Participants: Don Mackintosh (Host), Vicki Griffin
Series Code: HFAL
Program Code: HFAL000202
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00:01 The following program presents principles designed
00:03 to promote good health 00:05 and is not intended to take the place 00:06 of personalized professional care. 00:09 The opinions and ideas expressed are those of the speaker. 00:12 Viewers are encouraged to draw their own conclusions 00:15 about the information presented. 00:50 Hello, and welcome to "Health For A Lifetime." 00:52 I'm your host Don Mackintosh. 00:53 And today we're delighted to be talking with Vicki Griffin. 00:56 She's an author and she's part of the team 00:58 that's producing excellent materials to help people 01:01 with various areas in their lives. 01:03 And today, we're gonna be talking 01:04 about the brain on a binge. 01:07 How to overcome food addictions and cravings. 01:11 And you've actually written some things 01:13 about this with your team. 01:14 Yes, it's called "Living Free, 01:16 Finding Freedom from Habits that Hurt." 01:17 And we have of the teams of addiction specialists 01:20 that have gotten together and a nutritionist. 01:23 And we've put together a package 01:25 which we think is going to help 01:26 to solve some of these challenges. 01:28 So, is it possible to be addicted 01:31 to something other than drugs? 01:32 You know, we talked about being addicted to drugs. 01:33 We talked about being addicted to tobacco, 01:36 other different things, but maybe caffeine. 01:39 But is it possible to be addicted to something else? 01:42 Well, intuitively people have probably felt 01:45 this way for a long time. 01:46 They'll talk about being a Junk Food Junkie 01:48 or a chocoholic or they'll talk about being 01:51 an internet or TV addict or we know that people 01:53 have significant problems with porn and gambling, 01:55 and other issues of that nature. 01:58 But now it's being validated 02:00 as we're able to see brain images of people 02:02 that do suffer from addictions. 02:04 And according to Howard Shaffer 02:05 from the Division on Addictions at Howard University, 02:08 "Drug use is not a necessary 02:10 and sufficient cause of addiction." 02:13 So it doesn't just have to be drugs, 02:15 in other words, it could be something else. 02:16 In fact, he says, "It is improper to consider drugs 02:20 as the necessary precondiction-- 02:21 precondition for addiction." 02:23 So it's really, it can be drugs or anything else. 02:26 It's a condition of the mind. 02:28 The definition has been expanded 02:30 to include persistent compulsive behavior 02:33 that is harmful or destructive characterized 02:35 by an inability to stop. Right. Okay. 02:38 And there's a quote also 02:39 from Brian Knutson from Stanford University. 02:42 And he says, "It is-- it stands to reason 02:46 if you can derange brain circuitry 02:48 with pharmacology, you can do it 02:51 with natural rewards as well." 02:53 So, you know, what are natural rewards. 02:54 Pharmacology, of course, will be drugs. 02:56 Right, well the two most potent natural rewards that, 02:59 that create this effect are food and sex. 03:03 And so I thought we would wanna take a look today 03:06 at what--one of those natural rewards-- 03:08 Okay, you have a nice little glass of something here. 03:10 Right. This is--what is this, sugar or salt? 03:13 Well, this is sugar and it is 35 teaspoons 03:16 of what we would call a psychopharmacologic dose-- 03:19 Now you want me to drink this? No, I don't. 03:21 Okay. So what do we call this? 03:24 It's called a psychopharmacologic dose 03:26 of a macronutrient. There are-- 03:28 What's that mean? So that means that like-- 03:30 There are three-- There are three macronutrients 03:33 that we need in large amounts. 03:35 Sugar? And sugar is one. 03:37 And of course we want it in slower doses. 03:40 But we want sugar, we want protein, and we want fat. 03:42 Now what this constitutes is the basic American Snack. 03:45 This is--Oh, my candy bar just fell over the railing there, 03:48 but, a candy bar and a 20 ounce soda 03:52 is this much sugar. 03:55 And of course, most people are drinking 03:57 larger size soda than that. 03:59 I worked with a lady in California 04:00 that was drinking 10 of those large sodas a day. 04:04 Larger size than that. And so, so what we are saying 04:07 is that this is not an after dinner mint. Because--okay. 04:11 It's a very significant dose. 04:12 Right. So the problem-- the problem 04:15 is not having an occasional sweet, 04:16 but we're having a birthday party for breakfast, 04:18 Christmas for lunch, thanksgiving for dinner. 