Natural Options to Reverse Parkinsons Symptoms

Month: December 2008

Sugar Cravings

Do you have sugar cravings every day?
Oh no! The most egregious toxin to the body is sugar. 

A wise approach is obviously to stop ingesting sugar.
If you cannot stop eating foods with sugar the chances
of reversing the symptoms of Parkinsons disease
are slim indeed.

The problem with this recommendation is
it is terribly difficult to honor. Why? Sugar
is addictive.

Since I decided to indulge in my
favorite sweet for the holidays –
pumpkin pie – I went into a spot of
low energy and depression.

I am back up and running, though
it always takes a few days. Sound
familiar?

How in the world do you (and I) reduce
sugar cravings that have haunted
us our entire life? We can address
nutritional deficiencies, remove
barriers to healing and strengthen
our immune systems. I will briefly
discuss each strategy.

Eliminate Sugar Cravings By
Addressing Nutritional Deficiencies

First it is important to acknowledge
that sugar cravings mean that you
are not giving your body the nutrition
that is necessary for it to function
optimally. We are certified body
abusers. The abused victim in this case
just happens to be our own body.

You can approach this challenge in
two ways. First, you can set about
to determine what nutritional deficiencies
are contributing to the imbalance. Is it
too little of Vitamin D3, or B6, or B12 or
magnesium or …?

You can ask your doctor to order an
exhaustive series of tests that evaluate
nutritional deficiencies in the body.
Specific prescriptions of vitamin and
mineral supplements will remedy the
deficiencies in time and reduce the
cravings.

This approach works well for some
people. The downside it is expensive,
time consuming and time limited. The tests
have to be repeated again and again to
maintain the balance that is needed.

Second, you can focus your intent and
energy on giving your body all the
nutrition it needs to heal. This means
eating fresh foods that are free of
pesticides and additives.

With this strategy, what does it matter
today whether you are deficient in one
vitamin or mineral or another? If you eat
nutritious, fresh food every day, you
will eventually give your body all the
nutrition it needs to come back into balance.

Assess Barriers to Healing

What are barriers to conquer sugar cravings? Certainly,
food allergies are at the top of the
list for most people. One of my most favorite
foods is whipped cream. I love eating whipped
cream. It makes me happy.

Whipped cream makes my intestines bloat.
My entire digestive system screams out
in pain. My spleen is not a happy camper.
I pay the price for my few minutes of
pleasure for the next 48 hours. And no, I
am not out of the woods yet from eating
pumpkin pie and whipped cream several days
ago.

My body has a strong allergic reaction to dairy.
End of story. If I eat dairy, I pay the price.

Eliminate Toxins Helps Quiet Sugar Cravings

Toxins also pose fundamental obstacles to healing.
Many people do all the right things to heal the symptoms
of Parkinsons but see little result from their efforts.
This is because their bodies are swamped with too
many heavy metals, poisons, pesticides, cleaning
chemicals or other chemicals that rip up the integrity
of their body’s organs.

The solution is to identify the toxins. Then,
adopt a program of cleansing to get rid of them.
The cleansing program should work at a gentle
pace that you body can tolerate. Too much
scrubbing too quickly can create other worrisome
problems.

In this fascinating interview, Dr. Ivy Faber ND discusses
the approach she uses to identify toxins in your body and
selecting the best therapies for releasing them. Click on the link
below to hear my interview with her.

Strengthen your Immune System

Finally, it very well may be that
your immune system has crashed. You will
never be able to fight off sugar cravings. viruses and
bacterial infections unless you can get
your immune system back on track.

There are many very effective therapies which make
use of natural herbs and medicines that can help
build your immune system back up so that your body
will have the overall strength to heal.

Your body will not begin to address neural issues
if infections or viral threats are screaming for
attention. When the body becomes overloaded with
challenges, it prioritizes what problems need to
be addressed first. Infections are at the top of
the list. Neural abnormalities are toward the bottom
of the body’s priority ranking.

Sugar Cravings Summary

Pay attention to the basics and your body
will heal itself. Sugar will no longer be in charge of
your mind or your life. The problems of fatigue,
depression and sleeplessness will become memories
of the distant past.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery®

© 2024 Parkinsons Recovery

Sugar Cravings

Are your sugar cravings up?
The holidays are a great excuse
for indulging yourself in sweats
and other pleasurable pastimes.

I always think so anyway. But
of course, sugar is just as deadly
to your neural networks during the
holidays as it is on your birthday
(unless your birthday falls on the
holidays. Then it is deadlier).

In most cases sugar cravings are
not eating disorders but rather a signal
of hormonal imbalances. If you regularly
answer the body’s call for more sugar,
your symptoms will worsen and you will
feel increasingly lousy.

Let me be clear about the logic here.

  1. Sugar cravings are triggered by hormonal
    imbalances.
  2. The symptoms of Parkinson’s are triggered
    by hormonal imbalances.
  3. There is very likely a connection between
    the intensity of your cravings for sugar and
    the severity of your symptoms.

Sugar cravings suggest that the signaling
system in the body has been short circuited.
When we are tired or depressed — sounds
like the holidays, eh? — our blood sugar
and serotonin levels are too low.

Serotonin is the perfect quick fix for
feeling warm and cozy again. The body
lets us know it needs an immediate
serotonin boast. Sugars and carbohydrates
are the perfect quick fix. They release a
brief burst of serotonin.

Unfortunately, the burst of euphoria is
short lived. Sugar cravings always return.
We eat more sweets to get a serotonin hit.
Remember, this is a sure bet to fix the
problem of being down in the dumps.

Over time, larger doses of sugar are needed
to sustain a tolerable level of serotonin
in the body. It is a downward slope headed
for the valley of depression, disease and
illness.

Why does this happen? The body begins to
produce more and more insulin in response
to the artificially high level of sugar
that is mainlined into the body from the
sweet cravings. As levels of insulin
rise, the body’s resistance to the effects
of insulin increases.

A vicious cycle is born. Increased insulin
resistance causes insulin levels to rise
higher and higher which in turn trigger
stronger and more frequent cravings for
sweets.

Another cause of sweet cravings is adrenal
fatigue which is created by sustained levels
of stress and trauma. Most people with the
symptoms of Parkinson’s have adrenal fatigue.
For some it is a chronic condition. Adrenal
fatigue also signals to the body that it
needs a sugar hit.

I suspect that anyone with the symptoms of
Parkinson’s is especially susceptible to the
seductiveness of sugar and the attraction of
sweets during the holidays.

So you say, so what? What in the world do
I do about it? I have the answer, really.

Sugar cravings are a tough addition
to break. It is not a question of
exerting will over desire. It is a
problem rooted in hormonal imbalances
in the body The solution involves
addressing hormonal imbalances.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery®

© Parkinsons Recovery