Younger (Thinner) You Diet: How Understanding Your Brain Chemistry Can Help You Lose Weight, Reverse Aging, and Fight Disease - Softcover

Eric R. Braverman, MD

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1605294772 ISBN 13: 9781605294773

Publisher: Rodale Books, 2009

Synopsis

New research in nutrition and weight loss has revealed an amazing discovery: the brain—virtually neglected in all other diet plans—is the most important organ in dieting. Dieters can actually lose weight by eating foods, nutrients, teas, and spices that change the chemical balance of the brain for permanent weight loss—a major factor contributing to how quickly the body ages. In fact, everyone can take years off their age by changing their brain chemistry.
In Younger (Thinner) You Diet, Dr. Eric Braverman expands upon concepts introduced in Younger You to present a totally new approach to lifelong weight management, where the key is not found in counting carbs, fat grams, or calories. Obesity is a brain chemical imbalance, an addictive disorder, treated successfully only through the combined approach of diet, nutrients, and hormones. One of the foremost experts in integrative medicine, known for his work on the brain-body connection, Dr. Braverman teaches readers:
-which foods naturally boost the body's production of dopamine, the chemical in the brain that tells the body to start its fat-burning engine
-how to choose foods, supplements, teas, and spices—even hormones and medicine—to avoid the effects of other aging organs that can destroy one's metabolism
-how to personalize the diet for specific health concerns, such as heart problems, aging skin, weak muscles, and achy joints
Eliminating the frustration and deprivation of conventional dieting, Younger (Thinner) You Diet will help anyone turn back the clock to a slimmer, healthier, younger you.

About this title

About the Author:

ERIC R. BRAVERMAN, MD, is the best-selling author of Younger You and director of the PATH Medical Center and PATH Foundation.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

chapter 1

You Need a Younger Brain for a Younger (Thinner) You

as i tell my patients, your skin, hair, and nails are repairable and replaceable, and most of your organs can be revitalized. But the brain is the one organ you can't replace (no matter what you've seen in horror movies). The brain is where your life resides. It governs all aspects of your health as well as your emotional state. And while you can't get a new brain, you can improve the one you have. There are many different ways to literally make your brain younger which can enhance every facet of your health.

This chapter will show how you can lose weight permanently once you balance your brain. Without taking the brain into account, you can diet for the rest of your life and never be happy with the results.

DR. BRAVERMAN'S LESSON #1: BRAIN SCIENCE 101

You don't need to be a scientist to understand how the brain works. Simply, the brain is divided into three parts: the cerebrum, the brain stem, and the cerebellum. The brain stem connects the brain to the rest of the body with hundreds of nerves that branch out from your spinal column. The cerebrum is divided into two equal parts called hemispheres, which are linked by a thick band of nerve fibers called the corpus callosum. These hemispheres, as well as the cerebellum, have designated areas called lobes. Each lobe instructs our bodies to perform unique functions. They control automatic processes, such as digestion and breathing, and manage our internal systems.

The Problem with Diets

You "on a diet" is like a hamster racing on a metal wheel: You could run as fast as you can all day long, but without fixing your brain-chemical deficiency, you'll never escape your weight-gain rut.

Your brain is like the circuit breaker box in your home. When you want to turn a light on, you plug in a lamp and the electricity transfers from the breaker box into the lamp. In much the same way, the brain generates and sends electric currents throughout your body, fueling your internal systems and orchestrating your health. Illness in the body (including weight gain) as well as in the brain (like a decline in memory or attention) is almost always the result of one failing circuit breaker after another.

ABC: Abnormal Brain Chemistry

Abnormal brain chemistry can send you over to the "dark side" of food temptation, which leads to obesity, which leads to illness. Your death certificate will say heart attack, stroke, aneurysm--but the catalyst will really be the brain.

Now you may be thinking, "All that electricity sounds dangerous." That's where body fat comes in. In some ways, you can think of body fat as nothing more than the insulation surrounding the real you.

Your body's layer of fat provides crucial insulation that keeps the electricity your brain creates safely within the confines of your skin and bones. We all absolutely need some body fat to keep us electrically grounded, as well as warm enough to withstand cold climates. The problem, however, is when your body makes more insulation than it needs.

The four brain chemicals--dopamine, acetylcholine, GABA, and serotonin-- assist in transferring electricity from the brain to the rest of the body at the correct power, speed, rhythm, and synchrony.

