Do DIET sodas affect your brain?

History has shown every time a "new and innovative" artificial sugar substitute or weight loss product is created more studies prove how these "sugars" affect brain health. Do you, like thousands of others, drink diet sodas to control weight through calorie consumption? A 2012 study suggests that it may be time to reconsider the role of artificial sweeteners in your life. In a paper published in the journal Physiology & Behavior, researchers found that diet soda — along with other artificially sweetened foods — may sabotage weight-loss plans by changing how the brain’s reward center responds.

This study out of the University of California, San Diego split 24 young adults into two groups: one group drank at least one serving of diet soda every day, while the other avoided artificially sweetened drinks. After several weeks, participants had their brains scanned while they switched between drinking naturally and artificially sweetened water. This allowed researchers to track exactly how the brain responded to sweeteners.

The brains of the adults who had consumed diet soda regularly responded very differently from those of non-drinkers, notably in brain areas related to reward. And the more participants had drunk, the more pronounced this difference.

According to researchers “[Diet soda drinkers] who consumed a greater number of diet sodas had reduced caudate head activation. These findings may provide some insight into the link between diet soda consumption and obesity.”

How artificial sweeteners confuse your BRAIN:

The caudate head is a part of the brain involved in controlling food intake and signaling reward — a kind of mental red light that says “enough!” Decreased caudate head activity in diet soda drinkers suggests that this careful reward system was thrown off.

Researchers posit that consuming diet soda confused the caudate head’s normal reward processing behavior: because sweet tastes didn’t always signal incoming energy, the brain trained itself to dampen its reactions. These inaccurate caloric predictions made diet soda drinkers more likely to consume additional calories later in the day.

Small choices can affect your BRAIN:

While further research remains to be done, this findings provide insight into how simple lifestyle choices can influence your brain. Inundate your brain with artificial sweeteners, and it responds in one way — but give it positive, stimulating experiences, and it could respond in another. Various other studies have found positive changes in the brain as a result of regular exercise, proper sleep, and many other factors. 

So pick your habits wisely, for your body and your brain!

References:

-lumosity  abstracts

-physiologic behavior 2012 nov 5 107(4):560-7

Do We Create What We Think About Most?

Our mind has an amazing ability to process a tremendous amount of information. Our brain then filters the information to focus on what is most important based on our intrinsic values.

When it comes to how you initially process information… What is your worldview?

Are you an optimist or a pessimist by nature?

Do you always expect good things to happen or are you waiting for the other shoe to drop?

Our mental attitude affects how we interact with those around us and also how we respond to events in our daily lives. Remarkably, our mental attitude also affects our health and well-being. How we feel, not only mentally but also physically, is significantly impacted by what has been termed our "internal guidance mechanism".

Back in the 1960s a plastic surgeon named Maxwell Maltz wrote the classic book Psycho-Cybernetics, a groundbreaking book that has been continuously in print for almost 50 years. Psycho-Cybernetics, one of the original self-help books, popularized the idea that the subconscious part of our mind is a goal-seeking mechanism. Maltz famously compared the subconscious to a guided missile, stating that the subconscious would do exactly what it is programmed to do. If you want to achieve a goal, Maltz proposed, visualize its successful completion. Visualize yourself driving that red sports car. Visualize the fun you and your family are having on your trip to Hawaii or Italy. Visualize living in your beautiful home. Provided that the instructions are clear, your subconscious will go to work to cause your goal to manifest in your life.

This wasn't jibberish! Maltz was a scientist and made a very strong case for his theory, backed up by decades of interaction with his patients. Since then, of course, hundreds if not thousands of self-help gurus have sprung up, publishing books, giving seminars, and being interviewed in broadcast media. Maltz, Napoleon Hill, and Norman Vincent Peale were the originals, the pioneers who introduced the concepts and precepts of taking charge of your own life.

In terms of health, for example, attitude is critically important. How do you respond, internally, if a nearby co-worker coughs or sneezes throughout the day? Have you noticed that if you think that you, too, are going to get sick, that in fact you do? But others, exposed to the same environment, do not. Is it possible that these others paid no attention to the ill co-worker, that they did not internalize the notion that they were being exposed to contagion? Such a scenario is not 100% necessarily true, but it is possible. The conclusion could be that our thoughts matter. As Earl Nightingale, one of the pioneers of the personal development field, famously stated, "You become what you think about".

So what should we do? Think happy thoughts all day long? Not really, but it is important to remember that attitude counts! If we are more frequently seeing the glass as half-full rather than half-empty, it is possible that we are going to have a more productive, more successful, more fulfilled day. And, unbeknownst to us, our subconscious mind will build on those successes and help to bring us more success, personal growth, happiness, and well-being.

References:

Matsunaga M, et al: Association between perceived happiness levels and peripheral circulating pro-inflammatory cytokine levels in middle-aged adults in Japan. Neuro Endocrinol Lett August 5, 2011 (Epub ahead of print)

Layous K, et al: Delivering happiness: translating positive psychology intervention research for treating major and minor depressive disorders. J Altern Complement Med 17(8):675-683, 2011

Sadler ME, et al: Subjective wellbeing and longevity: a co-twin control study. Twin Res Hum Genet 14(3):249-256, 2011

How To Activate The Brain To Improve Your Health

Using the most current research from functional MRI brain scans can give us the edge on the most effective use of the brain. Knowing how the brain fires and wires itself can be the next level of understanding needed to create a healthier brain and develop

our inner genius.

Mid brain activation

Our brains have different electrical wave frequencies that affect learning, memory, emotions, creativity and sleep patterns. The left brain is believed to operate at Beta wave frequency (14- 30 hertz cycles per second). This is the brain we are most familiar with having developed in traditional academic settings. This is the side of the brain that deals with the logical and analytical thinking and processes words and sounds.

The right brain is the image brain and is believed to work at Alpha wave frequency (8 to 13 hertz cycles per second). It is associated with a creativity, images, emotions,music and also relaxed alert state of mind such as in meditation.

The Mid Brain, is believed to ‘act’ as a bridge between our Left and Right Brain. Having an active Mid Brain will ‘widen’ the channel of communication between the left and right brain resulting in a more balanced use of ‘Whole Brian’.

Children at birth and up to the age of about 6 years old, the mid brain is very active. Beyond the age of 6, the mid brain development slows down and gradually become less active unless stimulated through our senses.

So, how can you awaken the mid brain again?

One of the most effective ways to activate the mid brain is to use light and sound waves. Our Mind is paced by light and sound and dependent upon the frequency or vibration it will have an effect on our body.

Remember how you feel listening to the sound of waves rolling up on a beach as you watch the sunset. The sounds and vibrations found in nature are the healthiest for brain wave activity. The hustle and bustle of the Modern world has taken us away from the innate healing ability of being in nature

The average American has so many layers of Brain activation on a subconscious level that the brain can be overloaded leading to anxiety and depression.

Studies have shown that  taking time to play and have fun on a regular basis is a must for long term mental and brain health. Take the time to schedule time in nature and your brain will be more relaxed, and feel more secure in daily life.