In this broadcast, Donna Reish, blogger, weight loss coach, author of over 100 curriculum books, and Intermittent Fasting teacher, teaches about Dr. Stephan Guyenet’s seductive nutrient combinations (from his book, The Hungry Brain) in a concept she calls “Six Seductive Craving Concentations.”

Donna opens the video with how she discovered her “trifecta”—the effect that the combination of flour, sugar, and fat has on her cravings and overeating via pastries, cookies, pies, cakes, and donuts. As she pondered this, she hit upon overweight/brain researcher, the aforementioned Dr. Guyenet, and was able to start piecing together why these foods had this effect on her. (Hint: It isn’t the sugar or the flour or the fat alone—otherwise people would be overweight from Twizzlers or plain sandwich bread or spoonfuls of butter!)

Donna teaches Guyenet’s seductive nutrient combinations and their effect on the brain chemical, dopamine. She explains what dopamine is and how it is spiked through the Six Seductive Craving Combinations: sugar, starch, fat, protein, salt, and glutamate. She gives many examples of the combinations and intensity of the combinations and their influence on our cravings, overeating, and overweight.

Donna leaves readers with some powerful take-aways, including how we all need calories to live, but not in the concentrations we often have in processed foods; how we need to reduce foods with hyperpalatable or seductive qualities in order to gain control of our eating; how simple foods reduce our cravings; and more.

A. My “Trifecta”

1. To Ray Baby: I could eat much better if it weren’t for cupcakes, donuts, cake, cookies, and brownies
2. To Ray Baby: Hey, those all have flour, sugar, and fat in them! There must be magic in those! It must have something to do with the TRIFACTA!
3. To Myself: Hmmm….maybe I’ll be a researcher….this seems to be breaking news…
4. Read book, Hungry Brain, by Stephan Guyanet

a. I’m not smart enough to be a researcher

b. Someone else already figured out my problem long before me

B. Hungry Brain and Dopamine

1. Ever hear someone say, “And now I just don’t want that junk at all!” And think they are surely lying!?
2. What did they do? They reduced the number of times they had certain food combinations (i.e. flour, sugar, fat; processed foods; salty/glutamatey/fatty; etc.) and they gradually reduced their need for those things
3. How did this happen—Dopamine spikes!
4. Dopamine

a. Learning/motivational chemical released in the brain from certain pleasures that will ensure we will repeat that pleasure

b.Not as much a “pleasure” chemical as a learning/motivational chemical

c. Especially centered on addictive behaviors, certain food properties, drugs, sex (though all foods are affected by it to a certain extent)

d. Good news—if we don’t spike it so often and so strongly, the brain forgets (cigarette smoking analogy)

C. Seductive Six—These are the nutrients/properties that combine to give us the strongest “addictive” behaviors, cravings, dopamine spikes

1. Sugar
2. Starch
3. Fat
4. Protein
5. Salt
6. Glutamate (savory flavor like MSG, bone broth, etc.)

D. How Do These Seductive Nutrients Work?

1. Receptors in small intestine detect the concentration
2. Send messages to brain
3. Brain gives dopamine/motivation to want more
4. We learn that this is a food we want

E. Top Craved Foods

1. Chocolate
2. Pizza
3. Salty
4. Ice cream
5. Sweets and desserts (non ice cream)
6. Meats and chickens
7. Brads and pasta

 F. Take Aways

1. We need calories—all six of the seductive nutrients are caloric except for salt

2. We don’t need the calories our ancestors needed

3. We don’t need the calories that foods with many seductive qualities have in them at the levels we eat them (i.e. processed foods)

4. The more concentrated the Seductive Six nutrients in a food, the more they will trigger us to crave them, over desire, and over eat.

a. Potato chips and dip vs. Cheezits/pretzels with a tiny bit of salt and starch

b. Might really long for nacho supremes fully loaded (with 5 of the 6 seductions) but be able to stop more easily on homemade tacos with baked corn shells or healthier soft shells (2 or 3 of the seductions and not in such strong concentrations)

c. Cupcakes or donuts (4 of the 6 seductions) vs. sprouted toast with low sugar jelly (2 seductions and less concentrations)

5. It’s not just the number of the Seductive Six nutrients but also the concentration of them that wreak havoc on our cravings–Pastries (3 of 6 seductions but higher concentrations)

6. Simple foods, whether homemade or store bought, can help us keep the seductive six lower

a. Spaghetti with lower sugar marinara and ground turkey vs. lasagna

b. Lower fat cheese spread with homemade crackers vs. Club crackers with “crack cheese dip”

c. Super simple meals at home!

i. Meat/protein that is not hyper palatable

ii. Starch without so many seductions

iii. Cruciferous veggies in simple ways (i.e. not 1800 calorie salads with all seductions except sugar!)

7. Less seductive, less hyper palatable foods are—BONUS—lower in calories, fat, and carbs

a. Reducing our dopamine spikes

b. AND…reducing caloric load—one of the true things in research to show longevitiy….less food!!!

8. Good news—Fuel Foods (those you eat on a daily basis without so many seductive concentrations) do not have to be yucky!!!

Want to Learn more!? Taught this material for 30 days in April in my FREE FB Group….Join here and search April 1, April 2, etc. in the search feature to watch the videos in order!

Subscribe to the blog for FREE Intermittent Fasting Start Up Charts and/or a FREE Sugar-Free Solutions e-book! https://donnareish.com