By the end of the episode you will learn tips that will make your nutrition plan more enjoyable
Before I get into the episode let’s discuss the study of the week
A study published in asm.org which is The American Society for Microbiology discusses the connection between severe Covid 19 infections and poor gut health.
This article is titled “Poor Gut Health Connected to Severe COVID-19, New Review Shows”
It states “autopsy and other studies have also revealed that the infection can affect the liver, kidney, heart, spleen—and even the gastrointestinal tract. A sizeable fraction of patients hospitalized with breathing problems also have diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, suggesting that when the virus does get involved in the GI tract it increases the severity of the disease.”
It goes on to explain “microbiologist Heenam Stanley Kim, Ph.D, from Korea University’s Laboratory for Human-Microbial Interactions, in Seoul, examined emerging evidence suggesting that poor gut health adversely affects COVID-19 prognosis.
Based on his analysis, Kim proposed that gut dysfunction—and its associated leaky gut—may exacerbate the severity of infection by enabling the virus to access the surface of the digestive tract and internal organs.”
In my interview with Dr. Caroline Stone I discussed the importance of a health gut and that 95% of your immune system resides in your GI Tract
Finally the article states “ Studies have demonstrated that people with underlying medical conditions including high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity face a higher risk of severe COVID-19. Risk also increases with age, with older adults most vulnerable to the most serious complications and likelihood of hospitalization. But both of these factors—advanced age and chronic conditions—have a well-known association with an altered gut microbiota. This imbalance can affect gut barrier integrity, Kim noted, which can allow pathogens and pathobionts easier access to cells in the intestinal lining.”
Remember too that health gut is important to slow down the aging process which is important for optimal health and to manage your body weight
Accelerated aging is connected to loss of lean muscle mass and increased body fat
With that being said, let’s jump into the topic of the day
Cravings is defined as a powerful desire for something
In this case we are talking about food.
In order to understand why you crave unhealthy food or “fattening” foods we have to learn the causes:
- Poor Gut Health-
Surprised? You should have known that was going here.
Our gut has trillions of gut bacteria
There is an emerging body of research that suggests that our food cravings may actually be significantly shaped by the bacteria that we have inside our gut.
Beneficial gut bacteria aids in digestion and nutrient absorption, which leads to fewer cravings.
We now know that whether in the form of chips, pizza, ice-cream, cupcakes or doughnuts, cheap, easy access to such ultra-flavourful foods explain skyrocketing obesity, diabetes & cancer rates.
The problem lies in the incompatibility of these foods with our evolutionary genetics of meat & fibre-eating cavemen.
Humans didn’t evolve on pizza and ice cream
High carb, low fibre diets promote an imbalance of gut bacteria, called dysbiosis. The war within
Your gut determines your health, as declining levels of “good” bacteria allow overgrowth of harmful bacteria (C.difficile, Salmonella, E.coli), yeast (Candidiasis) & parasites to damage your gut (Leaky Gut Syndrome) & health overall.
Yeah, you may think you just lack self control and that may still be true, but in most cases your cravings is causes by poor gut health
I like the look on people’s faces when I tell them that I do not crave unhealthy foods, but my body craves nutrients
That is why I do not believe in cheat days
When you improve the health of your gut, you will stop to crave unhealthy foods
Here are some general guides to improve the health of your gut:
- Eat Your Prebiotics- One of the best ways to support optimal growth of your gut bacteria is to eat foods that contain prebiotics, such as garlic, onions, leeks, apples, konjac root (shirataki noodles), cacao (chocolate), flaxseeds, jicama root & seaweed.
- Eat Your Probiotics- eat bitter foods that greek yogurt, kombucha, dark chocolate, etc provide probiotics for your gut. Bitter is good. Prebiotics are food for probiotics, so they work well together. In addition, you can take a trusted probiotic.
- Minimize carbs and sugars- bad bacteria thrive on sugars
- Avoid excessive alcohol and caffeine consumption – alcohol & caffeine will trigger inflammatory & toxic pathways by altering gut bacteria balance (dysbiosis), increasing inflammatory toxin release from bacteria, while disrupting your intestinal barrier (leaky gut) allowing more inflammatory toxins into the bloodstream
Using these tips you can discourage the bad guys and encourage the good guys.
Promoting good gut flora and limiting or even eliminating cravings
2. Move More-
A British study in the journal Appetite showed that women who walked on a treadmill when a chocolate craving hit reported a reduction in their desire for the sweet. This supports the idea that engaging in any physical activity will help curb cravings.
I am not saying to exercise all day, but the more you move and exercise the less you will crave unhealthy food.
That is why I am not a fan of getting all your steps of exercise in the morning or evening
Even if you do the bulk of your exercise at those times, allow time to go for a brisk walk, or a jog, just some type of moderate exercise.
Note: Too much high intensity exercise may cause more cravings.
3. Limit Stressors –
In a study published in NeuroImage, researchers used MRIs to investigate which areas of the brain are involved in food cravings. Participants were given a nutritional drink (to eliminate hunger during the test), and then asked to think about the taste, smell and texture of a favorite food to prompt a craving.
The MRIs, completed during the induced cravings, showed that the parts of the brain involved in food cravings—the hippocampus, caudate and insula—are identical to those involved in drug addiction.
This is important to note because stress tends to fire up these parts of the brain, seeking pleasure.
That is why meditation, reading, laughing and spending time with positive people is important
Most Americans are exposed to at least 4 to 5 stressors before they leave the house.
By going through stress all day, we then feel like we deserve this
Where is the chocolate? I had a bad day
The last thing I am going to say here is that I am not saying that you are going to wake up tomorrow and change your life.
It took me almost a year and I am still a working progress, but I am much healthier than I was years ago.
In the beginning you may need to include only few unhealthy items in your diet to help control cravings. “Pick the ones that you love and have [just] them, not a wide variety. And then have them occasionally, not all the time.”
In fact, surrendering every now and then may be beneficial—if you do it the right way.
Thanks for listening to the ZecoHealth Show
Follow my IG @zecoehalth for daily motivation and information to improve your health and lose that pesky body fat
Stay awesome fam