Unbalanced Brain Chemistry
Have you ever vowed to “just say no” to sugary foods like candy or ice cream but found yourself giving in to the relentless longing just a day or two later? And in the brief interval that you do manage to stave off sweets, do you take on what Kathleen DesMaisons, PhD, author of The Sugar Addict’s Total Recovery Program (Ballantine Books, 2000), describes as the Jekyll-and-Hyde syndrome, experiencing powerful mood swings and becoming intolerably cranky and irritable?

If this sounds familiar, you could be experiencing low levels of serotonin and beta-endorphin—two of the brain’s specialized chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters are biochemical must-haves for your brain.

Ironically, the very sugar cravings against which you’re waging war are often caused by your body’s need to boost levels of these neurotransmitters. Eating sugary foods can stimulate a short-term neurotransmitter boost, and your body knows it (hence the cravings). However, eating things like chocolate, cookies, or ice cream sends your blood sugar on a roller coaster ride and ultimately contributes to worsening these neurotransmitter imbalances. When you combine blood sugar fluctuations with depleted brain chemicals, you end up with cravings so compelling that all the diet plans and willpower in the world don’t stand a chance. As Julia Ross, MA, writes in her book The Diet Cure: The 8-Step Program to Rebalance Your Body Chemistry and End Food Cravings, Weight Problems, and Mood Swings—Now (Penguin Books, 2000), “Years of dieting, psychotherapy, and the best pep talks about accepting your body as is can’t help much when what you really need is a biochemical overhaul.”

Balancing the Three-Legged Stool
Ross, director of Recovery Systems in Mill Valley, Calif., a clinic that treats sugar cravings using counseling, nutritional therapy, and biochemical rebalancing, and DesMaisons, president and CEO of Radiant Recovery, a private consulting practice in Albuquerque, NM, where she treats sugar cravings through nutritional therapy, are two pioneers in the practice of using brain nutrition to end sugar cravings. They are convinced that the way to take control of your appetite is to give your brain the raw materials it needs to rebalance itself naturally, and the solution involves a multistep approach that DesMaisons calls the three-legged stool. She explains: “Imagine a three-legged stool with blood sugar, serotonin, and beta-endorphin each acting as a leg. A deficit in any one of the three biochemical systems can throw the stool off balance and result in striking changes in how you feel or act.”

Terri, a maintenance and operations technician from Barstow, Calif., knows exactly what that wobbly stool feels like. “I’ve struggled with weight my entire life,” Terri says, “and I felt out of control, weak willed, and desperate.” But after finally recognizing her body’s cry for help (see “Symptoms of Unbalanced Brain Chemistry,” above) and feeding her brain what it was missing, the dark cloud lifted. “I understand now that there’s a chemical reason for cravings, but more importantly I learned how to control them.”

Today, 17 pounds lighter, Terri says life is wonderful. “I may have a bad day now and then, but I know how to get back on track. Balancing my brain chemistry has definitely improved my weight and self-esteem. My life is much more stable, and I finally feel strong and confident.”

Sugar Craving Mechanics
Like Terri, you can reduce cravings and bring balance to your brain using a few specific steps. The key is in examining the legs of the stool.

Blood Sugar
Through digestion, your body reduces all carbohydrates to an energy nutrient called glucose. Glucose, or blood sugar, fuels an almost endless number of physiological activities like muscle movement and hormone production. Glucose is, under normal conditions, your brain’s primary source of energy. When glucose is in short supply, due to missed meals for example, your brain complains. In fact, sugar cravings are often the result of your brain’s distress signal as it struggles to find fuel.

The problem is that repeatedly feeding your brain the quick sugar boost it wants is, in the long run, one of the worst things you can do. Sure you satisfy the immediate need, but you also elicit a cascade of other physiological reactions that ultimately cause an even greater glucose deficit.

Highly refined carbohydrates (like white bread or white rice) or those that are loaded with sugar (like candy, ice cream, or doughnuts) are converted to glucose very quickly and therefore cause a drastic and rapid increase in blood sugar. This sudden spike causes your pancreas to release a hormone called insulin, whose job it is to shuttle glucose out of your blood and into working cells for energy. Whatever is left after energy needs are met is stored as fat. The greater the blood sugar spike, the greater the release of insulin, and the more likely your body will overcompensate by removing too much blood sugar and dropping levels too low.

