BY: Andrea Nakayama
DATE: 2017-04-18
What’s all this about sugar bombs?
(Besides the unmistakable fact that the Easter Bunny might have hopped over to your house yesterday and dropped off a sugar bomb filled basket…But don’t fret, I’ll be sharing how you can be the BOSS of those chocolate bunnies!)
I love when my work flows together…when one teaching leads to another concept and all of a sudden an additional piece of the health puzzle comes into crisp focus.
That’s the experience I’m having this week!
This Wednesday, we’re moving into Week 3 of the Immune Intensive as part of my Holistic Nutrition Lab training and starting the the BOSS Detox that I teach with superstar Canadian chef, Ricki Heller.
This week I get to sit between the two worlds of immunity and sugar.
I can connect the dots and find the excellent melding of the two—sensibility that blends as beautifully as cacao and almond butter or apples and cinnamon, leading to the purity of one of those lightbulb moments.
Where does the intersection of immunity and sugar lead?
To inflammation, that’s where!
The ultimate sugar bomb.
Thousands of years ago the Romans described the major components of inflammation:
calor (heat)
rubor (redness)
tumor (swelling)
and dolor (pain)
All four of these symptoms are due to increased blood supply to the infected area.
Then comes the bomb.
Inflammation is a key part of the immune response and as we now hear more and more, it’s the root cause of all disease.
Diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, autoimmune disorders and cancer are linked back to chronic and invisible inflammation that lies just below the body’s pain threshold.
But inflammation is also to blame for these common health challenges:
body aches and pains
congestion
irregular elimination
indigestion
skin outbreaks
frequent infections
advanced aging
arthritis
weight gain & weight loss resistant
That’s stuff that’s affecting just about all of us!
So how do you turn off the heat, redness, swelling and pain when you might not even know it’s there?
The cool thing about diet is that it’s well, cooling!
Diet has the power to either turn up the heat or put out the fires, those fires of inflammation.
Foods can either be pro-inflammatory, exciting those states of chronic disease or foods can be anti-inflammatory, suppressing that entire response.
The coolest part is that you get to vote!
Sugar causes a rise in your blood sugar.
A rise in your blood sugar releases the bomb, resulting in a burst of inflammatory chemicals that spread throughout the cells in your body like wildfire.
There are many of these inflammatory chemicals, including ones you might have heard about like histamine, prostaglandins, kinins and interleukins.
These chemicals cause the inflammatory fallout, a cascade of internal responses that require your immune system to try to go do some non-stop wildfire clean-up.
But the effects of sugar don’t just hit you on a cellular level. They bonk you over the head on a psychological level as well, locking you in a yo-yo pattern of deprivation and indulgence that you just can’t seem to break, doing damage to your poor psyche along with your cells.
And this is precisely why I’m so excited about BOSS!
BOSS is the ultimate sugar detox.
By addressing your psychological ties to sugar you not only find peace of mind in your ability to end an addictive relationship with your snack-attacks, but you also find the peace of mind that you’re putting your body’s fire department to work, quelling the inflammation that can lead to increased risk of disease and accelerated aging.
Last year at this time I was eating a chocolate candy bar a day, at least. After doing the BOSS Detox, I’ve not only given up sugar, but I don’t even crave it or want it anymore. It’s changed my life – I know I sound like a commercial but it’s true! My moods are much more even, I have more energy, make better decisions for myself and in general have been enjoying an overall contentment void of all the roller coaster rides on the sugar highs and lows train! Thank you for your good work. – Jenna D.
Ricki! Your recipes are a delightful adventure of unexpected flavor combinations. It’s fun trying them and loving them! I just tried the strawberry chia and I’m in heaven! Thank you so much for expanding my horizons and satisfying my taste buds… even while on a detox! – Cindy B
I am so grateful to have the opportunity to do this Sugar Detox! Lack of sun, lots going on at work, feeling like I was just coping and not really feeling like I was thriving all led to a really bad backslide into sugar and caffeine consumption. I was really glad to get more guidance around kicking the sugar habit and to latch on to a community of people going through the same struggles. I came in committed, but very very concerned that I wasn’t going to be able to pull it off. And SURPRISE – it’s been relatively easy so far! I feel really good. Even times when I’ve ended up going longer than I meant to without eating something, I’ve felt fine, no serious cravings or crashing feeling! Feeling good, and feeling good about what I put in my body, and not beating myself up for eating “BAD” things, make every part of the effort well worthwhile. A million thanks to Andrea and Ricki for this opportunity! – Linda B
What will you say when you finally disarm the sugar bomb?
It’s not too late to find out. We begin our 2-week BOSS Detox this Wednesday, April 19th.
The content for the first class is posted on the Member Page and you can already hop over to the Message Board (where you’ll get support from me and the Replenish Nutrition Team throughout the detox). The doors are open and we’re waiting for you!
You can get prepping as soon as you enroll!
Let’s conquer both your cravings and those silent flames.
Warmly,
P.S. If you’re left wondering if this program is right for you, don’t be afraid to ask! Drop us a line at support@fxnutrition.com and let us know what’s holding you back from being the BOSS.
By: Andrea Nakayama, FxNA Founder & Functional Medicine Nutritionist
Functional Nutrition Alliance provides the comprehensive online Functional Nutrition training in the Science & Art of the Functional Nutrition practice. Learn to address the roots of your clients’ suffering with client education, diet & lifestyle modifications.