Dietary Staple and the Brain

[Deimos]

Oh crap, I meant from the title to be "Staples", plural instead of singular. Can someone change that for me?

This is an observation from my own personal experiences and a bit of a rant about my current dietary predicament.

Most people would agree that the dietary staples of the western man includes meat, dairy, wheat, soy, and sugar(though most try to avoid it). Adding to this, coffee, tea, milk, booze, and anything containing High Fructose Corn Syrup are the most popular beverages in the western world. I propose that all these foods share a single trait which causes them to be highly crazed by mankind, which is the sole reason that they are eaten ritualistically at regular intervals throughout the day.

All these foods contain chemicals which act directly on the brain. Whether it is through animal hormones in meat or dairy, chemicals that mimic the behavior of hormones as in soy, opioids in wheat and dairy, stimulants like sugar and caffeine, or whatever else lies hidden or overlooked in the foods we eat, the dietary staples of modern and historical cuisine all alter the chemical activity of the brain, steering it away from it's natural course.

When we go without these chemicals, we suffer extreme withdrawal symptoms. Our brains have become used to the presence of these chemicals and because they have adapted to working with these chemicals present. If we remove these chemicals we will suffer withdrawal symptoms because we are, in the truest sense of the word, addicted to them.

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One of the reasons that I believe I had a recent and previously unexplained dietary crash, marked by an overwhelming dairy addiction, was because I eliminated sunflower seeds from my diet. Sunflower seeds contain chemicals that mimic the effects of nicotine and for this reason are frequently recommended to smokers who are trying to quit. In fact, my diet had narrowed down to a fruit, greens, garlic, and algae rich diet, which had plenty of protein and nutrients to support my needs and then some.

http://www.addictionsolutionsource.com/2007/09/04/quit-smoking-tip-sunflower-seeds/


Only Deimos can turn a crippling cheese addiction into the final connection to make sense of something he noticed months ago when he was a vegan feeling the strange hormones in his brain that came from his tofu burgers.

[Naomi]

Damn that's amazing, you know I had a family member who was quitting smoking and he was totally addicted to sunflower seeds for a few months there....that explains it.

High fructose corn syrup is so awful, I am glad I finally became aware of the dangers there, I felt so much better when I quit it years ago, even though I have never drunk regular soda I was still getting it in my bread, cereal, candy and even my fucking hot dogs! It was amazing after I became aware of reading ingredients more closely how unhealthy even "health" foods are.

If there's anything I would cut out of anyone's diet it would be that - even smoking isn't bad once in a while if you support your respiratory health.

You do make some amazing connections Deimos, I have to say I'm pretty amazed at how in tune you are with your body, and usually people are saying that about me...

I finally broke my dairy habit totally - I find the idea of it nauseating now, which I am happy about - I am very allergic to it, my liver freaks out in ways most people would not notice (ear infections or tiredness)

Diet is mainly a matter of trial and error though...I wish they would teach this subject in a much cooler way in school - teach us to take care of ourselves instead of memorize stale patterns and charts...

[Deimos]

Dairy absolutely has destroyed me ever since I cleared out my body enough for it to produce a strong immune reaction to harmful foods. If I eat dairy, my stomach becomes painfully bloated, my mind fogs up, I have headaches, and my skin breaks out.
I can go without dairy for a day without strong withdrawal symptoms. By day two or three I lose control of my physical actions and my body just hunts down dairy. I swear that it's like it has a mind of it's own that moves it and I'm just there in the background yelling at it to stop.

When I was vegan and I had cravings for meat or dairy I took it as a sign that I needed more protein in my diet. Because of how cheap it was, I chose tofu as a complete protein source to battle the cravings and sure enough right after eating it I would feel satisfied and my cravings would cease. Even though I could feel the mock-hormones in my bloodstream I never made the connection between that and the hormones in the meat and dairy that I was craving. I even felt them act on my brain(I stopped eating soy because of this, actually. It caused just such a strange feeling in my brain).

It certainly explains why I've never been able to form a habit around super-healthy foods like cilantro and parsley juice, now doesn't it?

[Naomi]

"By day two or three I lose control of my physical actions and my body just hunts down dairy. I swear that it's like it has a mind of it's own that moves it and I'm just there in the background yelling at it to stop."

LOL sounds like me 5-6 years ago...god I love macaroni and cheese you know?

It's Soooooo junky yet soooooo good...

I found a mild solution by replacing recipes with milk with soymilk, but even then you get a little cheese....my last farewell to cheese was the parmesan on my spaghetti (I love cooking italian) but finally I think I have really broken the habit so keep trying!

High fat food help I think? Avocados, walnuts and of course, ASIAN food has no dairy in it at all and is very tasty....that's really how I did it I think. The only thing with cow milk in it in the asian grocery is the nasty little milk drinks and candy that they try to pass off as food.

[Deimos]

I'm trying a new approach to fight the addiction, which is to consciously release the opioids in my brain to disassociate the addiction from the foods that cause them to be automatically released. I got my first chance to do that last night and when I went from moderate to high levels of whatever opioid I had noticed being released in my brain, I understood why people did heroin!

[Naomi]

The human body is a finely tuned experiencing machine so it wouldn't be surprising to learn that ecstasy is quite chemical even if it's brought on by meditation.

So did you feel really good or what?

[Deimos]

It was a blissful and beautiful experience, an absolutely heavenly pleasure free from any unpleasant feelings or associations.

When I lowered the opioid levels to the point where they weren't effecting my brain in any noticeable way, I felt really old and decrepit. In addition, I had a sharp pain all the way through my digestive track, my liver felt lightly burnt, my major muscles all felt torn, and I had a nauseating headache.

I've always been saved whenever I've nearly killed myself, gone hopelessly insane, maimed myself, or otherwise seriously hurt myself. Because of that I've developed a really arrogant and cocky attitude about my safety and personal welfare that be summed up by saying "I can essentially be severely hurt and die, but it just is never going to happen". I'm having a hard time keeping my brain from keeping just enough opioids to keep me from feeling the pain but whenever I keep them low enough I can feel it: my body is very slowly ripping itself apart and burning up and unless I manage to fix that I will, regardless of anything I do, die.

I'm fasting again. Today I just had honey and algae to replenish some nutrients but I do not plan on eating again until I feel a remarkable change. I've got better things to do with my life than eventually die.

[Naomi]

Can you describe the process by which you control your brain chemicals to achieve this state? I have felt it often enough before to know exactly what you are talking about.

Do you drink/smoke?

Oh I used to think I was immortal when I was a teenager...if I wasn't a realist I might still believe it since I am pretty young looking still...are you big into antioxidants and the activation of the pineal gland?

[Deimos]

I don't smoke or drink.

Controlling the neurotransmitters is to associate the actual feel of the neurotransmitter as it interacts with the nerves in your brain and body with knowledge that it is a chemical(a lot of feelings you take for granted without ever consciously making the connection). Then you learn to modulate the levels of it by increasing or deceasing that feeling and it's effects which is, I think, the easiest part. It's the first observation that is the hardest part, which is why I was never able to exert any control over the opioids in my brain until I broke down last night and ate some cheesy jalapeño bread and noticed that I was feeling a unique, repeated sensation in my head during each of the times I relapsed and gave in to my food addiction.

I eat antioxidant heavy food, but I don't believe that there's enough antioxidants in the food to prolong a person's life in any significant way. Right now I'm going to continue my experiments with fasting, which is known to extend the lifespan, and hope that I become a breatharian in the process.