Low blood sugar, which can be caused either by skipping meals or as a rebound effect from a high sugar load, is what causes your brain to complain in the first place, so the sugar cravings begin again. It’s a vicious cycle; in fact, it’s dangerous and can even lead to serious health conditions like type-2 diabetes. Instead of riding this roller coaster of blood sugar peaks and valleys, a much better plan is to stop the cycle by reducing the sugar load and instead eating foods that will raise blood sugar gradually and keep it on an even keel.

Serotonin & Beta-endorphin
Serotonin is a well-researched neuro-transmitter and is commonly known as your brain’s natural Prozac. “When serotonin levels are good, you feel a sense of relaxation and peace. In other words, you’re pretty much mellowed out,” says DesMaisons. “Healthy levels of serotonin also reduce anxiety and help you sleep better,” adds Ross. On the other hand, a serotonin deficit can result in depression, anxiety, irritability, low self-esteem, and, you guessed it—sugar cravings.

You may know beta-endorphin from its “exercise high” fame. Indeed, endorphins are the natural painkillers that come to the rescue whenever you feel discomfort of any sort, whether it’s caused by an injury, intense physical exertion, or deep emotional disappointment. “When beta-endorphin dips too low, the result is a high level of sensitivity to both physical and emotional pain. You may also cry easily and feel depressed or hopeless. But one thing’s for sure: You’ll definitely crave sugar,” DesMaisons says.

According to research in the International Journal of Obesity, women naturally tend to have lower endorphin levels than men. And although scientists at the National Institute of Mental Health found that endorphins should peak around ovulation, other researchers at Ohio State University established that in women with PMS they don’t. This might explain why some women have an even greater tendency toward sugar cravings and emotional sensitivity around menstruation.

Although these two brain chemicals may exert some different effects on your body and mind, some of the same circumstances can cause depletion of each. Ross says there are many potential causes of neurotransmitter imbalance, but she cites four primary culprits: inherited deficiencies, prolonged stress, too little protein in the diet, and a regular intake of refined and high-sugar carbohydrates. While you don’t get to pick your parents and you can’t always eliminate sources of stress in your life, you can address how often you eat protein and high-sugar foods.

To make its neurotransmitters, your brain uses certain amino acids that are only found in protein, Ross explains. So if you aren’t eating enough protein to supply your brain with the raw materials it needs to make these crucial chemicals, you can end up deficient.

On the other hand, high-sugar foods actually cause a brief increase in the supply and activity of serotonin and the activity of beta-endorphin, says Ross. For a few minutes or hours it feels like a good arrangement, but this false neurotransmitter stimulation can’t be sustained without more sugar. “This nasty cycle escalates, resulting in even greater sugar cravings, and meanwhile your neurotransmitter levels drop lower and lower as sweets and other refined carbohydrates interfere with the dietary protein that would otherwise provide permanent neurotransmitter enhancement,” Ross explains.

What’s on the Brain Food Menu?
Restoring depleted brain chemistry sounds like a big job, but it isn’t as complicated as it seems. As we’ve discussed, the three primary biochemical pieces to the puzzle are blood sugar, serotonin, and beta-endorphin. Your mission is to feed your brain what it needs to restore balance in each of these areas and stop sugar cravings in their tracks.

Both Ross and DesMaisons agree that the key to keeping sugar cravings at bay over the long haul is to make significant shifts in the way you eat. But a key difference in their approaches is that Ross recommends a few specific supplements to jumpstart the process, (see “Supplements to Stop Sugar Cravings” on page 56 for specific dosing guidelines), and DesMaisons does not.

Nutrients to Regulate Blood Sugar
Under normal conditions glucose is your brain’s favorite fuel, but as Eric Braverman, MD, writes in his book, The Healing Nutrients Within: How to Use Amino Acids to Achieve Optimum Health and Fight Cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, Depression, Heart Disease, and More (Basic Health Publications, 2003), the amino acid L-glutamine can also be used as brain fuel when blood sugar levels are low. In fact, Ross says L-glutamine is so effective that it results in relief from sugar cravings in as little as five minutes.

With that respite, you’re more free to shift your lifelong dietary habits to include frequent, balanced meals containing foods—like nutritious carbs (whole grains and vegetables), protein (eggs, fish, poultry, cottage cheese, lean meat), and healthy fats (nuts, avocadoes, olive oil)—that raise blood sugar gradually and keep it more stable.

