What could be contributing to so many interlocking problems?
1. Neurotransmitters. An imbalance in neurotransmitters, the nervous system’s chemical messengers secreted through the reward centers in the body. Dopamine, for example, works with norepinephrine to regulate reward reinforcement and motivation-to-action. Imbalanced dopamine leads to cravings such as caffeine, speed, cocaine, marijuana, sex, chocolate, tobacco, alcohol, aspartame, sugars and starches. Sound familiar?
2. Digestion. Digestion is 80% of our immunity. When the body doesn’t have the minerals, enzymes or good flora it needs to digest food properly, partially broken down food particles get absorbed through a weakened intestinal wall. This is called leaky gut. The body doesn’t recognize the food because it’s the wrong kind of fuel, and starts to attack what it perceives as foreign invaders, creating an autoimmune response and inflammation.
3. Probiotics. Beneficial bacteria in our soil and our gastrointestinal tract act like proactive antioxidants that transform and activate many nutrients, regulate hormonal and other processes, deactivate waste products and reduce inflammation.
They’re essential to good digestion and act as a protective buffer to support the body’s first line of defense by, among other things, actually crowding out the bad bacteria.
Many things, including antibiotics, sugar, alcohol, chemicals, acidity, stress, heavy metals, fluorine and bioengineered foods destroy or reduce friendly flora, producing what’s called dysbiosis.
4. Toxicity / Excitotoxicity. Other things contribute to more stress on our digestive and immune systems. The buildup of waste products from poorly absorbed food and bad bacteria depress cellular and other functions. Many chemicals, like additives and artificial sweeteners, deplete minerals like magnesium and zinc, and actually trigger or overstimulate nerve cells, which some practitioners believe is part of the hyperactivity and impulsiveness involved in ADHD and other addictive syndromes. Our modern diet is notoriously low in glutathione, an essential element that helps to detoxify cells.
5. Poor Nutrition. Many practitioners now acknowledge that addiction actually coincides with a condition of nutritional deficiency or starvation. In effect, like obesity, it is being overfed or overstimulated, yet undernourished. Whether it lays the foundation for or stems from the addiction, poor nutrition is made worse by consuming an imbalanced diet with too much high calorie, low nutrient junk food, too many processed starchy/sugary carbohydrates, inadequate protein and not enough vegetables.