04:21 People do this repeatedly. 04:22 And this is going to have an affect 04:24 on the architecture of the brain, 04:25 addiction pathways, appetite regulatory mechanisms. 04:29 And it's going to create some real metabolic mayhem. 04:32 So in other words, if you started doing this day 04:34 and day out, your brain cannot organizes itself around that, 04:38 and it just expects it and if it doesn't have it-- 04:40 That's right. It misses it, 04:42 and you're just completely, 04:43 you're changing your brain chemistry. 04:45 That's exactly right. 04:46 And there are not only chemistry changes, 04:49 but structural changes that take place, 04:51 that are long lasting. 04:53 The good news is--is that the brain is very resilient 04:57 and it can be remodeled, and that's what 04:59 we're all about with Lifestyle Matters 05:01 and with the Living Free Program. 05:03 So if you were to look at someone's brain 05:05 then say was, you know, addicted to like drugs 05:09 or pharmal-- pharmacological things-- 05:11 Right. Versus someone that's addicted to, 05:13 you know, their big bowls of sugar 05:16 and their soda pop, and their candy bar. 05:20 Right. Is there a difference? 05:21 Well, I wanna share a quote with you, a couple of quotes. 05:24 One is from Ann Kelley. 05:25 She is--she's very well known in this field. 05:27 She's from the Neuroscience Division 05:29 of the University of Wisconsin Medical School. 05:31 She says, "With these--" 05:33 She calls these hedonic doses of sugar and fat. 05:37 "The brain is getting addicted to its own opioids 05:40 as it would morphine or heroin. 05:42 Drugs give a bigger effect, 05:43 but it is essentially the same process. 05:46 This says that mere exposure to pleasurable, 05:48 tasty foods is enough to change gene expression, 05:52 and that suggests you could be addicted to food." 05:55 And then the graphic that we want to share 05:57 with our viewers today is from Mark Gold 05:59 from the McKnight Brain Institute 06:01 at the University of Florida. 06:03 He says, "What's the difference between 06:05 someone who's lost control over alcohol 06:07 and someone who's lost control over good food?" 06:10 And good in the sense of just highly hedonic, not healthy. 06:15 "When you look at their brains and their brain responses, 06:18 the differences are not very significant." 06:21 So you--if you were to open up someone's brain 06:22 and do a little, not an autopsy, 06:25 'cause hopefully they're not dead, 06:26 but if you were to look at the structures in their brain, 06:28 they look exactly the same, if it's a crack addict 06:30 or if it's a Lays potato chip addict. 06:34 Well, they're very-- it's very similar. Okay. 06:38 Yes, it is very, very similar. 06:40 There are some things going on with food addiction 06:42 that are actually over and above. 06:44 We'll get into that. 06:45 But I like what Charles Billington has to say. 06:49 He is the ex-leader or president 06:52 of the North American Association 06:53 for the Study of Obesity. 06:54 He said this, "As we develop full understanding 06:57 of the neuroregulation of appetite, 06:59 I think the addictive nature of foods 07:01 will come clear and I think we will learn 07:04 that these addictions can develop 07:05 at various stages of life and I think we will learn 07:08 that they are very, very powerful." 07:10 And brain imaging is showing 07:12 pictorially that this is the case. 07:15 So you get to the point 07:16 where you truly can't just have one. 07:19 Where it's in the house, 07:21 you can't stop thinking about it until it's gone. 07:23 You know how many are in the package. 07:26 And here's what I tell people, 07:28 you can tell if you're a food addict. 07:29 You know, you see that plate of brownies 07:31 going around the table and you've got your eye on 07:33 the one that's just for you. 07:35 And if somebody else takes it, you're disappointed. 07:37 But if your husband takes it, you're mad at him. 07:41 Okay, so you increased availability is one thing 07:45 that tells you that you're addicted. 07:47 There are--there are some real similarities 07:49 with drug addiction and food addiction. 07:52 One is increased availability. 07:54 We know that statistically, the more available 07:56 a substance is in area, 07:58 you'll have a statistical increase in drug addiction. 08:00 And we know that these highly refined fast foods 08:03 are more available than ever before. 