Articles of Interest   The Sugar Connection by Cathy Oats     "Why do some people have problems with alcohol, nicotine and other troubling behavior—like overeating, overspending and overworking—while others do not?"   "This article is for every child of an alcoholic and every man and woman that has been stuck in addictive, compulsive behavior in their life—be it from alcohol, drugs, sex, work, gambling, or overeating." Some people inherit a special body chemistry, called sugar sensitivity, which sets them up to develop specific behavioral and psychological traits. Sugar-sensitive people generally have a family history of alcoholism and are very fond of sweet foods and carbohydrates. They are likely to be impulsive in general, may be compulsive about eating or other behaviors, and may be overweight and/or depressed. They may gain weight disproportional to the amount of calories they consume. They feel both physical and emotional pain more deeply. They may have unexplained or disproportionate anger, overreact to stress and fail to get the results they hope for in psychotherapy. Many have experienced childhood trauma or abuse.   Sugar-sensitive people are often called "chocoholics" or "carbohydrate-cravers," or are accused of having a sweet tooth. Their larger-than-normal appetite for sweets or starches doesn't seem to be related to physical hunger. The sugar-sensitive eat those foods for emotional reasons or simply to feel comforted. Stressful or highly emotional situations make sugar-sensitive people want to eat even more sweets or breads. Such people may also be very fond of alcohol. Women who are sugar-sensitive may be particularly at risk for alcoholic drinking after menopause.   In fact, sugar-sensitive people are more likely to be women. Men who are overweight, depressed, or impulsive, or who have a particular attachment to alcohol, are also more likely to be sugar-sensitive.   Sugars and You People with normal body chemistries experience the opiate effect of eating sugars as simply a pleasant feeling. For sugar-sensitive people, this pleasant feeling can become a drug-like euphoria, which is powerful enough to create a strong attachment to the food or drink producing the effect. Research into neurochemistry suggests the reason may be that the sugar-sensitive personality appears to have a dysfunction in two separate, but connected, biological systems that affect emotions and behavior. These dysfunctions include a lowered level of serotonin functioning and an augmented response to beta-endorphin within the reward systems of the brain (Gianoulakis, Krishnan, and Thavundayil, 1996). The consequences of these separate disturbances are both physiological and psychological.   Serotonin Levels Affect Mood and Behavior Prozac. Zoloft. Paxil. What do all these popular antidepressants have in common? They all help improve mood by increasing brain levels of an important chemical known as serotonin. The scientific evidence for the impact of serotonin on mood and behavior is well documented. Low levels of serotonin are associated with obesity, carbohydrate craving, depression, impulsivity and violence. Lowered levels of serotonin are also associated with alcoholism. People who have experienced Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) show decreased levels of serotonin as well.   The lower the level of serotonin, the more severe and widespread the potential impact for your body. For example, low levels of serotonin can cause overwhelming sugar cravings. Research has shown that many people with bulimia have insufficient supplies of serotonin. Low serotonin levels are also involved in depression, a common and often serious mental disorder characterized by a very low mood and reduced levels of functioning. Lack of serotonin can disrupt your sleep patterns and lead to insomnia. Studies show that migraine headaches are the result of low serotonin levels, and that boosting serotonin can prevent these headaches from developing. Because serotonin directly regulates the body's response to pain, and affects other neurotransmitters involved in pain control (like endorphins), maintaining adequate serotonin levels can relieve such painful syndromes as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and premenstrual syndrome.   The problems arising from low serotonin levels may vary from person to person. For example, in some people low levels of serotonin may cause depression, while in others the same level might produce skull-cracking headaches or a voracious appetite for sugars, white bread or pasta.   The variations in the effects of serotonin reflect human biochemical individuality. Although we have the same basic biochemical system in our brains, there are major differences in how we respond to the signals sent along that system in terms of mood and behavior.   Addictions and Serotonin Serotonin levels are increased during the intake of addictive substances, such as alcohol, tobacco, certain narcotics and caffeine. When individuals attempt to kick these habits, they often develop a chemical withdrawal syndrome when serotonin levels plummet. These findings have been demonstrated and observed in both experimental animals and in people. During withdrawal, patients get the "munchies" and it is known that overeating, in part, is related to chemical dependency withdrawal, a response to low serotonin levels. These same low serotonin levels may also be partly related to the severe depression and sleep deprivation that occur during withdrawal. Low serotonin levels make the withdrawing addict more prone to use addictive substances as the body tries to compensate for its serotonin loss.   