Another nutrient that Ross recommends for balancing blood sugar is chromium. According to the Physician’s Desk Reference for Nutritional Supple-ments (Medical Economics, 2001) research has established that chromium is important for insulin sensitivity and therefore blood sugar regulation. And since chromium deficiency is fairly common in this country according to scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, supplementation may be helpful.

Nutrients to Boost Serotonin
As mentioned earlier, your brain uses protein, or more specifically amino acids, to boost neurotransmitters. Serotonin production begins with just a single amino acid, tryptophan, which is particularly concentrated in foods like cottage cheese, meat, fish, turkey, and beans. The only catch is that when tryptophan is consumed in whole foods, it has to compete with all the other, more plentiful amino acids to reach your brain. It sometimes loses the battle.

Many amino acids are available in supplement form at natural foods markets, but due to a controversial decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the late 1980s, tryptophan is available by prescription but is in limited circulation over-the-counter.

The restrictions on availability of tryptophan opened the door for another amino acid that is available in health food stores and is one step closer to serotonin in the metabolic chain. It’s called 5-hydroxytryptophan or 5-HTP. Your body actually converts tryptophan to 5-HTP and then to serotonin. Because it’s closer to the endpoint of serotonin production and doesn’t have to battle for entry to the brain like tryptophan, experts like Ross and leading naturopathic physician Michael Murray, ND, author of 5-HTP: The Natural Way to Overcome Depression, Obesity, and Insomnia (Bantam Books, 1998) believe that 5-HTP is one of the most effective ways to boost serotonin.

Nutrients That Boost Beta-endorphin
Beta-endorphin production requires many more amino acids than serotonin—19 in fact, says Ross. So eating plenty of protein-rich foods several times a day is key to increasing endorphin levels.

For an added endorphin boost and extra protection against sugar cravings, Ross recommends the amino acid DL-phenylalanine. Unlike how your body uses tryptophan and 5-HTP to create serotonin, DL-phenylalanine, which is easily obtained at most health food stores, boosts beta-endorphin via a different pathway.

Ross explains that each of your neurotransmitters has an enzyme that breaks it down in an effort to keep levels from getting too high. But when you’ve got a deficit to begin with, those enzymes add to the problem. DL-phenylalanine boosts beta-endorphin by neutralizing the enzyme that destroys it, so in effect, she says, you simply hold on to more of what you already had.

Simple Steps, Big Benefits
Supplements are meant as a short-term (usually a few months) intervention to provide support while you master the dietary changes, explains Ross. But she adds that most of her clients need them in the beginning because they provide relief from cravings very quickly, sometimes within five minutes.

While Ross believes that supplements are critical to your success in ending sugar cravings and DesMaisons does not, both experts agree that the following long-term changes in dietary habits are essential to the process.

1 Don’t skip any meals, especially breakfast, as frequent eating will go a long way toward balancing your blood sugar. Make sure your breakfast includes a protein source such as eggs, cottage cheese, fish, poultry, beans, or soy as well as healthy fats like oils from fish, nuts, or extra virgin olive oil.

2 Include 20 grams or more of protein (roughly equal to three eggs; 3/4 cup cottage cheese; or 3 ounces of beef, fish, or chicken) with every meal (at least three times a day) to ensure a constant supply for neuro-transmitter production.

3 Include complex or unrefined carbohydrates like vegetables, fruits, and whole grains with each meal.

4 Strive to eliminate refined carbo-hydrates (like snack chips, white bread, and white rice) and sugary foods.

Using supplements, Ross says you can make these changes quickly, maybe even all at once. If you make the dietary changes without supplements, DesMaisons recommends devoting at least a week to mastering each step and phasing them in one at a time in the above order to give your body chemistry a chance to adjust. “The time required to accomplish all the changes varies from person to person,” says DesMaisons, “but most of my clients feel a significant break from cravings once they master the first step, which includes eating a hearty breakfast with plenty of protein.” With or without supplements, the goal is to balance your blood sugar and boost serotonin and beta-endorphin as much as possible before pulling the plug on sugary foods and drinks.

Using targeted brain nutrition to meet your weight-loss goals doesn’t mean you can forget exercise or other healthy habits like getting plenty of rest. Yet as Terri says, “It’s really hard to believe that simple nutritional changes like these can have such a profound effect. But I’m living proof that they do!”