08:05 And so we see an increased incidence of habituation 08:08 to these--to these high-fat, high-calorie dense foods. 08:12 And then an immediate effect you say on the brain, 08:14 in other words that when you eat this, 08:16 it's broken down so rapidly 08:18 and it really impacts you quickly? 08:19 There are central effects with drugs. 08:22 And there are immediate central effects 08:24 with drugs and with foods. 08:26 We are hardwired to really enjoy salt, fat, and sweet. 08:31 And when we get these in drug-like doses, 08:33 then it begins to have 08:35 a longer term affect on the brain. 08:37 So there is a similarity with drugs. 08:40 In that there are immediate central effects, 08:42 but with food, there are post-ingestive effects 08:45 that are very profound and long lasting as well. 08:49 So when you talk about the-- you have these two, 08:52 you know, increased availability 08:54 and you have these immediate effects 08:55 that come from the food. Right. 08:57 When you talk about these things, 08:59 there is also, you say, supporting things in your book. 09:03 You say that there are, you know, 09:05 properties that are also go along with this. Exactly. 09:07 In another words, the atmosphere or something 09:09 I don't know whatever it is. 09:10 Well, there is a reinforcing effect. 09:11 There are reinforcing effects of-- 09:14 The reinforcing property of a drug. 09:15 The more reinforcing the drug is, 09:18 for instance, cocaine versus nicotine. 09:20 A laboratory rat will self medicate 09:22 to death with cocaine, but not with nicotine 09:24 because the reinforcing property of the cocaine 09:27 is so much more potent than the nicotine. 09:30 And it's the same with food. 09:31 The reinforcing properties of these foods. 09:33 They are engineered to have an amazing mouth feel, the aromas. 09:37 There are-- there are-- 09:39 It's a whole science called Realogy and Flavorology 09:41 that enhance the hedonic properties 09:44 or the feeling of ecstasy or the pleasurable aspect 09:47 of just tasting, feeling, and smelling this food 09:50 that reinforces the central effects of that food. 09:54 And so it does create more of an environment 09:57 for developing a habit with that food. 09:59 So they're available and they are also immediate, 10:04 and they're-- and they're reinforced. 10:06 That's right. And then these are the similarities 10:08 with having a drug addiction. 10:09 That's why it says the, looks the same 10:11 in the brain when you're looking at it. 10:13 Right. Is there anything else 10:14 that's similar with drug addiction? 10:15 Well, yeah. Brain changes occur in addiction 10:18 with drugs and with behavioral addictions 10:21 or natural rewards that include mood, motivation, learning-- 10:26 Okay. Palatability centers, all of these things are altered. 10:29 Stress. Stress hormones are altered. 10:32 But there are also some really significant differences. 10:35 And the reason that this is of such great interest to me, 10:38 is because we see with lifestyle programs 10:40 and people that attempt lifestyle changes 10:42 who are suffering from obesity or various lifestyle problems, 10:46 that they have a very, very challenging time staying 10:48 with a program for a long period of time, 10:51 and there are some reasons for this. 10:52 We wanna understand those reasons 10:54 and educate people, so that they can better accomplish 10:57 their long term goals and have better compliance 11:00 than we're seeing right now. 11:02 Okay, so the similarities we've talked about-- 11:04 Right. Are availability. Right. 11:06 Very quick response. Right. 11:08 And then there is reinforcement to that. 11:11 And then there's actual brain changes, you've said. 11:13 Those are the four. That's right. 11:14 But--so that's the similarity between 11:16 a food addiction and a pharmacological addiction. 11:18 Right. But what are the differences? 11:21 Well, there are some very profound differences 11:24 in Antonio Convent and Marella Lice have studied 11:26 some of those differences as well as others. 11:30 One of the major differences 11:32 is that when you take these 11:34 pharmacologic doses of macronutrient, 11:36 and that's one of the reasons 11:37 I wanted to show this because they really is a-- 11:39 This big mega dose. 11:40 There's a big difference between 11:41 having a little bit of something 11:43 and a large amount like this is that it dysregulates 11:47 long term appetite control mechanisms. 