In fact, in one animal study, a group of rats was fed a typical teenage "junk food" diet. These rats continuously increased their alcohol consumption during that study. The second group received a well-balanced control diet. These rats maintained a low level of alcohol intake. When their diets were supplemented with either caffeine or coffee, both groups significantly increased their alcohol intake.   The relevant discussion of endorphin functioning has also been found within the alcoholism and addiction literature, which has looked at the role of beta-endorphin in the reinforcing properties of alcohol and other drugs. The role of sugar consumption as a predictor of human alcohol intake was also recently presented in the American Journal of Psychiatry (Kompov-Polevoy, 1997).   Beta-endorphin Functioning Understanding the powerful emotional benefits of endorphin levels in the brain is crucial for people with sugar-sensitivity. Low levels of endorphins may make you feel depressed, impulsive and victimized. You may be touchy and tearful. And you will have a desperate craving for sugar.   The scientific community has been investigating endorphins for more than 20 years, but for most of us the understanding of its effects has remained fairly limited. You may have heard of the "runner's high", a phrase that describes how the body responds to the pain of long-distance running by automatically flooding the body with endorphins, which, in turn, produces a sense of euphoria.   What you may not have heard is that narcotics such as morphine, heroin and codeine work like endorphins because their molecules have the same shape. They can fit into the endorphin receptor sites and fool the brain into thinking that natural endorphin was sent. Alcohol—through not acting on the receptors directly (like narcotics)—has an endorphin effect on the brain, and causes the brain to release additional endorphins to produce the "high" that we associate with drinking. And since sugar-sensitive people have lower levels of endorphins, their brains are normally in an unregulated state to compensate, which means they can "overreact" to any substance that evokes an endorphin response. The result: they don't just feel good when they drink, they feel G-R-E-A-T!   This heightened vulnerability to the effects of alcohol, opiate drugs and sugars may be particularly true for certain groups, including alcoholics and heroin addicts, women and obese men, and persons from families at risk for alcoholism—all known to have low levels of endorphins. Consequently, the experience of emotional stress by their groups may well lead to increased use of opioid-medicating substances. And use of moderate amounts of sugars or alcohol may well prime greater use of these relief-producing substances and lead to compulsive, long-term addiction.   Aside from the research, what I want you to remember is that even though chromium occurs naturally in many of our foods, today’s scientists are finding out that as many as nine out of 10 of us have diets that do not supply us with adequate amounts of chromium. So, if you have a sweet tooth, chromium deficiency may be at the root of the problem. To make matters worse, many of the foods we eat regularly, including refined and processed foods, milk, sweets and sodas—even those foods which are often considered “healthy” such as fruits and juices—can literally rob us of our vital chromium stores.   A Delicate Balance In many ways, the imbalance of brain chemistry is a tragic, but predictable, by-product of our contemporary, fast-paced, stressed-out way of living. And the longer we are forced to cope with stress, the more out of balance our brain chemistry becomes. Cigarette smoking, alcohol abuse, a high sugar intake, blood sugar disturbances (hypoglycemia and diabetes), and excessive fat consumption all put tremendous stress on your body. Over time, this stress seriously impairs your ability to manufacture, and make use of, the necessary brain chemicals. By the same token, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, eating a nutritious and balanced diet, exercising, and learning effective stress management techniques can go a long way toward restoring optimal levels of neurotransmitters in the brain. Making these adjustments in your life takes time and effort, but the results are well worth it. Meanwhile, these are steps you can take to help restore your body and your mind to a higher level of functioning.   Nature's Answer 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) is a substance that occurs naturally in the human body and helps in the manufacture of serotonin, a brain chemical that is associated with the feeling of well-being and fulfillment. Now, science has discovered that by taking additional amounts of 5-HTP as an over-the-counter supplement, you may be able to increase your levels of serotonin naturally without the serious side effects of prescription drugs.   5-HTP can be particularly important for the sugar-sensitive personality. Low serotonin levels lead to carbohydrate cravings, and high-carbohydrate intake leads to obesity. 5-HTP addresses these eating problems by boosting serotonin levels. It has also proved useful in reducing food cravings in many people, including those who have bulimia. Studies show that 5-HTP reduces calorie consumption and promotes weight loss, even though you don't consciously reduce food consumption or increase daily exercise. In other words, your appetite doesn't change (just before you start eating), but after you've consumed an adequate amount of food, the satiety centers in the brain become stimulated, and you no longer feel hungry. Thus, 5-HTP makes it easier to decrease your caloric intake.   