When you accumulate extra body fat, you're also slowing down every other internal organ system from functioning as they were intended to operate. Your body was perfectly designed to work at your leanest body weight. But when you gain weight, you're not just adding body fat to your existing layer of insulation. Your internal organs are getting bigger, too. That means your heart is becoming enlarged; your veins and arteries are being stretched; your liver fills with fat; your skin is clogged with fat; your sinuses clog and swell, etc. This extra fat literally fills every crevice of the body, which forces each of the affected organs to work harder just to do their "normal" jobs. And when that happens, you are forcing these organs to age faster than they should. You begin to feel sick as your body cannot fight infections or diseases because it needs all of its energy just to keep these fatty organs operating at their minimal levels. And you'll begin to feel old because you actually are accelerating your own aging process: Your organs, muscles, and bones will wear out simply from carrying this extra weight around, and you won't be able to enjoy or even participate in an active life. Adding as little as ten £ds on an average- size frame will begin to disrupt normal body functions for both men and women.

It's not just the added £ds slowing you down: Weight gain contributes to, and is a sign for many of the most common medical illnesses, most of which are aging you prematurely.1 The following conditions affect your organs and systems and are directly related to weight gain (many of these will be discussed in detail in Part III):

BRAIN

* Alzheimer's disease

* Dementia

* Depression

REGULATORY ORGANS OF METABOLISM (ENDOCRINE) AND THE IMMUNE SYSTEMS

* Allergies

* Autoimmune disorders

* Cancer

* Chronic inflammation

* Diabetes mellitus type 2

* Gestational diabetes

* Growth hormone deficiency

* Hyperlipidemia

* Metabolic syndrome

* Thyroid nodules

* Insulin resistance

MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM

* Decreased ambulation

* Gout

* Muscle weakening

* Orthopedic problems

* Osteoarthritis

CARDIOPULMONARY AND VASCULAR SYSTEMS

* Asthma

* Blood clots

* Congestive heart failure

* Coronary artery disease

* Decreased lung capacity

* Heart enlargement

* Hypertension

* Respiratory infections

* Sleep apnea

* Stroke

DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

* Fatty liver

* Gallstones

* GERD

* Indigestion

* Irritable bowel syndrome

* Malnutrition

SEXUALITY AND REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

* Decreased libido

* Decreased sexual functioning

* Chronic yeast infections

* Infertility

* Menstrual abnormalities

KIDNEYS AND URINARY TRACT

* Kidney disease

* Kidney stones

* Protein in the urine

* Urinary incontinence

SKIN

* Chronic fungal infections

* Darkening and thickening of the skin folds

* Skin disorders

* Stretch marks

* Wrinkles

Obesity and the Brain

The brain's electrical power can only "light" so much space. An obese person's body has hundreds more lights that need power as the circuitry lengthens and stretches throughout the entire body.

DR. BRAVERMAN'S LESSON #2: CONTROLLING YOUR INTERNAL ELECTRICITY

Your increasing waistline may be the first indicator there is a problem with one of the four primary biochemicals that is produced in your brain. Each functions differently and determines the brain's effectiveness--or brain age--by controlling a single aspect of the electricity transfer from the brain to the body. These brain chemicals--dopamine, acetylcholine, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and serotonin--can positively affect your weight in distinct ways, yet a deficiency in any of them can lead to food addictions, which can then lead to obesity.

Scientists used to believe that there was no way to reverse a brain chemical imbalance. They believed that once brain cells were lost, or once your brain chemistry was damaged, you were stuck forever. However, the latest research is finding that these ideas are not only outdated, but untrue. The science of neurogenesis is showing that we each have the capacity to grow new brain cells, and retrain the brain to produce better, enhanced brain chemistry on demand! This means that by correcting your brain chemistry through this program, not only can you increase your metabolism so that you will lose weight, you can create a more youthful brain.

Neurogenesis is the ability to create new brain cells, which is the key to keeping you younger and thinner.

Recent data suggests that anywhere from 2 to 10 points of an increase in IQ is associated with brain cell growth. Research also shows that medications, including antidepressants, not only improve your brain chemistry, but they actually build new brain cells. That's why I believe that any modality that can facilitate neurogenesis or brain cell growth--including medications, natural hormone therapies, and specific nutrients and supplements--is not only important, it's vital to living a younger life. Getting fat and senile is not inevitable. Instead, we can age intelligently and gracefully; our brains will stay young, and we'll have more restful sleep, better memory and attention, and a better overall mood. Most of all, new brain cell growth leads to weight loss, so we can stay trim and slim.

More on the Brain-Body Connection

Rapid or significant weight gain is one of the hallmarks of a dopamine deficiency. While most doctors recognize that obesity is a metabolic disorder, they miss the point: Metabolism is governed by dopamine. The Younger (Thinner) You program will enhance your body's natural production of dopamine so that you can lose excess weight and keep it off for good.

Dopamine Creates Brain Power

Voltage is the intensity at which the brain instructs the body to work. This forcefulness is controlled by the brain chemical dopamine, which, in terms of weight loss, is the most important of the four brain chemicals. Dopamine is your brain's natural power source, which keeps you mentally and physically energized throughout the day. Voltage and dopamine control your metabolism (the ability to turn food into fuel). When your voltage is low, you don't have energy, making your brain and body sluggish. At the same time, without dopamine, your metabolism slows down. When this happens, any unused fuel starts to bulk up in the form of body fat.