11:50 There are short and long term appetite control regula-- 11:53 regulatory functions in our body. 11:57 The long term ones have to do with Ghrelin, 12:00 Lep-- Ghrelin, Leptin, and Insulin. 12:03 And so they help to generate the "I am satisfied" signal. 12:07 So a person with a food addiction 12:08 that has habituated themselves 12:10 to these large amounts of calorie dense foods, 12:13 the "I am satisfied" signal isn't heard. 12:16 And so they can eat to the point 12:18 where their stomach hurts. 12:19 It is so full of food and they can eat 12:21 so much calorie dense food. 12:23 They can eat 15 donuts. 12:25 But they don't feel or hear the message 12:28 you've had too much. 12:29 So in other words, this is actually worse sometimes 12:31 than a pharmacological addiction 12:33 or like some of these just one specific things 12:35 because they--they make what you're saying 12:38 is all kinds of things in the body go haywire. 12:41 That's exactly right. 12:42 And I suffered from bulimia myself for 20 years, 12:44 so I'm very intermittently acquainted with this process. 12:47 And I'm very grateful to have this information today 12:51 to understand and help people 12:53 know the challenge that they face. 12:55 And how much hope there is that no matter 12:57 how long they have struggled with this, 12:59 that they can overcome and that normalcy can be achieved. 13:03 But that is a very real challenge that people chase. 13:06 Another--that they are confronted with. 13:09 Another really significant impact 13:12 of these kinds of foods is lower brain energy 13:16 due to neural changes that take place in 13:18 what's called the limbic area of the brain 13:20 where the percolation of nerve impulses 13:22 takes place throughout the brain. 13:24 It starts to slow down. 13:25 It becomes impaired because of the little clusters 13:28 of dead cells that begin to occur down there. 13:30 We call that atrophy. 13:32 We call that-- it's the beginnings 13:34 of vascular dementia actually. 13:35 And so there's-- there's temporal atrophy 13:38 that begins to occur. 13:39 So there's a lower mental energy 13:42 for meeting challenges and change. 13:44 Now fortunately, again this is something else 13:47 that can be reversed swiftly with lifestyle changes 13:50 if it's caught early enough. 13:52 And that's really good news. 13:53 I mean, we're gonna talk more about 13:55 that when we come back after the break about the good news. 13:58 But you know, you have an excellent cadre of people 14:03 that are working together on this. 14:05 They've put together this new book on addictions. 14:07 All these things are able to be accessed 14:09 on your website, lifestylematters.com. 14:13 And people can just get more information 14:16 about all these aspects by accessing this-- 14:19 this excellent material. 14:21 When we come back, you're gonna give us some good news, right? 14:23 That's right. And if you're watching today 14:26 and you know someone or perhaps you're struggling yourself 14:29 with addictions or you think maybe you are. 14:32 Maybe you have a better handle on that. 14:35 But there is hope, there is help, 14:37 and we want to talk about that when we come back. 14:42 Are you confused about the endless stream 14:44 of new and often contradictory health information 14:47 with companies trying to sell new drugs 14:50 and special interest groups paying for studies 14:52 that spin the facts? 14:54 Where can you find a common sense approach to health? 14:57 One way is to ask for your free copy 14:58 of Dr. Arnott's 24 realistic ways to improve your health. 15:02 Dr. Timothy Arnott and the Lifestyle Center of America 15:05 produced this helpful booklet of 24 short, 15:08 practical health tips based on scientific research 15:11 and the Bible that will help you live longer, 15:13 happier and healthier. 15:15 For example, did you know that women who drink 15:17 more water lower the risk of heart attack? 15:20 Or that 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night can minimize 15:23 your risk of ever developing diabetes. 15:25 Find out how to lower your blood pressure and much more. 15:28 If you're looking for help, not hype, 15:30 then this booklet's for you. 15:31 Just log on to 3abn.org and click on free offers 15:35 or call us during regular business hours. 15:38 You'll be glad you did. 15:41 Welcome back. We've been talking with Vicki Griffin. 15:44 She is an author. And she has quite a personal testimony 15:48 that kind of undergirds today's presentation. 