Tune in for an exciting opportunity to win one of eight FREE memberships to my online course, REVIVIFY.

In celebration of National Chocolate Day, dive into the delicious mystery of our chocolate cravings, and explore scientific hypotheses behind them.

Indulge your sweet tooth the healthy way, as I introduce you to my top pick for plant-based chocolate delights—satisfying your cravings minus the sugar and inflammation.

Additionally, uncover an Ayurvedic herb soaring in western popularity, not only for its potent blood sugar management properties, but also as the foundation of a prominent pharmaceutical drug in the realm of glucose control. Join us on this sweet journey of discovery and indulgence.

Resources for this episode:

Chocolate...food or drug?

The Minimalist Baker

No Bake Vegan Brownies

The Bliss of Chocolate, An Ayurvedic Perspective

Read the full transcript:

0:01
This is Laura Lummer, the breast cancer recovery coach. I'm a healthy lifestyle coach, a clinical Ayurveda specialist, a personal trainer, and I'm also a breast cancer survivor. In this podcast, we talk about healthy thinking and mindfulness practices, eating well, moving your body for health and longevity. And we'll also hear from other breast cancer survivors who have reengaged with life, and have incredible stories to share. This podcast is your go to resource for getting back to life after breast cancer.

0:38
Hello, and welcome to episode 47 of the breast cancer recovery coach. I am your host Laura Lummer. And today is National chocolate Day, which made me think of a couple of things. One how amazing chocolate is when it's done well to how easy it is to overindulgent chocolate for some of us. Three how any sugary treat can spike blood sugar, trigger inflammation and make you feel like crap for the rise of diabetes in our country, and five, the increased risk of diabetes as we age. And after we go through breast cancer treatment. So you just got a scary look into the slippery slope of how my mind processes information, right. So I actually have a podcast coming up soon on the topic of the risks we have for diabetes and how breast cancer treatment and chemotherapy impact us and affect that. But I want to give you just a couple stats from a recent study conducted by Women's College Hospital Women's Research Institute in Toronto, Canada, as we move into this episode on chocolate and on an herb that is known to Ayurveda for 1000s of years and being used more and more here in the West to manage blood sugar. So the study by the Women's College Hospital found out of all of the more than 140,000 subjects, both breast cancer survivors and nonsurvivors almost 10% develop diabetes after just about six years, two years after being diagnosed the risk of diabetes among the more than 24,000 breast cancer survivors in the study grew to 7% compared to women without cancer. And of the more than 4000 of those survivors who had chemotherapy as a part of their treatment, their risk of diabetes increased 24% within the first two years after diagnosis compared to women who had not had breast cancer after 10 years, that 7% increase for breast cancer survivors, that risk increased to over 21%. So that's really significant. And stay tuned, because I do have a show coming up. That's going to go into a lot more detail about that. But I just wanted to present those statistics to keep in mind as I go through talking about well, one, it's going to be some fun facts about chocolate but also how chocolate impacts us and sweets impact us. But then we'll be talking about Gymnema sylvestre, a fantastic herb. Because it's not really just about chocolate. It's not really just about sugar. But many things can impact the way that our body processes manages blood sugar, exercise, genetics, food, all these things play a part. So knowing and having some tools in your little tool chest to help manage support, weight loss, support healthy weight, and support healthy blood sugar levels are always going to be great things to know about. So before I get into this, I do want to tell you that this month, July of 2019 in celebration of my eight year survivor anniversary, I am giving away one revivify course, for every year of survival. That's eight completely free, vivify memberships. Now, I've been talking about this on Facebook this past week. So if you're not on Facebook, or you are on Facebook, and you don't follow me, come on over to my page, Laura Lummer, and like or follow it so you don't miss out on any promotions. I'll also reach out to my email list. So be sure you're on that email list. So you find things out right off the bat. Now all you have to do to get into the drawing to win one of these memberships is to leave a comment on Facebook or Instagram saying I want a chance to win or DM me through Facebook through Instagram, or email me, Laura at Laura lummer.com. And then on July 11, which is the date that I was diagnosed, I'm going to announce the eight ladies who will become a part of our re vivify community beginning on August 1

