Last week we talked about the dangers of opioids and how this is the last resort for pain management. There are quite a few other options that have actually been shown to be just as efficient as opioids against pain and with no nasty side effects. One such is the hot chili pepper. The reason cayenne works for pain is due to its contents of capsaicin. The endorphin rush capsaicin triggers makes this compound an effective remedy for pain.
Read MoreSweetness helps to cool the system. Sweet natural foods generally help to rebuild tissue and nourish us. These foods feel calming when we are stressed or feeling "fire". The key here is to choose blood sugar balancing meals that are rich in fats yet contain the sweet flavor to provide the cooling sensation. When we eat isolated sweetness in the form of carbs, we experience a quick relief that may feel like it is cooling, but because it is not sustainable due to fluctuating blood sugar, we quickly gain more fire once our blood sugar drops once again.
Read MoreMore and more research is pointing in the direction that depression might be associated with chronic inflammation. And thus explaining why an anti-inflammatory nutrition strategy like including plenty of fish oil, turmeric, broccoli etc. has shown to be valuable in treating depression.
Read MoreAshwagandha has been shown to positively affect the neural receptors responsible for receiving GABA, an important neurotransmitter in reducing anxiety and worry.
Read MoreAyurveda is the Eastern philosophy of holistic health that deals with body constitutions and what we should eat to thrive according to our body constitution and what imbalances we might be experiencing at the moment. When it comes to addiction, we are dealing with two core issues: too much fire aka pitta and too much vata aka air element. When these elements get out of balance, we need more grounding aka the earth element.
Read MoreWhen was the last time you thought about how that slice of buttered bread felt in your body? The key to master effortless health without obsessing about what to eat when, is to simply get back in tune with our body. Everything we eat has an immediate impact on our body's biochemistry. Health is about balancing our biochemistry.
Read MoreHow do you manage the cravings in early recovery? Do you have a strategy for when those cravings hit? Do you know some easy things you can and should plan ahead to avoid those pesky cravings? Today I am giving you 3 super simple tips on how to manage cravings. Yes it is almost too simple, but they work. Always keep it simple - the important thing is just to actually do it, and not just read about it.
Read MoreSummer is Pitta season - pitta is also one of the 3 personal constitution types in Eastern medicine: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Each roughly corresponds to what we in Western medicine call serotonin, dopamin and GABA dominant natures. Pitta imbalance is often seen in overeating and binge patterns.
Read MoreIf you are a vegetarian or rarely eat meat and have a craving for carbs and just don’t feel satisfied until you are filled up on breads, pastas or sweets, you may have unstable blood sugar due to a deficiency of protein.
Read MoreIn recent years, a "myth" of sorts has sprung up, where people who avoid animal foods believe they can simply consume plant-based omega-3 ALA to meet their needs. But this isn't true and the science doesn't support this assertion. Omega-3s EPA and DHA from marine animal and plant sources are NOT interchangeable. Plant sources that contain omega-3 ALA do not provide the same benefits as the omega-3s you find in marine sources.
Read MoreAlcohol, drugs and many eating disorders cause damage to the stomach lining. If this is not fixed, discomfort will remain. Digestion disorders always follows addiction. So what can we do to damage control?
Read MoreOur emotional health is closely tied to our physical health. For every emotion there is a biochemical equation. As an example, when we are under stress, we store fat and crave sugar, carbs and stimulants. We also store “molecules of emotion” in our fat cells.
Read MoreOne of the first things, that will always be affected prior to the relapse, will be a blood sugar fluctuation. Blood sugar is a driver for other biochemicals parameters, such as serotonin and beta-endorphins, which drive addictive behaviors. So what is the takeaway lesson here? Understanding that managing your blood sugar is a constant focus point throughout recovery. Addicts have a very low stress tolerance level, and this translates to being exceptionally sensitive to blood sugar imbalances.
