation, and more of a nutritional requirement. Whole grains were once the only way the body received certain nutritional components such as fiber, selenium, potassium and magnesium. Today’s food processing and decades of bad farming removes those nutrients.

Although food manufacturers often add vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients to their products you will never be able to take in all the vitamins and minerals you need from a standard diet; nutrients your body needs to function properly.

Essentially, modern farming and food processing methods, in addition to the way we eat, has practically guaranteed that you will forever have cravings and that these cravings will, more often than not, lead to overeating – and weight gain.

And, as a final cementing of what has become a vicious circle, our need for the nutrients our bodies have been designed to believe are in certain foods, makes us crave foods that are less and less nutritious, creating even stronger cravings!

If you want to turn off your sugar cravings for good — before you go from irritable to violent — you will have to change your eating habits and enrich your diet with vitamins, minerals and other healthy, natural supplements.

And, the best way to get minerals back into your body is to eat plants grown in mineral-rich soil. Not only are the plants themselves loaded with natural sources of vitally important vitamins and minerals, growing food in nutrient rich soil promotes even healthier plants instead of leaching those nutrients from the plants.

So, the next time your body craves a Hershey bar, recognize the craving for what it is; your body’s signal that you are lacking what you need to maintain optimal health, and forgo the chocolate for foods that actually feed your body, not the craving.

Chocolate and Brain

Chocolate and  Brain

Neuroscientists

Neuroscientists have investigated the effects which chocolate has on the brain. Chocolate contains around 380 different chemicals. Eating this popular treat is well known to produce feelings of contentment and happiness. This is something which some of us who love to eat chocolate will identify with only too well.

Scientists became interested in finding out more about; the chemicals contained in chocolate to help people suffering from obesity and eating disorders. It was considered necessary to understand more about the range of substances which it contains. They hoped that this information would enable them to help people to control their food cravings by finding out what chocolate does to the brain.

What’s in Chocolate and how does it affect the brain?

· Caffeine: Increases energy by stimulating the central nervous system.

Over use causes: insomnia, irritability, anxiety and shaking.

· Theobromine: Affects The Heart.

The problems are that this is the chemical that small children may be unable to process. It is the substance which is so harmful to dogs.

· Serotonin: Induces feelings of temporary happiness.

Chocolate affects the part of The Brain which produces these feelings.

· Opioids: These contribute to the feelings of relaxation and happiness experienced when chocolate is eaten.

Adam Drewnowski (University of Michigan) found that chocolate contains chemicals which aid The Brain in producing natural opioids.

· Phenyletylamine: Produces feelings similar to: falling in love.

The Brain releases endorphins which induce feelings of pleasure.

· Cannabinoid Mimics: Chocolate stimulates the same brain receptors as cannabis.

Researchers discovered this link between chocolate and the drug: cannabis.

· Anandamide: Stimulates brain pathways which enable the happiness messages to be transmitted.

This helps to maintain the experience of feeling good. Although this is only for a short while, as it is not in The Body for long.

Sugar

Most people can identify with feeling tired at times. Sugar aids The Body in the release of a short burst of energy.

Dark chocolate contains more chemicals than milk varieties. Some dark types have coco solids of 70% or higher. In Europe, this kind of chocolate is common. While In the USA, some milk chocolate only contains 10% coco solids.

How Keep your Brain Healthy

How Keep your Brain Healthy

Brain function

Do you have moments when you can't remember things? Or you enter a room needing to do something but when you get there you couldn't recall what it was you needed to do? Do you feel old or tired or overwhelmed? Do you find yourself constantly adding several more items to a list when you planned to pick up a few items at the grocery store, and still get home without the thing you really went to the store to buy in the first place.

Well science is making breakthroughs every day to reverse these small glitches that come with ageing according to medical doctors who specialize in treating those over fifty. Ageing gracefully is always possible. But it goes beyond just diet and exercise although those are key to any type of wellbeing.

Graceful ageing has to do with several lifestyle changes. These must be incorporated in one's life so that it is an integral part of their daily routine. They are easy but to be effectively well into the eighties and nineties and living like a thirty something year old they must be consistent.

