[Exploring Life] What we eat has a direct and immediate affect on how we behave. Though we may practice relaxation, mindfulness, and meditation in order to foster a sense of equanimity in our body and mind, we completely undermine our efforts by eating food additives (i.e. – chemical additives that are not really food) and junk food (i.e. – high sugar content and starchy carbohydrates). It is curious to note that as a field of study psychology and its offspring tend to ignore the essential role that nutrition plays in mental health and well being. Instead, pharmaceutical drugs are prescribed, while dietary changes often remain ignored.
The Sugar Syndrome: A Source of Mental Instability
In What’s In That? How Food Affects Behavior Dr. Russell Blaylock describes a serious threat to our physical and mental health that he calls The Sugar Syndrome. The key question is: Why would sugar have such a profound influence on brain function and psychological function? The effects of low blood sugar are not limited to those diagnosed with diabetes. Blaylock describes the degenerative effects of sugar in the following sequence:
- When sugar is in excess in the body it produces an excess release of insulin;
- Excessive insulin causes blood sugar levels to fall resulting in hypoglycemia;
- One effect of hypoglycemia is the secretion of glutamate in levels that may cause agitation, depression, anger, anxiety, panic attacks and an increase in suicide risk;
- Glutamate is identical to MSG;
- When MSG is repeatedly consumed in food and added to the effects of excess sugar and simple carbohydrates, the risk of neurodegenerative diseases increases;
- Alcohol acts just like sugar causing wide and rapid swings in blood sugar levels.
The Impossibility of Separating Toxic Food from a Toxic Mind
There is no way to separate food from behavior and in this sense we are what we eat and we behave as we eat. The combination of junk food (high sugar content and starchy carbohydrates) and food additives (e.g. – MSG) and alcohol produce extreme toxicity in the body and mind. Hyperactivity, violent and aggressive behavior, mental confusion may originate in Blaylock’s Sugar Syndrome. MSG is an excitotoxin and is poisonous to the human body; there is no nutritional benefit – only toxicity. A list of potential MSG effects reveals a startling array of bodymind toxicity:
1. Severe headache
2. Nausea, diarrhea, vomiting
3. Irregular heart beat or blood pressure, racing heart
4. Depression or mood change, bipolar, SAD
5. Abdominal pain, cramps, bloating, colitis, IBS
6. Balance problems, dizziness, or seizures, mini-strokes
7. Tenderness in localized areas, neck, back, etc.
8. Sleep disorders
9. Blurred vision or difficulty breathing
10. Chronic fatigue or sleepiness
11. Excessive perspiring or shuddering and chills
12. Shortness of breath, chest pains, asthma
13. Swelling, pain, or numbness of hands, feet, jaw
14. Pain in joints or bones
15. Flushing or tingling in face, chest, pressure behind eyes
16. Gagging reflex or difficulty swallowing
17. Hyperactivity, behavioral problems
18. Chronic post nasal drip
19. Skin rash, itching, hives
20. Bloated face, dark circles under strained eyes
21. Extreme thirst or dry mouth
22. Difficulty concentrating and poor memory
23. Slowed speech
24. Chronic bronchitis-like symptoms, allergy reactions, dry cough, hoarseness or sore throat
25. Heavy, weak feeling in arms and legs
26. Irritable bowel or colitis
27. Attention deficit disorder, anxiety attacks, rage, panic attacks
28. Neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s, fibromyalgia, MS, Parkinson’s
29. Pressure behind eyes or on head, neck, shoulders
30. ADD, ADHD, Rage Disorder
31. Asthma
32. Weight problems, obesity, hypoglycemia
The food we eat has a direct and immediate impact on the function of our brain; what we eat can be observed in how we behave.