5:00
And that's also a special date because I'm updating revivify based on all the feedback that I've received from the amazing women who are already a part of this program, and all the updates are going to be ready to go on August 1. So the eight lucky winners out there will start the program then or the program will be open for you to start them. So we vivify in case you don't know is my seven step program that uses mindfulness based practices to improve your mindset around how you treat yourself. It teaches you about intuitive eating, so you can stop worrying about diet, and helps you to get past that confusion over food trends. We vivify teaches you to look at moving your body getting exercise from a different perspective, when that brings joy into movement and helps you to develop a physical program that's specific to your lifestyle and your needs without requiring tons and tons of hours on a treadmill or something else that you don't like. It's completely delivered online, videos, worksheets. And one of the best things about it is a private Facebook group, where you get to interact with the awesome revivify ladies who have survived cancer, who are dealing with the aftermath of physical changes, emotional challenges, and they're all coming together here in the space where we exchange thoughts support each other. And I get to interact with all of you in that group by answering questions. And beginning in August there will also be some upgrades and live interactions, questions and answer sessions and coaching in the Facebook group. So I'm super excited to get to open that up to eight more people. Please message me, email me leave a comment let me know that you want in on that drawing. I created read vivify to help survivors rewrite their cancer story, I want you to take charge of your health and to understand that you don't have to be a victim of cancer, but you can be a victor over cancer and in your life as well. So message me today and get in on that drawing completely free. And also know that this is the last month that we vivify will be the introductory price of $37. On August 1, that price will also go up. So if your name doesn't get picked in the drawing, make sure you grab the program while the introductory price is the lowest that it will ever be. Alright, you can find out more about revivify. And you can read comments from some of the women who've been through this program on my website. But I'd really like to share one of those comments with you right now, from one of my founding and most active members, Marianne, Marianne says, when I was finishing my two years of breast cancer treatment, I was really lost. I was grateful to be alive, but I wasn't the same person who went into this unexpected wrestling match. People told me I had won the match, but I didn't feel victorious. I just felt different beat up and confused. When I started listening to Laura's podcast, there was something about her voice and her personality that made me feel not only comforted but hopeful. She's smart, funny, and obviously passionate about helping women recover in every aspect of their cancer journey. She's an excellent coach, and they re vivify program that I've joined. And as tons of resources she's willing to share. I'm so grateful to this woman I have never met for caring enough to provide incredible support for me, in this after cancer space. I felt very alone, but now feel so much sisterhood and validation, knowing I'm not crazy. And in parenthesis, she says, Well, maybe a little. It chokes me up even just to read it because and it's really, really meaningful. And that's why I created the program to support women like Marianne, women like you, women like me, who are trying to figure out how to cut through the crap after breast cancer treatment. So message me, let me know I'd love to have you every single one of you listening as a part of our awesome group of thriving breast cancer survivors. Okay, let's move on and talk about chocolate in honor of this national holiday. So according to a 2015 Forbes blog post called the world's biggest chocolate consumers, Americans consume an average of nine and a half pounds of chocolate each year. So to put that in perspective, there were an estimated 321 million people in America in 2015. That's over 3 billion pounds of chocolate consumed nationwide. That sounds like a lot of chocolate. Right? That pales in comparison to the leading country in chocolate consumption, which was Switzerland at more than 19 pounds per person annually in 2015. So the US actually came in ninth on the list of the top 10 Chocolate consumers so why