When your serotonin level is low, you also have a lack of "impulse control", which means that a sugar-sensitive person has a hard time "just saying no" to overeating or other troubling behaviors. That's the reason the warm cookies on the table hop into your mouth before you know what's happened. That is the reason why no matter how many times you vow to stick with your diet (or cut back on your drinking or smoking), you're not able to do so. The insufficient serotonin in your brain isn't giving you the time to make good decisions; a problem that 5-HTP can help solve. (Some practitioners recommend 50 to 100mg of 5-HTP an hour before a drinking occasion, for social drinkers who want to abstain.)   Mounting evidence also suggests taking 5-HTP can boost endorphin levels. This is because 5-HTP increases serotonin, and serotonin, in its role as "master molecule," regulates the production and release of endorphins.   Any time you get sick, suffer from stress or experience an emotional upset, your body releases endorphins—but the supply is limited. If the condition persists for a long time, you can exhaust your supply. Laboratory tests show that people who have chronic complaints such as stress, depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia have low levels of endorphins.   Many scientists believe that the pain-relieving and mood-elevating benefits of 5-HTP may reflect 5-HTPs impact on endorphin levels rather than its direct effect on serotonin. Whatever the case maybe, one fact remains: 5-HTP increases beta-endorphin levels, as well as levels of other brain chemicals, including dopamine and noradrenaline. The ability of 5-HTP to affect brain chemicals in the indoleamine family, as well as their cousins the catecholamines, helps explain why it has such a broad spectrum of effects throughout the body. In Europe, 5-HTP has been used for decades as an approved treatment for depression, sleep problems, weight loss, and other medical complaints.   5-HTP Enhancing Factors Since 5-HTP can help us free ourselves from sugar dependency by elevating serotonin and endorphin levels, it is important that we give our body a good supply of other essential nutrients that are needed for serotonin synthesis to take place. These include the important B vitamins, which are critically involved in the manufacture of all the monoamine neurotransmitters, including serotonin; and the mineral magnesium—important for energy—that is typically deficient in people who consume a high-sugar diet.   Additionally, three natural herbals can complement and enhance the benefits of 5-HTP (besides providing benefits of their own) for the sugar-sensitive person. The first is the relatively unknown Indian herb, Gymnema Sylvestre-called the "anti-sugar" herb for its ability to cut back/stop sugar cravings—which has been used by Indian healers for nearly 2,000 years and has long been associated with alternative medicine.   Another important herb for the sugar-sensitive person is Ginkgo biloba, perhaps the single most important herbal medicine in the world. This herb is an effective antidepressant, in part because it counteracts one of the major changes in brain chemistry associated with aging—the gradual reduction in the number of serotonin receptor sites. Besides increasing the number of serotonin receptors, Ginkgo biloba may also enhance the effects of 5-HTP by inhibiting the MAO enzyme (White, Scates, and Cooper, 1996). A preliminary study found that in patients who took 160mg of Ginkgo biloba extract, MAO inhibition was 30 percent higher after one hour and 50 percent higher after three hours. Another forty double-blind studies show that Ginkgo biloba extract is effective in the treatment of decreased blood flow to the brain.   To enhance the effects of 5-HTP for depression, consider St. John's wort. Over twenty-five double-blind controlled trials on St. John's wort for depression show this herb can be of significant benefit compared to conventional antidepressants. In fact, the tenth International Congress on Neuropharmapsychology in Vienna was told this year that extracts of Hypericumi (St. John's wort) are now a first line treatment for depression—the first time that a herbal psychotropic preparation has been presented as such an event. Researchers agreed that standardized Hypericum extracts appear to provide a safe, effective, and virtually side-effect-free alternative to synthetic anti-depressants in the treatment of mild to moderate depression. According to Professor Walter Mueller, St. John's wort, unlike any other anti-depressant he has ever studied, exerts a potentiating effect on the three neurotransmitters—noradrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine—that are depleted in depression sufferers. It is reported that 27 percent of primary care doctors are now recommending St. John's wort to their patients. It's no wonder that St. John's wort is the fastest rising star in herbal medicine today. In Closing   The good news about biochemically based behavior is that it can change rapidly. You do not have to pursue years of psychotherapy to get the results. You can start making sense of your patterns of behavior today to understand what foods affect you negatively and why. You can start changing what you eat and feel better right now. And as you come to understand how serotonin and beta-endorphin levels affect you, you will become more and more excited about the mastery you can achieve. The Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde syndrome is not a life sentence!   References available upon request. Next Issue: Scientists are discovering the chemical secret to HOW WE GET ADDICTED… and how we might be cured. God Bless! ___________________________________ 1 Anthony A. Conte, “A Non-Prescription Alternative in Weight Reduction Therapy”, The Bariatrician (Summer 1993) 17-19. Additional References Available on Request Main Article Index click here Our copyright and Privacy statements / Medical Disclaimer © 2002, Makena Werks, Int'l, All Rights Reserved.