Here is a strange paradox to consider: The more calories you eat, the hungrier you become! This paradox won’t seem so strange once you understand what really makes you hungry: low blood sugar.
Yes, low blood sugar triggers our brain that we need to eat. The brain needs a certain amount of glucose (blood sugar) to fuel itself. It’s a glucose hog! The brain uses 70 percent of your blood glucose to keep itself functioning, although it accounts for less than 3 percent of your body’s weight.
When blood glucose levels fall, your brain throws the equivalent of a temper tantrum. You may feel irritable or in a mental fog. You certainly will feel increased hunger.
Whatever the symptoms, you learn to self-medicate this drop in blood sugar by grabbing the quickest carbohydrate possible: a cookie, some corn chips, soft drinks or candy bars. The faster the brain gets fed, the quicker you feel better.
Or so you think.
You may not even realize it, but you are setting yourself up for another bout of low blood glucose, because those very quick energy foods are the same ones that cause a rapid increase in sudden insulin. Do this self-medicating long enough, and excess body fat piles on—because it is excess insulin that makes you fat and keeps you fat. This excess fat not only looks bad, but also causes a time bomb within your body: silent inflammation.
What is a healthy way to deal with this need for food the brain has and still regulate our blood glucose?
There are two things you can do to control this spike in insulin. The first is to follow the Zone diet. It is a highly effective food plan that regulates insulin and glucose levels. It is an important step in reducing excess insulin. High blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis and many other illnesses have all been traced to a life of too much insulin. These indicators of silent inflammation can be dramatically improved with the Zone diet.
Another way to feed the brain and maintain proper insulin control, thereby reducing silent inflammation, is by taking pharmaceutical-grade fish oil. This highly refined omega-3 can be taken in large amounts throughout the day, and it feeds the brain. It directly helps to regulate the release of insulin into the body. It also has the added benefit of reducing inflammation within our bodies.
It has been said that heart disease has very little to do with cholesterol but has a great deal to do with silent inflammation. Obesity, as well as diabetes, has a direct link to inflammation. Arthritis is by nature silent inflammation.
Pharmaceutical-grade fish oil actually reduces the silent inflammation that is caused by too much insulin. Taking five 7.5 grams of this highly refined omega-3 can have tremendous positive results. It is a natural insulin regulator as well as a natural anti-inflammatory.
Why pharmaceutical-grade fish oil? What makes it so unique? Flaxseed certainly contains omega-3s, as do other nuts and some fish. Many people think they can simply eat a few nuts during the day and reverse years of silent inflammation as well as regulate insulin. It would, however, be impossible to eat the amount needed to actually gain the anti-inflammatory benefits of pharmaceutical-grade fish oil. Flaxseed, as good as it is, takes more than 15 steps in the body’s digestive system to generate any real benefits.
Highly refined fish oil takes only one step. It seems a much better choice when addressing the health benefits that many of us suffer from. It is easy to take in capsules and has immediate results.
So, lose the hunger! Plan your meals using the Zone diet guide, which will maintain proper insulin levels, and supplement with highly refined fish oil to ward off any lapses you may have when going overboard on your glycemic load. Try to marry these two for optimal energy and brain power.
Dr. Barry Sears is a leader in the field of dietary control of hormonal response. A former research scientist at the Boston University School of Medicine and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Sears has dedicated his efforts over the past 25 years to the study of lipids and their inflammatory role in the development of chronic disease. He holds 13 U.S. patents in the areas of intravenous drug delivery systems and hormonal regulation for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.
For the original article, visit CBNNews.com.
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