Can you stop a fast food addiction using herbs? YES!
In addition to the use of nutritional supplements and detoxification strategies to lessen fast food withdrawal symptoms, herbs also make it easier to stop eating fast food naturally. This is not common knowledge, but in fact, herbs work on the body in different ways to reduce fast food cravings, and stop the addictive cycle with fast food via the dopamine system.
The top four herbal remedies for fast food addiction are kudzu, mucuna, bitter melon, and grape seed extract. The Mucuna bean can be consumed as a part of the diet as they do in many Central American cultures. It contributes to a balanced mood and the ability to think clearly when taken with the mineral and vitamin supplements for fast food addiction that we recommend at this link. Kudzu reduces cravings for sugars by 20% when taken 1-2 hours before meals.
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Top 4 Herbs for Fast Food Addiction
Kudzu / Pueraria lobata / Gegen
Kudzu or Pueraria lobata is a plant medicine that is particularly useful when treating addictions that are impacted by blood sugar levels. Kudzu is well-known as an herb for alcohol addiction, for example. Alcohol addiction, in fact, is often caused by problems with insulin production or release from the pancreas. Fast food addiction, like alcohol addiction, may be perpetuated, at least to some extent in most people, by insulin resistance or insulin sensitivity issues. Kudzu can help the body overcome these issues by lowering blood sugar levels, promoting insulin production in the pancreas, and inhibiting sodium-dependent glucose transport that impacts insulin sensitivity in the body.Supplementation with kudzu as an herbal remedy for fast food addiction improves blood sugar sensitivity and tolerance significantly.
Take 2200 mg of kudzu root every 4 hours (3 times per day) for 5-6 months after you stop eating fast food permanently. Then drop back to only 1600 mg once daily.
Kudzu Root, 800mg per capsuleVelvet Bean / Mucuna pruriens
Mucuna pruriens and Pueraria lobata / kudzu are in the same plant family, but they work differently in the body. While kudzu impacts blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity as an herbal remedy for fast food addiction, the velvet bean, better known as Mucuna pruriens, functions to promote the production of dopamine, the neurotransmitter that we use to make positive decisions for ourselves based on observed experience.Many people need to take both Pueraria lobata / kudzu and Mucuna pruriens for fast food addiction. If you are taking these two herbs for fast food addiction together, take 1600 mg of kudzu 3 times daily (every 4 hours) with 1500 mg of Mucuna pruriens 3 times daily (every 4 hours).
If you are taking just Mucuna pruriens by itself, take 1500 mg 4 times per day, every 3 hours (6000 mg total per day) for at least 5-6 months after you officially break a fast food addiction. Then, after 5-6 months of treatment, you can drop back to just taking 1500 mg of Mucuna pruriens at a dose of 500 mg 3 times per day.
Mucuna pruriens supplement with ashwagandha
Bitter Melon / Momordica charantia
Like kudzu, bitter melon (also known as Momordica charantia) helps to heal the body of metabolic dysfunction caused by poor diet and fast food addiction. Bitter melon as an herbal remedy for fast food addiction, has been studied scientifically as a vegetable that has the ability to naturally lower blood sugar levels and function as a powerful antioxidant. When taken with kudzu and mucuna, bitter melon promotes a more efficient use of nutrients and blood sugar to heal cells that are trying to overcome the ravages of fast food addiction.
Bitter Melon Complex, 1250mg per capsule
Grape Seed Extract
This herbal remedy for fast food addiction is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a supplement that contains an extraction of grape seed contents. Since most grapes today (and other seed-bearing fruits like watermelon) do not contain the seeds anymore, most people lack this vital nutrient in their diets.Grape seed extract contains the nutrient “amygdalin”, also known as vitamin B17. This nutrient is vital in the prevention of cancer. In fact, it has a 70-90% cancer cure rate as a stand-alone medicine if it’s administered prior to giving chemo, radiation, and surgery for cancer. This nutrient is practically non-existent in the food supply and it is definitely not present in fast foods. But you can take grape seed extract as a supplement that contains this essential nutrient. Taking vitamin B17 / amygdalin can make your body less desperate for this nutrient, which in turn, will reduce cravings and withdrawals.
Buy grape seed extract supplements here
Other Herbs for Fast Food Addiction
Lion’s Mane Mushroom
Lion’s mane mushroom contains a number of vital amino acids that help boost the production of important neurotransmitters in the brain. This mushroom also contains nutrients that promote the conversion of amino acids into neurotransmitters. Though it isn’t a total replacement for amino acid supplementation and vitamin and mineral supplements for fast food addiction, it can definitely assist in overcoming fast food addiction naturally. Taking lion’s mane mushroom three times per day can reduce fast food cravings significantly.Luteolin
Luteolin is a substance found in many plants. It is an herbal antidepressant that works by altering GABA levels in the brain. Luteolin regulates the glutamate system which is often imbalanced in situations involving addictions. It also works to detoxify the body by boosting glutathione levels. It is a natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidant that improves memory while reducing brain fog. Luteolin is also good for autism symptoms, chronic fatigue syndrome, and symptoms of fibromyalgia.Passion Flower / Passiflora incarnata
Passion flower, also known as Passiflora incarnata, is a sleep aid and anti-anxiety herb that also rebuilds the exocrine pancreas. It heals the beta-cells of the pancreas to increase insulin production. This is a good thing as far as herbs for fast food addiction are concerned. Increasing insulin production is a form of metabolic disease healing. Most people with fast food addiction are suffering from some kind of metabolic disease or the beginning symptoms of metabolic disease. Passion flower is an herb that promotes vivid dreams and that also helps to heal problems related to insulin production and nutrient absorption in the body.Peppermint Essential Oil
Peppermint essential oil should be placed on the back of the hand before meals and then licked off. Peppermint essential oil promotes proper enzyme levels during meals and it can help rebuild gut flora after years of fast food addiction.Rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea)
NOTE: This herb is contraindicated in people who are taking pharmaceutical SSRI antidepressants. If you are taking an SSRI, wait to take Rhodiola until you’ve stopped taking this drug for at least 2 weeks.It’s important to also be aware that Rhodiola rosea may cause symptoms like anxiety or feelings of agitation in people who consume caffeine, sugar, caffeinated tea, or tobacco products at the same time as Rhodiola.
