In other blogs we have talked about Type II and Type III Diabetes (Alzheimer’s Disease) and how these are largely preventable diseases and how some lifestyle changes can make a big difference in outcomes. This is really old news as just about everyone dealing with high blood sugar knows about losing weight, exercising, avoiding high glycemic foods, taking the right supplements etc.

Easy Concept, Hard to Implement

So if this were easy, we have to only have to say this once and everybody would get it. The trouble is that our brains are not homogenous entities but more like a conglomeration. We have all seen the drawings depicting the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. Well it isn’t quite that easy but that does give an idea of what we are up against.

Greek Philosophers Spent a Lot of Time and Energy on This Idea

Greek philosophers pondered this dilemma and Aristotle came up with a word for being your own worst enemy, akrasia. Actually Plato, Socrates, Aristotle and others spent quite a bit of time on this topic trying to understand why a person would act against their own best interest.

I bother to bring this up because I think (hope) a person can begin to make better health decisions if they know the game and its rules.

$50 Now or $100 in Two Years?

George Ainslie, a psychiatrist, found that timing was important to decision making. If you offer people $50 today or $100 in two years, most go for the $50 today. If you change the timing to $50 in six years or $100 in eight years, most go for the $100. This points to how the brain perceives future rewards.

Enter the Limbic System

As I mentioned, our brains are not homogenous and we can roughly talk about two decision making areas of the brain, that is the prefrontal cortex and limbic system. The prefrontal cortex deals with logic and reason and planning. The limbic system doesn’t understand the future very well and is more concerned with the here and now. When we talk instant gratification, we are talking limbic system.

One way of visualizing this is to think of the brain as an apartment complex with two floors. The lower floor is inhabited by young people with lots of energy and passion and largely focused on the present. The second floor is inhabited an older couple who pays the mortgage and keeps things orderly.

We Hope For More Prefrontal Cortex Control

Bringing this back to diabetes, the limbic brain is very interested in the box of donuts and figures the future, if it even exists, will take care of itself. The prefrontal cortex whispers that choosing better food would have long term benefit and isn’t so concerned about immediate rewards.

Different experts have different approaches to help solve or at least dial back this dilemma. As long as you are a person, you will have to deal with this conflict so solve isn’t a good word. You will have to find what works best for your particular situation. I find that in general, the more good reasons a person has to change a behavior, whether it is stopping smoking or bringing diet in line with the body’s diabetes management needs the greater the chance of success.

Education Helps Move the Needle

This is where education comes in. The more you can learn about your body’s needs and what this means to you personally and to those around you the easier it is to push the limbic urges down a couple of levels so they aren’t so much in your face.

Spend some time learning about your particular urges and a healthy approach. Get support from people on a similar path. You will do well not to just give in to those urges. Remember, you aren’t the first person to encounter this dilemma and you can have more and more success as you keep learning and trying. As a wise many once told me, coasting is always downhill. It doesn’t take any effort to let the limbic brain run your life but it does make life harder down the road.

OVitaminPro is On Your Side

OVitaminpro.com makes its money selling supplements and I wish I had a magic supplement that would calm down the limbic response. We do have some excellent brands that have products that help with brain calming like NeuroScience, NuMedica, Jarrow and others.

You can always give us a call and we will do our best to make suggestions in supplements to help mover your health in the right direction.

Thanks for listening.