10:00
Why do we love chocolates so much? Some studies say that it's actually a cultural thing more than what we in the US often attribute to a hormonal thing. Because of the tendency to want something sweet just prior to or during menstruation. This study from the University of Pennsylvania survey their pre and post menopausal alumna to see if the decrease in chocolate cravings was equal to the percentage of women who are postmenopausal. This drop in chocolate cravings should have been a little more than 30% because of the women surveyed, but it actually came in at just over 13% Decrease in craving this food of the gods. So this led the university to suggest that chocolate cravings were more culturally programmed or psychologically driven than hormonally driven. In my personal experience, I have to say that part of that decline in chocolate consumption for postmenopausal women is probably driven by the misery of the hot flash that's guaranteed to follow from the sugar added to the chocolate, more than just the desire or lack of desire to eat chocolate. Then there was a 1999 study that was published in the Journal of American Dietetics Association and I love this one. It's titled chocolate, food or drug. And it was review of other studies on chocolate cravings. And the results were stated so well, I'm gonna actually quote them here. So this is a quote, a combination of chocolate sensory characteristics, nutrient composition, and psychoactive ingredients, compounded with monthly hormonal fluctuations and mood swings among women will ultimately form the model of chocolate cravings. dietetics professionals must be aware that chocolate cravings are real, unquote. And it goes on to caution, registered dietitians to consider the psychological and chemical effects of chocolate on their clients when they create nutrition programs. So in other words, don't mess with some women's chocolate. So you might be thinking, okay, hold on, Laura, we hear good news that there's lots of antioxidants and dark chocolate. And I feel you. I like thinking that too. But the fact is that real dark chocolate, like the kind that you don't get at the grocery store checkout line, or at See's Candy. And believe me, I love nothing more than a dark chocolate buttercream. But the kind of chocolate that has the good antioxidant stuff in it without the added sugars or preservatives is really bitter. It's a stringent. It's not something that you really crave very much right. So is it the chocolate? Or is it the sugar that we're craving in this modern day passion for chocolate. Remember, when you were little and your mom would bake with Hershey's Cocoa powder, she make a chocolate cake or pudding or something. And Hershey's Cocoa powder looks a lot like hot chocolate mix when you're a kid, right? So you sneak a finger full while she's not looking. And then stick it in your mouth and you want to wash it out of your mouth because it tastes so bad. That's the real stuff, right? That's the real cacao that's real cocoa. And that's not always so fun to eat. I mean, that doesn't compare to a chocolate creme brulee. Right. However, thanks to the huge plant based nutrition movement, there are some great treats that you can make was real good chocolate now with cocoa and without a lot or without even any of that sugars. One of my favorite resources for this is the minimalist Baker. All of her recipes are plant based. They use 10 ingredients or less, they can be prepared in less than 30 minutes with one bowl. And my go to chocolate, no sugar, and that includes any artificial sweeteners is her no bake vegan brownie recipes. Oh my god, a recipe not recipes. They're sweetened with dates. They're super easy to make. They are rich and fudgy. And I get requests for them that potlucks and to bring on the holidays. No one would think that these are anything but a delicious fudgy brownie. They're so good. So I'll share the link to that recipe to her website and to her new cookbook in the show notes of this podcast because I'm telling you, if you make this recipe you'll be glad you did. Unless you have a nut allergy because it's full of ground nuts, but otherwise, try it out. And you have to let me know what you think because they're so good. And I don't mean I'm not advertising for the minimalist Baker. I don't work for her but I found this woman at her and her husband actually make these dishes and they're so good. Everything I've tried from her. I found her on Instagram. I don't know how long the

15:00
Go. And so when I'm sitting around, you know, browsing through food porn, she's one of my go to people because simple, easy to prepare stuff. But every recipe that I've tried is super good. And you know, I'm a big advocate of incorporating more plant based foods as cancer survivors, that's so important to support our health doesn't mean you have to be a vegan, doesn't mean you have to be a vegetarian. It just opens up more opportunities for you to incorporate these healthier plant based foods as a part of whatever nutrition plan you choose to follow. So check it out.

