Can coffee help with sugar addiction? Posted by Mike Furci (05/04/2011 @ 9:52 am) The reason why you get addicted to any food, but particularly sugar, is because your brain has opioid receptors (heroin is an opioid). Interestingly, sugar binds to the same addictive receptors as cocaine and other addictive drugs. These opioid receptors are part of a primitive reward system that helps you detect, select and enjoy eating fresh foods over rancid ones. Today, however, we live in a world where we are surrounded, not only by food in general, but by processed foods that are typically loaded with sugar. Unfortunately, this has led to a saturation of our opioid receptors, and we’ve become addicted to foods that are extremely harmful. Now, there are compounds called opioid receptor antagonists. That means once they occupy the receptors, they prohibit you from being addicted to something else. And coffee is an opioid receptor antagonist. Caffeine can bind to your opioid receptors and may diminish the addictive impact of another substance like sugar. “If you are addicted to sugar, for instance, and you really want to train your body gradually get rid of this addiction, using coffee would be a viable way to help yourself achieve this. Train yourself to drink black coffee. Drink it sugarless on an empty stomach and you will see how, gradually, the cravings will dissipate…” Ori Hofmekler
So, all in all, it appears coffee may have some valuable redeeming benefits, particularly to boost the benefits of your morning workout, as long as you get high quality organic coffee, ground your own beans to make sure it’s fresh, and avoid adding sugar. Ori Hofmekler, author of The Warrior Diet, The Anti-Estrogenic Diet, Maximum Muscle Minimum Fat, and the upcoming book Unlocking the Muscle Gene is an expert on how to improve your health with foods. Mercola.com video transcript Posted in: Anti-Aging, Diets, Drinks, Food preparation, Foods products, Medical Issues for Men, Nutrition, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci Tags: best coffee makers, blood sugar levels, caribou coffee, coffee, coffee and health, coffee and your health, coffee beans, coffee maker, coffee makers, cuisinart coffee makers, Dr Mercola, Dr. Joseph Mercola, green mountain coffee, ground coffee, Headlines, mercola.com, normal blood sugar range, ori hofmekler, starbucks coffee, Sugar, sugar addiction, sugar consumption, www.mercola.com
Eating sugar linked to testosterone levels Posted by Mike Furci (03/17/2010 @ 6:26 pm) Symptoms of low testosterone levels in men include decreased libido, erectile dysfunction, depression, osteoporosis, weight gain, muscle loss, diabetes, heart disease, and decreased physical performance. Unfortunately, 1 out of 4 men above the age of thirty in the US has lower than normal testosterone levels and will experience some of these symptoms. Age, which we have little control over, obviously plays a big role in lower testosterone. Are there other factors that we can control, such as nutrition? A study involving 42 men with normal blood sugar levels, 23 with pre-diabetic blood sugar levels, and 9 with type 2 diabetes was performed to make testing for testosterone levels more accurate. In the process however, researchers discovered that eating sugar cuts a man’s testosterone levels significantly. Each participant was given a sugary solution and then had their testosterone levels checked. Regardless of whether the participants had diabetes or not, blood levels of testosterone dropped by as much as 25% and remained low for a period of 2 hours. 15% of the participants with normal testosterone levels before the test experienced a drop in testosterone so low they could be classified as having hypogonadism, which would require hormonal replacement therapy. (Alternatives.13(9);2010) If nothing else, you’ll lose body fat and achieve a higher level of overall health by cutting out sugar. Sugar has been associated with diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and many more. Now you can add improved testosterone levels to the list Posted in: Anti-Aging, Diabetes, Food preparation, Foods products, Heart disease, Hormone replacement, Medical Issues for Men, Men's Health and Wellness, Nutrition, Obesity, Sexual Health, Testosterone, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci Tags: blood sugar chart, blood sugar levels, boosting testosterone levels, cause of low testosterone, dangerous blood sugar levels, Diet and testosterone, Headlines, high blood sugar, history of sugar, how to increase testosterone, increase testosterone, Low testosterone, low testosterone symptoms, natural testosterone, natural testosterone boosters, normal blood sugar range, Sugar, sugar act, sugar cane, sugar consumption, symptoms of high blood sugar, symptoms of low testosterone, Testosterone, Testosterone boosters, testosterone deficiency, Testosterone levels, Testosterone levels in cardiovascular disease, testosterone replacement, testosterone therapy
Evolution of the unhealthy American Part II Posted by Mike Furci (06/11/2009 @ 10:01 am) How did our country get so unhealthy? In this second part of a series, ?Our Deteriorating Diet?, I explain what caused our weight gain and its inherent health risks. Many experts claim we, Americans, just eat too much. Is it just a matter of calories in versus calories out? Are we really eating too much or is it what we eat? Do man-made substances in our food supply really make a difference in our ability to maintain a healthy weight? Find the answers to these questions, and other interesting facts you wont see anywhere else. Humans are carnivorous animals and the Stone Age diet, Dr Voegtlin challenges, was primarily one of a meat and fat eater. Like the carnivorous dog, our jaw moves in a vertical motion. A herbivores’ jaw moves in a rotary fashion. We have canine teeth, ridged molars and incisors designed for crushing and tearing. Unlike herbivores that lack canines and have flat molars, mastication is unnecessary and we do not ruminate or chew cud. Our stomachs hold two quarts, empty in about three hours, secrete hydrochloric acid, lack bacteria and cannot digest cellulose. A herbivorous sheep’s stomach holds eight and a half gallons, never empties, digests cellulose, and bacteria are vital to its function. A herbivore’s stomach doesn’t secrete hydrochloric acid, which is primarily for the digestion of protein. Carnivores like man feed intermittently while herbivores continuously feed (graze). A herbivore’s digestive tract is five times the size of man’s relative to our body size. Unlike herbivores, man’s colons are short and our rectums are small and do not contribute to digestion. Man’s gall bladder has a vital function and is well developed. The function of a herbivore’s gall bladder is weak or nonexistent because of the lack of fat in their diet. The volume of feces from man is small because our digestive efficiency borders on 100 percent. A herbivore’s feces are voluminous because their digestive efficiency is less than or equal to 50 percent, and they must eat large quantities of food.
Posted in: Cholesterol, Diets, Food preparation, Foods products, Heart disease, Medical Issues for Men, Men's Health and Wellness, Nutrition Tags: Bad Calories, Bet foods for staying thin, Caloric sweeteners, calories, calories in versus calories out, causes of obesity, children and obesity, diet, Dr. Walter Voegtlin, food industry, food supply, Fructose and obesity, Good calories, Hunter gatherers, man-made foods, Obesity, Obesity and cardiovascular disease, Obesity epidemic, processed foods, simple sugars, stone age diet, sugar consumption, the agricultural revolution, USDA Economic Research Service
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