Rhodiola rosea is an adaptogenic herb that can be used in the treatment of all kinds of addiction, including fast food addiction. It helps stimulate the production of both serotonin and dopamine, making it a balanced option for managing addiction-related emotional issues like depression and anxiety. In fact, it has been found to have similar (though somewhat less significant) effects to sertraline in the treatment of depression, but without any of the same side effects of this particular pharmaceutical drug.
As a treatment for addiction specifically, numerous studies have found that Rhodiola can effectively reduce withdrawal symptoms and cravings for various types of drugs, including cocaine and opiates (such as morphine). Some compounds in Rhodiola, like salidroside, may also help treat conditions like diabetic retinopathy, and also act as anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective agents.
Rhodiola rosea has also been studied in animal models of binge eating. In one study, the Rhodiola glycoside known as salidroside (or rhodioloside) was found to be the most effective in reducing binge eating behaviors in female rats. In this study, Rhodiola was also able to reduce stress-induced increases in corticosterone levels, thereby demonstrating the herb’s potential for weight loss and food addiction management. Rhodiola rosea may therefore work to not only reduce the desire for fast food, but may also reduce stress and other symptoms caused by withdrawals and also help encourage weight loss by reducing stress hormone levels.
Sacred Medicines for Fast Food Addiction
Ayahuasca
Ayahuasca is an herbal remedy for pancreatic disease. This is also an herb that treats trauma. And Ayahuasca also acts as an herb for addiction. Ayahuasca is one of the best sacred medicines for fast food addiction. It should be administered at least 3 times and possible more than that, over the course of several months It is especially valuable as a remedy to stop eating sugar and other harmful ingredients because of how it works on the organs of digestion. Taking Ayahuasca often leads to a liver and gallbladder purge (vomiting or diarrhea).Ayahuasca for fast food addiction can be taken as a microdose between full doses.
Click here to read more about the use of Ayahuasca, kudzu, bitter melon, baobab, and lemon balm for fast food addiction.
Psilocybin
Psilocybin is a psychoactive mushroom. In our experience, it won’t autonomically cause you to stop eating fast food, but it does reduce depression and anxiety caused by fast food addiction. If your fast food addiction is caused by trauma, psilocybin can help you untangle that trauma to empower your anti-addiction efforts. If trauma is the primary underlying cause of your fast food addiction and if the fast food addiction is not long-standing, psilocybin can work wonders. Once you get started making changes to your diet to quit fast food addiction, psilocybin can help you confront stressors or traumas that have played a role in perpetuating fast food addiction.Iboga / Ibogaine
Iboga / ibogaine is one of the most important anti-addiction herbs currently known to man. This plant medicine for fast food addiction often causes people to experience powerful encounters with ancestors to resolve ancestral traumas that may be causing fast food addiction. Iboga / ibogaine is extremely powerful as an anti-addiction herb though. If you have fast food addiction and other forms of addiction, like gambling, porn addiction, video game addiction, or substance abuse addiction, especially opiate addiction, iboga / ibogaine is a good choice.Herbs for Fast Food Addiction: Summary
Nutrient supplementation and fast food detoxification strategies can help you kick-off your anti-addiction efforts so that you can easily stop eating fast food. But the nutrients and detox won’t do all of the heavy lifting for you. They’ll help you by making your body stronger and less desperate for nutrients, but you’ll need certain herbs to ensure that you have proper levels of neurotransmitters in your brain and gut. Herbs for fast food addiction also modulate insulin levels in the body, and through that function, they balance mood and mental function. You need them to overcome fast food addiction, especially once you’re ready to announce to others that you’re going to stop eating fast food.The sacred medicines release trauma that might trigger a fast food binge. They are a huge resource to anyone who’s struggling with fast food addiction or any kind of food addiction, but of all the sacred medicines that are most appropriate for pure fast food addiction, Ayahuasca definitely stands out as the most important tool. Working with sacred medicines can help you understand the social dynamic that causes the perpetuation of fast food addiction and it can teach you ways to manage this problem so that you can successfully set healthy boundaries and begin to heal your physical body. If you believe that you’re in such a social pickle with fast food addiction that you couldn’t possibly ever successfully stop eating fast food because all of your friends and families require it, Ayahuasca can help. In reality, a difficult social situation centered on fast food addiction can be managed and Ayahuasca can teach you how to do it based on your specific needs and your specific social situation.
Resources:
• Alam, M. A. et al. (2015). Beneficial Role of Bitter Melon Supplementation in Obesity and Related Complications in Metabolic Syndrome. Retrieved September 4, 2024 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4306384/
• Ross, Helen (2020). Adaptogens - can they help with addiction recovery? Retrieved September 7, 2024 from: https://www.thewelllifelab.co.uk/post/adaptogens-can-they-help-with-addiction-recovery
• Cifani, Carlo (2010). Effect of salidroside, active principle of Rhodiola rosea extract, on binge eating. Retrieved September 7, 2024 from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031938410003227
• Wikipedia (2023). Salidroside. Retrieved September 7, 2024 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salidroside