1. Nutrition - what you put in your mouth!

It really is the most important thing we can do for ourselves, eating right. Eating the right foods in the right amounts are beneficial to anybody. It improves overall health and combats diseases.

But we have to eat! Natural, organic, healthy foods have been proven to make all the difference. You have to be careful of pesticides and chemicals that can be destructive to the body's cells.

Water is essential, since our brains are reportedly 70% water, it must be kept lubricated and drinking the right amounts of water aids in this, hydrating is necessary to healthy body function. The best thing most of us can do for ourselves is to drink water!

Lean meats, green leafy vegetables, fruits, herbs and spices

Best foods - wild salmon. cocao beans, Matcha, Acai berries and blueberries, and coffee.

Natural healthy oils like coconut oil, and olive oil are great for the body.

2. Exercise - moving your body!
Just moving your body is important, period! It has so many benefits. For example, it helps with weight loss, flexibility, muscle tone and retention. Exercise is also linked to mental health, which means that adrenaline and the feeling of euphoria come with the body being active.

It doesn't really matter what type of exercise you choose but doing something that increases blood flow, gets the muscles warmed up, breaking a little sweat and building muscle is more than adequate to keep the body and brain young.

Walking is the simplest! Yet, it has been found to be just as beneficial to the body, which in turn benefits the brain. Walking just 20 minutes a day 4 or 5 times a week makes a difference in a lifetime. Doing activities that aid in flexibility is also beneficial.

Donald Stuss. PhD, a neuropsychologist and director of Rotman Research Institute in Toronto recommends aerobic exercise to keep the brain young and healthy.

Mark McDaniel, PhD, a professor of psychology at Washington University in St. Louis, believes on top of aerobic exercise you should also add weight training. Strong healthy muscle keeps the body well.


3. Relationships - someone to love!


Human beings need connections. Any relationship with another person or an animal makes them live longer. It is a proven fact that married people live longer than single. That the human being needs to be touched, cared for and loved.

Studies have shown that babies die without touch! Others have proven that touch conveys more about how much we love and are in tune to another human being.

Having a relationship with God also impacts the human want for intimate satisfaction, meditation, prayer and belief in a higher power causes the brain to light up in many areas, releasing endorphins.
4. Learning - doing something new! Or teaching.
Language
Craft, learning an instrument,
Reading a new book
New words
Doing research
Teaching a class
Exploring
"Anything that closely engages your focus and is challenging", according to Michael Merzenich, PhD, a neuroscientist - says games help the brain stay active since as we age it slows down.

5. Laughing and Sleep - doing away with stress and enjoying life!

Feel good chemical messenger, dopamine is released through our reaction to humor, like eating chocolate or having sex, it is addictive to the human brain because it is pleasurable.


Enjoying life, laughing, playing around and joking is known to trigger the brain on many different levels helping to retain information and defuse stress, which leads to the body's confusion and the release of cortisol.

Cortisol is released in stressful situations. It is typically triggered in a fight or flight mode when the brain feels threatened. So any type of stress in our lives releases this response, too much cortisol has been linked to several disorders.

Playing video games, ping pong, doing jigsaw puzzles, word games even bingo stimulate the brain on more levels promoting health and cognizant linking of thoughts.

Remembering to sleep is also vitally important to brain health, but not just sleeping you should actually rest, slipping into REM sleep is necessary for repair and brain health. It is to the individuals advantage to get between 7 to 8 hours sleep every night.

Recommendations are

7 to 8 hours sleep is best, it's been proven that less or more tends to affect the body example weight gain .

Going to bed at the same time every night before 11 pm and getting up every morning at the same time between 6 and 7 am, you can train the body to sleep and wake at the same time daily.

Having a quiet, dark bedroom, with no imposing light, to promote sleep and cycles of sleep.

Recover from Sleep Deprivation and Lost Sleep

Recover from Sleep Deprivation and Lost Sleep

Sleep Deprivation Can Harm You

There are few things more miserable than a night spent tossing and turning.

Aside from the annoyances, though, your health can suffer in many ways if sleepless nights are the norm for you rather than a rarity.