15:51 You've actually had to experience 15:53 some of these various issues yourself 15:54 and have seen that God is powerful 15:56 and can bring you out of addictive behaviors. 15:58 That's exactly right. So-- 16:00 And even behavior that's lasted for many years. 16:04 So He is powerful and there are tools. 16:07 And we're thankful for you and the simple solution team 16:11 that are in the Michigan Conference. 16:12 We're putting together so many excellent materials. 16:15 Let me just clarify something though. 16:17 We've talked a lot about the brain changes that can come. 16:21 And about the, you know, the parallels between 16:24 an addicted behavior and then like, you know, 16:27 such as, you know, nicotine or cocaine or heroin. 16:32 But then also about the more complicated addicted behaviors 16:36 that are like related to food. 16:37 You've said there're just all kinds of different systems. 16:40 Right. That are involved. 16:42 But it is true that these food behaviors 16:46 can have great costs in terms of some of the typical diseases 16:49 like heart disease and whatnot, isn't it? 16:52 Yes, food addictions are linked to the development of obesity, 16:55 diabetes, heart disease, 16:56 and while we wanna be quick to note 16:59 that not all food addicts or obese 17:00 and not all obese people are food addicts. 17:03 The syndromes are related and overlapping. 17:06 And there are some very, very interesting studies 17:10 coming out now, describing food 17:13 as the new substance 17:14 in a substance addiction we call obesity. 17:16 And so they're beginning to understand 17:19 that the neuroregulation of appetite 17:21 is a very, very real factor in the challenge 17:24 of achieving long term change. 17:26 Now you are living proof that people can overcome addiction. 17:29 Yes. And but maybe and hopefully in the second half, 17:34 we will not be able to cover everything, 17:36 but we'll skim the surface 17:37 and give some people some hope. Absolutely. 17:39 All right, so start us out on that journey. 17:42 Well, can a person overcome food addictions? Absolutely. 17:46 And, as we've shared in some other conversations 17:49 that we've had, our brains were designed 17:51 by our Creator for recovery, renewal, and resiliency. 17:55 There are changes going on in the brain all the time 17:59 depending on what we choose to pay attention 18:00 to and various simple, 18:03 but powerful lifestyle tools can begin to curve 18:06 those cravings and change 18:09 and alter the chemistry of the brain 18:11 so that it begins to be sensitive 18:13 to appetite signaling, it since, 18:15 it can break those-- those cravings 18:18 for the sugary fattery-- fatty foods 18:20 in high amounts. And I'd like-- 18:21 I saw one of these things in your book, 18:24 a quote by a guy-- User's Guide. 18:27 I believe his name--the "User's Guide to the Brain." 18:29 And he was saying this was actually structural changes 18:33 that can come as a result of decisions made. 18:35 That's right. He's a neuropsychiatrist 18:36 by the name of Dr. John Ratey, 18:38 and he's from Harvard University 18:40 and he wrote a book. 18:42 He's an addiction specialist. 18:43 He wrote a book called or entitled 18:45 "A User's Guide to the Brain." 18:47 And he says this, "Experiences, thoughts, 18:50 actions, and emotions 18:52 actually change the structure of our brains." 18:54 Isn't that a wonderful promise? 18:56 "Critics sometimes claim that a focus on 'ordinary' measures 19:01 like exercise and diet is too simplistic 19:03 to affect unordinary behavior. Not so. 19:06 There are many tools right at our fingertips 19:09 for changing our mental health, 19:10 both in correcting our problems and simply becoming 19:13 the kind of person that we want to be." 19:15 That is very helpful. Yes, it is. 19:17 So these--these very simple things, 19:19 I mean, what you're gonna share 19:20 may seem simplistic to some of our viewers, 19:23 but they actually are very powerful. 19:26 Here are the points that we wanna remember. 19:27 The Lord has not only given us power, 19:30 but He's given us tools. 19:31 He has a program that is going to actually help 19:34 to put us into a process of change over time 19:38 that is going to have amazing results 19:40 in terms of long term outcomes. 19:42 And the primary thing that we need to remember 19:45 is that addictions are learned. 19:47 They are learned associative behavior and-- 19:50 And can be unlearned. An addiction can be unlearned. 19:52 So let's go through this and then we'll come back. 19:53 "The brain is both resilient and plastic or malleable 19:58 and responds to new choices and patterns of activity. 