15:38
All right, so there's a lot of fantastic resources out there that can make the struggle to eat delicious food while supporting your health and managing your weight a lot easier. So try something new. I've also posted a link to one of my most favorite or your Vedic companies, which I've talked about before Banyan Botanicals. And they have a fantastic article on chocolate from the RU Vedic perspective that I just love. I'll post a link to that. And it includes a recipe for making your own chocolate at home. So definitely check it out and try one of these new things today on national chocolate time. Okay, now let's get to one of my favorite things herbal medicine, we're going to talk about an herb that you can use to help manage your weight to manage blood sugar, but before we talk about it, please please please know this herb does not take the place of any medication your doctor has given you to manage symptoms of diabetes or metabolic syndrome. And if you're taking medications to manage your blood sugar please please please discuss with your physician before ever taking this herb. Herbs are a very powerful medicine. And this one Gymnema sylvestre definitely, definitely falls into that category of a powerful herb so use it wisely and use it safely do your research and discuss it with your physician. Okay, chimney missile vestra is the plant name in it is known by several other names, including shouter, Nika and Grimoire. Kumar, which means it's the destroyer of sugar sometimes you'll hear destroys the sweet taste in our uvita Gamar is used to treat obesity and diabetes, among other things. So gymnemic also vestra is a climbing shrub and it's native to Indian Africa and the leaves of the plant are what is used for this for these medicinal purposes. Studies show that gymnemic bestride not only ruins the sweet taste on the tongue, and I'll go into that in a minute. But studies show that it blocks the absorption of sugar in the intestine, and that it may increase the production of insulin by stimulating the growth of cells in the pancreas that are responsible for insulin production. So we know blood sugar management is always that two sided coin between increases in the blood sugar that can be a lot to do with diet and diet obviously has a tremendous impact and also insulin production or lack of insulin production. So in 2001, a small study that was published in diabetes and control newsletter showed that taking 400 milligrams of gymnemic vestra twice a day for 90 days resulted in an average of an 11% lower blood sugar level prior to eating, and the 13% average lower blood sugar level two hours after eating for the participants in the study, and also lowered the HPA one C levels, which is a measure of the average blood sugar level over the past two to three months. So you can see why this herb from this evidence would be helpful in supporting weight loss, and also why it can be dangerous to start taking it if you're already on medication to manage your blood sugar. That's why it's really important to talk to your doctor before using this herb. You don't want to risk lowering your blood sugar too much and endangering yourself safety first always. Other studies have shown that gymnemic vestra has an effect on lowering blood fat triglycerides, and low density lipoproteins, which is the bad cholesterol that we always want to keep in check. In a 2014 article in biomed Research International, it not only talks about the benefits of gymnemic Avesta, which range from treating arthritis because it's got a lot of anti inflammatory qualities, high cholesterol, asthma, indigestion, but it also lays out the chemical profiling of Gymnema sylvestre. And how when scientists started to look at that and examine why it was used the way it was used in Ayurveda for so many 1000s of years. And they started to break down and evaluate this plant we actually laid the foundation for the development of met

20:00
format, which is a drug used to manage blood sugar in cases of metabolic syndrome and type two diabetes commonly used not always, but commonly, as you do some research and I hope you do research and to this herb you should always make informed decisions, you will read that there is insufficient information and more research needs to be done and conducted on gymnemic of Astra. And that's because it's hard to standardize the use of an herb. So Jemima Sylvester that's grown in India may have different chemical components and constituents at different levels than Jen nemus Avesta that's grown in Africa, the soil, the weather, the seasons, everything affects the health and the molecular components of a plant. Whereas if a lab dissects that plant, and then finds the part that they believe are active, and that are impacting human health, like Grimoire, in which is an amino acid peptide in Jiminy missile vestra, then they can take that piece of it and develop a pharmaceutical drug. And then that drug can be standardized. So each time you take the pill, you know, how much of the active ingredient is in it, and how much you're actually consuming. And then that drug can be tested over and over and over and the results can be observed. And that's why it's so much easier to recommend using a pharmaceutical, then the plant that the pharmaceutical drug may have been founded on right make sense. So, of course, we also know that if the plant itself is something that you can use safely and effectively, then you don't have the same side effects. Step one we do commonly get with prescription drugs. So let's talk for a minute on how gymnemic vestra blocks the sweet taste on the tongue. There's a huge difference in the approach to using herbs in Ayurveda, versus how we take a supplement in America. In the Western culture, we have a tendency to take our herbs and capsules because we don't like things that don't taste good. And I'm totally guilty of that. Whereas in our VEDA herbs are often taken mixed with honey, or ghee clerk, which is clarified butter, or they're made into a tincture or some other concoction where they come into direct contact with the tongue. And the thought process here is that when you expose your tastebuds to a substance, so you actually taste that substance, that signals your body to start the process of digesting the substance that you just tasted. It's an innate intelligence thing, we taste bitter or sweet, or whatever it might be in our body says, Oh, here's what we need in order to digest that. And we start making all those good digestive enzymes and whatever else is needed to eat that substance. So in the case of giroir, Gymnema sylvestre, one of its constituents is called gymnemic acid in it is extremely bitter. And it actually blocks the sugar receptors on your tongue, it goes to those same receptors, that sense of sweet. So if you're considering eating something sweet, something sugary, and you put a little bit of Grimoire powder on your tongue, or you mix half a teaspoon of it, and water and you drink it, trust me, you will not want to eat a cookie after that is some intense stuff. But then, if you're anything like me, you also won't ever put that Grimoire on your tongue or drink it like that, again, because that's just not how we work in this culture. For the most part, you taste something and it's awful. It's really hard to keep going back and putting that awful thing on your tongue again. So if you have that kind of discipline to continue to do that more power to you, I'm telling you, I don't have it. And as much as I love herbal medicine, I hate things that taste gross. So I'll try it once I have the experience. So I can talk about it, tell you what it tastes like. But if I have to take it straight, the next time I want a cookie, let's be real, it's just not going to happen. But that's not the end of the world. Because you still get all of the internal benefits of the herb by taking it in capsule form. And I'll share a little trick with you that I learned in our VEDA college to give you that benefit of having the taste on the tongue as well. And this is something that I can actually tolerate. So you open one or two gel caps or if you buy Gymnema sylvestre which you can get it in bags and I'll put a link to that in the show notes. You can buy it in bulk, so you just buy it as a loose powder. And then you put a little bit of that powder over the capsules. And you just kind of shake it up in the bottle or in a baggie so that the powder itself kind of sticks to the outside of those capsules and