If you suffer from a loss of sleep, and it if has lasted more than just a few nights, you should examine the possible causes and correct the problems before you begin seeing health issues.

For many people, a few easy tips can bring back the snoozes and help you awake feeling rested. Others, though, might need medical help either temporarily or longterm.

Either way, tackle the problem before it creates issues with weight gain, tension, daytime fatigue and even worse symptoms.

How Do You Regain Lost Sleep?

Anyone who has gone several nights without sleep knows you indeed feel better once you're finally able to relax and drift off to dreamland.

But many experts say there's no such thing as 'getting back' the sleep you have lost. This doesn't mean you can't recover and move forward with energy, it just means your body won't somehow 'restore' the sleep you didn't get on those nights when you wanted to scream and throw your pillow.

You can, however, get on a new sleep schedule and either retrain your body to sleep soundly or find solutions, in most cases, for insomnia.

How a Lack of Sleep Hurts Us


What About You?

Do you have trouble sleeping?

 No - I sleep like a baby!
 Rarely, not often enough to be a problem.
 Sometimes, and it wears me out.
 Yes - it has been a chronic problem for quite a while.
 Sleep? What's that?

See results without voting
What Causes Insomnia?

If you're still playing detective to find out why you're not sleeping, start by looking for obvious issues.

Did your surroundings in your bedroom change in some manner? Something as simple as adding a television (which, in the long run, may not serve you all that well in a bedroom, but that's another story) or a digital clock can create havoc for your sleep.

Almost every electronic device now has an LED lighted clock and panel. These lights seem unobtrusive, but researchers have decided this tiny bit of extra light during the hours when we normally sleep can cause problems.

Many pilots (who travel through various timezones and constantly work on 'catching up' on their sleep) habitually cover the LED display on hotel clocks. Actually, I do that as well - I learned years ago that those blue or red numerals kept me awake at night. So I now cover the LED displays on televisions or clocks in my bedroom and when I travel. It's made a world of difference!

Have you started watching a new program in the evening? Or spending a bit more time on the computer before you go to bed. That concentrated dose of light, from the screen, does something to your internal clock and helps keep you awake even after you shut things down and hit the bed.

Examine your eating habits and decide whether a change in timing or menu choices might be the problem.

Are you spending hours in bed going over the day at work, or the big project that's coming up? Or are you fretting over relationship issues? Maybe it's time to get counseling on stress relief, or to make a list of things you'll deal with the next morning. Scarlett O'Hara was no dummy when she reminded herself, "Tomorrow's another day!"

What are your exercise habits? Too much exercise late in the day can keep you awake. And, in contrast, not getting enough exercise can also interrupt your sleep patterns.

If you've gone over these suggestions and you're still spending time staring at the ceiling each night, consider asking your physician for advice. He or she may recommend a sleep study, or suggest using a mild sedative for a short period of time.

How to Retrain Your Body to Fall Asleep


Recovering From Lost Sleep

Once you find out the core problem, you'll need to manage your habits and health in order to get back to a pattern of sleep that restores you each night.

If you aren't exercising, add exercise to your day, even in small doses. This will help your body's circulation and increase your daytime energy. Which, in turn, will make your body want to relax and rest when you hug the pillow at night.

Make your bedroom your haven of rest, and consider moving distractions such as televisions, computers or other brain drains into another room.

Don't read in bed - this keeps your eyes open and requires a nearby light. Read in another room, and when you're tired, put the book down and tell your body it's time for bed.

If you're tossing and turning, go ahead and get up for a while to see if you can reset your body and allow sleepiness to return.

Meditation and yoga have helped many people learn to put their minds in a peaceful place and rid their thoughts of nerve-wracking distractions.

Pamper yourself in the evening with a hot soak in the tub, or scented oils, and buy the most luxurious sheets you can afford to make your bed all the more tempting. One word of caution: If candles are one of your favorite ways to create a relaxing mood, DO NOT leave them burning while you go to bed. Too dangerous. In every way.

Make your bedtime a serene moment in the day, and give your body some signals that tells it to let go of outside worries, and you'll have a good chance of sleeping like a baby again sometime soon.