Read MoreAlcohol and drugs deplete the body of B-complex vitamins, zinc, magnesium and other nutrients. A hangover is mainly an acute nutritional deficiency. When we begin drinking alcohol the nutrient deficiencies worsen, and this further increases the cravings for alcohol or sugar. The body can run on alcohol although it is a poor fuel, as it wrecks our body balance over time. Often we will find ourselves going after carbs or sugar when cutting down on alcohol. Alcohol and sugar addiction is closely tied, why it is not uncommon to find food addiction issues surface after alcohol rehab. The biochemical and nutritional aspects of addiction, are still not widely understood in the medical community. Some of the major nutritional causes for alcohol addiction and cravings include nutrient deficiencies, toxic metal excess, adrenal gland exhaustion, blood sugar issues and yeast infection in the intestines.
Read MorePost addiction, chronic inflammation is the key health concern that needs to be addressed. Inflammation of both brain and body is the trigger of a wide range of health issues in recovery - including depression, cravings, hormonal imbalances, bone density issues and low fertility. And let's not forget the often notorious rapid weight gain that happens after beating an addiction due to severe metabolic dysfunction following. This can be the final straw for many, as they struggle through addiction recovery. It is a well-known fact the addicts already have a poor body image, and now weight gain happens. Metabolic dysfunction and the hormones involved in inflammation, such as thyroid, estrogen-testosterone balance, insulin and cortisol, determine how our body reacts in addiction recovery. Another low-cal diet won't matter here, as our body is so out of wack it is not able to enter the "fatburn zone" due to chronic inflammation and hormone imbalance. So, which 4 foods help to provide the distinctly different types of fats needed in recovery to repair hormones, bones, brain and body?
Read MoreOur gut is the primary driver of optimal health. This is where nutrient breakdown and assimilation happens. We know that we are not what we eat, rather what we absorb. Eating "healthy" means nothing if our gut is damaged. Alcohol, drugs and too much sugar, coffee and chemicals incl. gmo and pesticide-laden foods will sooner or later compromise our gut health, leading to a variety of symptoms. Surface symptoms that we may not link back to our gut, as the primary driver behind the dysfunction we are dealing with.
Read MoreAfter breaking the chains of addictions, we often find ourselves seeking out other ways to "cleanse" our body+soul from our destructive past. We long for the simple, perfect life. We want to start over. Whether we want to admit it or not - the pull of the quick-fix and rigid way of living in a detox, taps right into or black-white addictive thinking pattern. On the flip-side, one could argue for that it resets our body, and breaks the junkfood addiction that many of us also struggle with. So what to do?
Read MoreEssential oils are becoming ever more popular to treat ailments a-z. This, because we are beginning to realize, that there is no man-made synthetic medicine to which there is not already a God-made plant medicine. We just need to understand how to utilize it, rather than focus more energy on developing things based on wanting to patent side-effect laden synthetic stuff, just to get money out of it. We should be focusing on what gets results. Now, it is important to match symptom with the essential oils we use, as they are potent; affecting both our mental and physical body. It has been shown, that certain oils stimulate sympathetic nervous system activity, whereas others calm it.
Read MoreLack of sleep is one of the most typical issues I get asked about. We live in a stress-filled world, where we are constantly exposed to nervous system overstimulation through our electronic devices and smart phones, wifi and EMF. Add to that, it is well-known that addictions and eating disorders cause major damage to the sleep related neurohormones, serotonin and melatonin. Luckily once you have weaned off drugs, you can reset your sleep cycle. Read on to get my favorite 3 remedies to help the body get back into deep sleep mode in 3 months or less....
Read MoreIn Ayurveda (Eastern body-mind-soul health philosophy), addictions are tied to an imbalance in the air element. Everything and every one of us is made up of the basic 5 elements: air, ether, water, fire and earth. When one of these elements get out of balance, we get sick. Modern neuroscience overlaps with classic Eastern medicine, although we use different terms in Western science - but it is all the same: the truth is the truth. Addiction is linked to the air element as it corresponds to our mind. There is too much nervous energy, which leads to an imbalance in our central nervous system. This, in change, causes us to feel disconnected and unbalanced. We are searching through drugs, foods and addictive behaviors in order to feel more grounded - that is the essence of any addiction.
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