Who's Your Daddy?

New studies conducted by Brookhaven National Laboratory and the North American Association for the Study of Obesity suggest that many women have impaired dopamine levels, regardless of their age.2 , 3 Many can trace this imbalance back to inheriting a bad set of genes, particularly if they were the daughter of an alcoholic. This genetic deficiency may be the reason why you find yourself eating all the time. Just like an alcoholic, you are suffering from an addiction, only this time the culprit is food. While you can't fix the gene, you can change your destiny by changing your diet.

If you are always running low on dopamine, you'll gain weight despite your best efforts at dieting. No matter how much you exercise or how little you eat, you will never be able to kick-start your metabolism to burn calories faster and more efficiently. However, you can correct a dopamine deficiency just by teaching your brain to create more of this vital chemical, and I'll show you how you can train your brain to make more dopamine. The more dopamine you have, the faster your metabolism will work, which will not only reverse your tendency to gain weight, but provide the fast-burning metabolism you need to lose the weight you want.

The Younger (Thinner) You Diet specifically increases the production of dopamine. You'll be eating foods, herbs, spices, and teas every day at every meal that naturally raise your dopamine. What's more, many of these foods have a thermogenic property: They improve your brain's capacity to increase cell energy and pump fuel to your vital organs. This means that they improve your metabolism as you are eating them.

Equally important, dopamine levels directly influence your ability to manage general as well as specific food cravings. Dopamine controls how we quantify the feeling of satisfaction we experience when we are eating a meal. When this brain chemical is balanced we can eat until we feel physically full in our stomachs, and emotionally satisfied in the brain. Dopamine allows us to experience a single, wonderful glass of wine, or one helping of dessert, and then walk away from the table. However, if our dopamine levels are low, we may not ever recognize a sense of satisfaction emotionally or physically. Without the right amount of dopamine, the circuits in our brains do not relay the message that we feel satisfied and full. Instead of walking away from the table, we'll just keep eating and eating and eating: We are never emotionally or physically fulfilled by food, no matter how much we've eaten.

Those with low dopamine levels can finish an entire loaf of bread in a sitting, or eat a pint of ice cream without getting an emotional or physical rush. You can unknowingly develop an addictive relationship with food, in which you'll need ever-larger quantities just to reach some level of reward.

As I said before, low-dopamine individuals often feel sluggish, even cranky. When we feel this way, we experience an instinctive, often unconscious attempt to bring the fire back. Low-dopamine individuals unconsciously crave caffeine, as well as foods that will deliver an energy boost: They tend to choose high sugar, fast-digesting carbohydrates, and they will eat them in copious quantities because they are trying to feel energized. Each of these stimulants actually boost dopamine production, so in effect you are self-medicating a low dopamine level correctly, although dangerously, because these foods are contributing to your weight gain.

You can get your metabolism running better and break the cycle of food addiction largely through choosing to eat foods that are the building blocks for creating dopamine: foods in the lean protein group that are high in phenylalanine and tyrosine. Chapter 3 will give you complete information on the right foods for you to choose. You can also start boosting your dopamine right away by cutting out as much sugary foods and processed "simple" carbs from your diet as possible. By taking both of these steps, you'll immediately begin to get your brain in better shape.

Acetylcholine Controls Brain Speed

Speed measures how fast electrical signals are processed from the brain to the body. It directly affects how we think and how we retain information in the forms of memory and attention. But when the brain loses speed, it loses power (and dopamine), disrupting the flow of electricity and slowing down all bodily functions. When your brain speed slows due to an acetylcholine deficiency, you might become forgetful, and experience a loss of mental and physical quickness. Some people describe this as brain fog. Memory and attention disturbances can cause us to make bad choices, especially with food.

Low on Dopamine?

* Do you recognize when you are full?

* Do you feel happy after eating?

* Can a small snack like a piece of fresh fruit tide you over until the next meal?

* When following other diets, have you found that you were always hungry, even after you finished a meal?

* Do you drink copious amounts of liquid with your meals?

Your speed is governed by the brain chemical acetylcholine, the primary function of which is to provide the lubricants and insulation for our muscles, bones, and other internal systems in the form of fat. This is one of the reasons why foods with healthy fats are an important part of any diet. But when we are running low on acetylcholine, the body cannot naturally produce enough internal lubrication, and we literally dry out. You'll recognize this feeling if you begin to crave fat and fatty foods: Your brain is telling you to provide the necessary extra layer of lubrication. But sometimes we get this message and get carried away eating too much fatty food. And then--you know what happens.

Missing Acetylcholine?...

About this edition

• Publisher: Rodale Books
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1605294772
• ISBN 13: 9781605294773
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352