Anita is a 53 year old lady who recently consulted me because she was concerned about her fatty liver. Anita was not significantly overweight, so she was quite surprised when her doctor had diagnosed her with a fatty liver. She had been experiencing continual indigestion and an occasional ache on the right upper portion of her abdomen, which is what sent Anita to her local doctor.

She had been totally addicted to sugary foods all her life and would binge on sweet cookies, cakes, candy, ice cream and donuts; she felt totally out of control and was unable to prevent these binges. Anita began a new diet every Monday and she rarely lasted beyond Wednesday afternoon. Triggers for her binges included stress, boredom and fatigue. She often experienced sleeping difficulties, and the day after a rotten night she snacked on sugar all day long as a way of coping with her exhaustion.

In my clinic I have found that addiction to sugar and high carbohydrate foods can be harder to overcome than addiction to alcohol or nicotine. Her blood tests revealed high fasting levels of the hormones insulin and leptin. Anita had high levels of these hormones in her blood because her body had become resistant to them. So they could not perform their functions of telling her body she had enough to eat. Consequently, Anita was hungry all the time.

What I recommended for Anita

I prescribed Glicemic Balance capsules and Magnesium Ultra Potent powder to stabilize her insulin levels and reduce cravings. I also gave her some meditation techniques to help her overcome mental and emotional stress. If we can still the mind and focus on our existential energy within, we feel calm and satisfied; thus cravings and incessant hunger go.

I asked Anita to eat more healthy fats and protein-rich foods such as nuts, cheese, full fat plain yogurt, Synd X Protein Powder, coconut oil, olive oil, olives and oily fish, in order to prevent feeling overly hungry. I explained that high levels of sugar absorbed suddenly into the body during an eating binge, could cause a huge surge in insulin, and inflammation in the brain, leading to fatigue, cravings and anxiety. In the long term, this could increase Anita’s risk of dementia.

She was worried about her liver as her liver enzymes were elevated, indicating liver inflammation. It is interesting to know that fatty liver can make it much harder to control blood sugar levels and lead to wild swings in blood insulin and sugar levels. These wild swings can cause the food addiction to perpetuate itself and can cause brain fog, moodiness, poor memory, headaches and shakiness. The excess sugar is not used for energy but is converted into unhealthy types of fat which are stored in the liver.

Thankfully my strategy worked very well for this lady and she felt much more in control of her life.

It took six months to reverse her fatty liver and for her liver enzymes to come back down to normal. Interestingly, Anita lost her taste for very sweet foods and she began enjoying natural, unprocessed foods. She also experienced a reduction in her appetite, making it much easier to stick to a healthy meal plan.

For more strategies to help you lose weight for good, read my book "I can't lose weight and I don't know why!".

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.