20:02 Recovery, repair, and restoration 20:04 of critical pathways is possible, 20:07 although results will vary from individual to individual. 20:09 Improvements can begin to occur rapidly." 20:13 This is good news. It's very good news. 20:15 And when you--and when you start to replace 20:18 the puffed rice cereal and the hard candies 20:21 or orangeade for breakfast and replace 20:24 that with some of the high fiber foods 20:25 that's gonna immediately going to begin 20:29 to alter those-- those pathways. 20:32 It's going to make the portion of the hypothalamus 20:36 that's very sensitive to fasting and feeding 20:38 and very sensitive to ghrelin 20:39 and the appetite regulatory mechanisms. 20:42 It's going to begin to be responsive 20:44 to the lower amounts of concentrated sugars and fats. 20:49 Also when you have the soluble fibers in the diet, 20:52 it's going to increase satiety, 20:53 it's gonna cut the cravings, 20:55 it's gonna lower the insulin response, 20:58 so that your brain is gonna be more able to learn-- 21:00 And you're getting into the details of exactly 21:03 what we need to do-- Right. 21:04 But we go back to that list we were just talking about. 21:06 It said that these behaviors are learned 21:10 and they can be unlearned. That's right. 21:11 So addictions are not just something that, 21:14 well, it just happened to me. Right. 21:15 I'm just, you know, 21:17 I'm just this little ping-pong ball, 21:19 and I'm getting beat this way and that way. 21:21 No, it's something that was learned 21:23 and it can be unlearned. 21:25 Our brains are not passive, 21:27 gray cabbages victim to genetics, 21:31 nor are they subject to environmental influences 21:35 and just victims of whatever environmental forces 21:38 come to bear in our lives. 21:39 We can manage the genetic tendencies 21:42 and the environmental occurrences 21:45 that have happened in our lives. 21:46 We can manage them both 21:47 if we can only understand the power of implementing, 21:52 the power of choice, the power of will, 21:56 and I know that that just sounds exasperating 21:57 to some people, because people do 21:59 lose the power of choice. 22:02 Their motivated behavior just seems, 22:03 they called--it's called runaway motivation. 22:05 But we can build a bridge back to that power of choice. 22:08 God can give us the power that we need, 22:10 but we must instantly and immediately implement 22:13 the plan that He has for us, 22:15 so that we can sustain the results 22:17 of deliverance that He has for us. 22:19 So to unlearn this you gotta create 22:21 an environment for success and whatnot. 22:23 You have a list here of important strategies 22:25 for a long term success. We want to go through those 22:27 and then maybe talked about a couple of them. 22:29 Okay. The first one you were alluding 22:30 to was increase fiber intake to reset 22:34 metabolic controls and break cravings. 22:38 Very important. Increase antioxidant intake 22:41 by throttling up on a variety of fresh vegetables-- 22:44 That's gonna sweep up dead cells. 22:46 Beans, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. 22:49 So that's the sweep. 22:50 And then increasing activity, both mental and physical. 22:53 Adopt an active lifestyle. 22:55 Drink plenty of fresh water between meals. 22:58 This will displace the foods we need to avoid, 23:01 like junk food and highly refined foods 23:05 rich in saturated animal fats, 23:07 trans fats, and refined sugars. 23:09 Bottom line is, we want to adopt a strategy, 23:12 an approach, a way of thinking 23:14 that is gonna help us to crave the good stuff. 23:17 So that fiber resets the metabolic controls. 23:21 In other words, it slows things down or gives some them 23:23 a chance to get in control again. 23:25 So that now after-- after implementing 23:27 these changes on a daily basis, 23:30 you go and you have some huge triple 23:34 whatever fudge something, 23:37 and all of a sudden you just think, 23:40 "Wow, that's sickening. That's too much." 23:42 We want to get to the place 23:44 where we'd have a little bit of something sweet. 23:47 And we'd say, "That's enough. I'm satisfied." 23:50 And you can't really do that until you reset the controls 23:52 because you're out of control. 23:53 That's right. But you're not saying then what-- 23:56 you're saying a couple of things, that, you know, 23:59 an overcoming addictions to food is not-- 24:02 not like all or nothing, 24:03 because you still have to eat food. 24:05 It is a process. It is a journey. 