25:00
That way, you don't have too much of the very, very bitter powder on your tongue. But you do get a taste of it. So you do start that you initiate that process of digestion of telling your body, here's what's coming down the pipes. But you don't have to suffer through having an entire gob of it on your tongue. So I know you're thinking, will this make me lose weight? Right, of course, you're thinking that I think that and it can help you lose weight. And it's used in many studies to support weight loss, because controlling blood sugar supports weight loss. But let's talk about that for a moment. Controlling your blood sugar and your insulin levels is a mechanism that supports weight management. And if you take gymnema, it reduces your cravings for sweets, so then you're also reducing your calorie intake. But weight loss, especially after cancer and over 40 and postmenopausal is no simple thing. So if your physician says it's safe for you to use this herb, and you use it as part of the healthy lifestyle plan, then it can support weight loss. More importantly, though, I would suggest that you focus on the healthy lifestyle piece. Because when we shift our focus, and our goals to implementing healthy practices, then we get all the benefits from that, which often include weight loss, and yes, Gymnema sylvestre if it's safe for you to take and be a part of that healthy lifestyle practice. But creating those healthy lifestyle habits takes us a step further from just weight loss and includes less inflammation, more energy, less pain, less frustration, because your measurement isn't the scale or the needle on the scale. Your measurement is the creation and the implementation of healthy practices. And that's more fun to measure too. Because you can say, Oh, wow, I went on a bike ride over here for five miles. And I haven't done that in this long. So this is a wonderful sense of accomplishment. And more engagement in life comes from that focus on healthy lifestyle practices, versus just focusing on weight loss. Okay, so go out today, and enjoy a new chocolate recipe as part of your healthy lifestyle. And send me a message to get into the drawing to win a river five membership. That's a $257 value free, and I can't wait to share it with at least eight of you. I'll announce the winners on January 11. And remember, if you're listening to this podcast, you enjoy the episode you enjoy the information you hear on the breast cancer recovery coach, subscribe to it now right there where you're listening to it, just hit the subscribe button, or tell Siri you want to subscribe to it so that you never miss an episode and you never miss any of the fun promotions that you'll hear from time to time, especially through the month of July where I am celebrating and I want to put as much great stuff out there for you guys to be able to celebrate with me because each month each year every day of surviving one more day after having had cancer is a celebration that should be honored. So thank you so much for listening. I look forward to hearing from you. And I'll talk to you again next week. Until then, be good to yourself and eat some delicious chocolate. Use the courage to the test laid all your doubts

28:44
your mind is clearer than before your heart is full and wanting more your futures

28:55
you

28:57
know

28:59
you've been waiting on

29:06
this