Anxiety attacks a nutritional disorder
jurplesman
contrast to the conventional view that anxiety attacks are caused by
negative thinking and having gloomy attitudes.
Another view is that anxiety attacks are caused by a biochemical
imbalance in the brain that can be treated by drugs.
Anxiety attacks are often accompanied by other symptoms such as
depression and insomnia.
How can we bind all these symptoms into one explanatory theory.
Well let us start by saying that anxiety attacks are caused by an
excess production of adrenaline. This is a fear hormone preparing the
body for strenuous action in case we face danger, such as the sudden
appearance of a lion in the woods.
Of course there is no lion, nor is there anything in the environment
that triggers the release of excess adrenaline. That's why we often
make up a story to fit the experience of anxiety, such as that we had
bad parents or that some trauma in the past is the cause of anxiety.
The crux of the matter is that WE DON'T KNOW WHY WE HAVE ANXIETY
ATTACKS.
Adrenaline functions to convert glycogen stores in the body into
glucose, thus making energy available for immediate and strenuous
action. The result is that with excess adrenaline the heart starts to
pump away, we feel nauseous, cramps in various places of the body.
These are some of the symptoms of anxiety attack. At night we may wake
up with a nightmares or we find that we cannot fall asleep. A more
vague and generalized anxiety might make us into the worrying type of
person, or maybe a perfectionist having a fear of failure.
If adrenaline causes an increase in glucose then when ever the body is
deprived of sufficient amount of glucose, it will produce adrenaline.
How can this happen?
If we suffer from hypoglycemia, it means that the body is not handling
sugar very well. Remember, sugar is the source of glucose. The brain
depends upon sufficient amounts of glucose to carry out its biochemical
reactions. Thus the brain requires about 80 per cent of available
glucose for normal operations although the brain itself is only 2 per
cent of the body by weight.
Why do we have hypoglycemia? This is caused by insulin resistance. This
means that the hormone insulin - produced in our pancreas - does not
push glucose (and other nutrients) across cell membranes. The cells in
the body are starved of glucose, although blood sugar levels are high.
Equally brain cells - especially dependent on the supply of glucose -
are starved of energy, and this is a serious matter. It depends on
glucose as much as it depends on oxygen, and the brain will die in
matters of minutes if it is deprived of glucose.
Insulin resistance is the body defence against a life-long
overconsumption of sugar. Life long excess sugar consumption can cause
free radical attacks on body tissues. Most degenerative diseases are
associated with too much sugar consumption. We are a high sugar
consuming society. We can easily become addicted to sugar and food
manufacturers know this. By including sugar in most manufactured foods,
the manufacturers can increase sales without much advertising. Children
become addicted to sugar containing foods at an early age. Our sugar
consuming patterns are established in the first ten years of life!
The body has a defence mechanism against excess sugar consumption: it
starts to desensitize receptors for insulin to insulin. Thus is stops
the entry of sugar inside the body's cells. Increased blood sugar
levels will trigger the body to produce more insulin in an attempt to
push sugar across cell membranes. It is this excess insulin production
(hyperinsulinism) that causes a steep descent in blood sugar levels.
Now the brain is starved of sugar and it will send a message to the
adrenal gland to pour adrenaline into the system to increase blood
glucose concentrations.
this causes the excess adrenaline production that is responsible for
your anxiety attacks!! this mechanism is also responsible for the many
other symptoms of mental illness. We are dealing with brain diabetes.
WHAT IS THE TREATMENT?
You have to go on a hypoglycemic diet, that will eventually normalize
blood sugar levels, and adrenaline levels and your anxiety attacks will
disappear.
Learn about the hypoglycemic diet at our web site.
Anxiety attacks are NOT in the mind, they are all n the body!!!
Jurriaan Plesman, BA (Psych) Post Grad Dip Clin Nutr
For more articles see
http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au