24:07 And people that want to have the victory over their appetite 24:12 and over these kinds of problems, they'll say, 24:13 "Okay, from now on, I'm just gonna eat 24:15 six peeled grapes for dessert, 24:17 and I'm gonna walk 10 miles a day." 24:18 We've got to say realistic expectations. 24:21 Number one, we've got to understand 24:22 that there's a process of change 24:25 that's gonna start remodeling the brain 24:26 and it's going to get easier. 24:28 We liken it to remodeling a kitchen. 24:30 It's gonna get ugly before it gets better. 24:32 Yes, there will be withdrawals. 24:33 Yes, there will be cravings. 24:35 Yes, there will be of less of inability 24:37 to taste the subtle flavors and textures 24:39 of less refined hedonic foods 24:42 because even the palatability of this centers of the brain 24:45 are altered as a result of high exposure 24:48 to these kinds of foods. 24:49 But all of these things begin to change 24:52 as you swap out a wholegrain bread 24:54 and fresh peaches and strawberries 24:56 for the candy bar and orangeade, 25:00 as you begin to swap out and then you exercise 25:03 to increase mood and you start focusing 25:05 on those brain changes. 25:06 Slow but sure, those cravings begin to get lower 25:10 and lower and less and less 25:12 and you begin to appreciate and enjoy the high fiber foods 25:16 which keep you satisfied. 25:18 And so the actual mechanisms 25:19 for hunger begin to be restored. 25:22 And this is just an amazing 25:23 and wonderful process that takes place. 25:25 Now, in your own life, is this what occurred? 25:27 Oh, absolutely. I was severely bulimic for 20 years 25:31 from age 11 to age 31, and I am 52 years old now. 25:35 And so I have had this journey of learning 25:39 to make better choices and learning to crave 25:42 those better foods and understanding 25:44 how to utilize the lifestyle tools to control anxiety 25:49 and depression to improve mood to meet mental challenges. 25:52 All the things that used to drive me 25:54 to those poor food choices. 25:56 Now I'm learning better ways of managing stress. 26:00 My brain is more resilient because of the diet I eat. 26:03 So I'm better equipped and able to handle the stress of life. 26:07 And so it is a process and you don't get a 100% everyday. 26:11 You know, you can expect to have some problems 26:15 as you go along. But you don't give up. 26:18 You get up. You don't look it at it as, 26:19 "I want to get to my finish mark." 26:21 You remember that it's the journey 26:24 that creates the strength. 26:26 So, you know, you've created this book along with the team. 26:31 And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Yes. 26:33 I mean, there's definitely going through this-- 26:35 this list we have seems kind of, you know, 26:38 fast and quick and it is. Right. 26:39 When you look at it in the book, 26:41 it actually breaks it down, what you should do. 26:43 It's a whole process of recovery, 26:45 identifying the trigger, 26:47 identifying all the different things, 26:48 and then moving towards recovery. 26:50 Right. And it's a comprehensive plan, 26:53 you can learn about the book on your website. 26:56 Yes. Lifestylematters.com. 26:59 And, you know, I like to close programs with you, 27:02 Vicki, with a spiritual note. 27:04 We have about 30 seconds. 27:06 What spiritual hope can you give our viewers 27:10 that are either attempting to help someone 27:12 or in the midst of addiction themselves? 27:14 I love the promise of God in Romans Chapter 12 verse 2, 27:19 the Bible says, "Do not let your behavior 27:21 be like that of this world." 27:22 We've got to make a choice. We've got to make a choice. 27:24 "But be changed and made new in mind." 27:26 We're talking about changing our minds today. 27:29 "So that by experience," 27:30 and that's experience based plasticity. 27:32 That's what it called the neuroscience. 27:34 "So that by new experiences you may have knowledge 27:36 of the good and pleasing 27:37 and complete purpose of God in your life." 27:39 So the mind God is saying there can be renewed 27:43 and that's what all the research is showing, 27:45 that's what your book shows. 27:46 Thank you so much for being with us today. 27:48 I think this has been very helpful, not only to me, 27:51 and I know it's been helpful to you, 27:53 but also to our viewers. 27:54 Thank you for joining us. 27:56 We hope as a result that you have health 27:58 that lasts for a lifetime. |
Revised 2014-12-17