Weekly Vlog: Top-Down Processing
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- Опубліковано 12 бер 2024
- A Bright Liner named Katie recently sent me a message with a great question. She wanted to know if, when you make Bright Line-compliant foods that would normally have sugar and flour-but you’re making them without-the brain has the ability to “fill in the blanks.” In other words, will the brain trick the body into creating the illusion of flour and sugar, so that it produces higher levels of insulin?
That’s exactly how it works. The brain does this all the time. It’s called top-down processing.
For all sensory perceptions, there are two main forms of processing: bottom-up and top-down. Bottom-up processing is what you might imagine: the brain takes in information-for example, through the retina, if it’s visual stimuli-and processes this to build the image from the bottom up.
But it turns out the brain has another way of working, where it gallops ahead and uses beliefs, expectations, and knowledge projected onto what it is perceiving. This is top-down processing. It’s where the brain makes assumptions and fills in the blanks, even if it doesn’t have a full picture in front of it.
But the brain isn’t always going to be right when it does this. So, for example, if someone mashes butternut squash and adds pumpkin pie spice to it, as far as the brain is concerned, it’s pumpkin pie. And it will respond accordingly as if you were actually eating pumpkin pie.
This is part of the reason why people don’t lose weight when they drink diet soda. The brain assumes you’re drinking sugar, and it releases insulin accordingly. Even with stevia or monk fruit, the total insulin released over a day is equivalent to what would be released if you’d consumed sucrose.
What this means for your Bright Line journey is that it’s prudent to be careful around look-alike foods.
It turns out that gaming the system, which people have been trying to do with diet soda for years, doesn’t work. You really do need to eat simple, nutritious whole foods, and not something that’s mocked up to resemble something else.
In Bright Line Eating, we’re not judging people who are, say, making cauliflower pizza without flour. But there’s science behind why this might not be a great idea, depending on your experience and Susceptibility Score.
If you’re a five or six on the Susceptibility Scale, and you’ve figured out a way to make cauliflower pizza part of your regular life, that’s fine. Even if you’re a ten, if it works for you, fine.
But if you’re eating cauliflower pizza and you’re not in your Bright body or are having a hard time keeping your lines Bright-this may be why.
Top-down processing is very powerful. It even results in heroin addicts overdosing with their typical dose, if they consume it in a different environment or without their knowledge. The conditioned tolerance response that the body launches when the usual sequence of events happens (two $20 bills in the hand … finding the dealer … getting the bindle of powder … cooking it up with a spoon…) literally results in the addict being able to absorb a larger dose of heroin without overdosing. In the absence of this sequence of events (e.g., shooting someone up while they are sleeping), the result can be death. On the same dose. Top-down processing is not to be taken lightly-it affects our physiology in powerful ways.
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This is so interesting. I have a book (somewhere) that references addiction and when the "preparation phase" actually begins. This man's work discovered that the clients he worked with, actually began to feel the "high" when they made the decision to use. Whether that was a dopamine surge knowing that the high was coming, or an adrenaline boost for the same reason or both, I don't remember but it was fascinating. Their bodies were most definitely filling in the blanks ahead of time.
What you said is so true. If the things you are eating to replace other things such as cauliflower mashed potatoes or pizza are working for your plan, don’t even worry about it. But this vlog would be delving deeper to take a look at IF you are eating these things and they are not working for you or you notice more cravings after eating them or that type of thing… makes a lot of sense.
That was great. Information is Power. You helped me understand futility of certain food products, because of how our brains work. Thank you so much 🙏🏼
This is why I don’t make the plant cheeses anymore ! It’s helped me lose my connection with cheese in general which is NMF!
We're so glad you were able to make that connection for yourself! 💖
This is amazing!!! Celebrated my Day 200 (recommitted) yesterday! 🎉 And stayed Bright. 😊
Way to go!!! 🌟🧡🥰
As always .......brilliant. What a wealth of information.
Oh thank you! 🥰
So true Susan, I've seen it happen, my x brother in law was passed out from drugs and alcohole and his friends wanted him to awake and party with them, they shot meth into him and he went into a diabetic coma and died. So sad.
How tragic. We are sorry to hear that. Sending you love 💖
How awful, so sorry 😢
So if my brain is still creating the same glucose spike after my daily stevia-sweetened coffee and Mio water, wouldn't this show in elevated blood glucose tests or my A1c? Because it's not elevated... it's low and has been low for the last three years that I've remained off sugar and flour.
Hi debbieray535,iIn the medical field, there's a saying that the dose creates the poison. By getting off all sugar and all flour and having still a small amount of Stevia in coffee or Mio water, you have taken the dose of insulin and glucose disrupting substances down low enough that your body is able to tolerate it. If you are not experiencing food cravings or food chatter to an extent that bothers you, you may have hit an equilibrium that's working. 🧡
Is there a link to this study? Because I’ve been searching for scientific evidence of this for stevia, but haven’t encountered it.
Great question! 👍Here you go: www.nature.com/articles/ijo2016225
Me too!
I guess this means I'll need to cut out Stevia, and Good Earth tea. I also need to stop using 1/2 and 1/2 in my coffee. I'm 6 weeks off if sugar and flour, no binge foods and making my way to complete bright line eating.
Way to go! 🧡🧡
Good Earth tea?? I don't see sugar there? Help me?
It's really sweet.
We have those horrible robots in Giant grocery stores. They are terrifying and block old ppl on their ride-on carts and break down constantly. Once he stopped in front of me and started flashing and beeping - I was freaking out!!!!! Lol!
Susan, can you shoot a vlog about Stevia? Or is THIS the vlog about Stevia?!?!?
Hi there, we welcome you to submit your vlog idea here if you don't think this vlog covers what you're looking for: www.brightlineeating.com/vlog-ideas/ Thanks for reaching out! ❤
I would have said The CHAT
This runs contrary to the studies on ppl wearing continuous glucose monitors showing no spike in glucose after ingesting stevia, monk fruit, erythritol, and some others. I just can’t get onboard with this unless I see the studies. Leaders in the field of nutrition do not agree with her statement, and they approve of the sweeteners I mentioned for diabetics.
Hi there, here is the study if you would like to read it: www.nature.com/articles/ijo2016225 📖
There is evidence (cannot cite the scientific abstracts off the top of my head) that these substances can cause an increase in insulin, because the sweet taste on the tongue can trigger that. The body does not yet know that the sweet flavor is not connected to an increase in glucose* so it mobilizes the troops to prepare to normalize blood sugar when the glucose hits...except it never does with these things. Increased insulin can lead to increased fat storage and it seems a bad idea to divorce the process of insulin release** from glucose ingestion when it's not needed. It would be interesting to see a study on the insulin levels rather than glucose levels when these things are ingested. There has recently been a large, negative study on erythritol having nothing to do with blood sugar, but since it is naturally occurring in plants, the trouble lies with the fact that it is now highly processed and available as a food additive...turned into a white powder like sugar and flour! A small serving of low glycemic fresh fruit would much better serve a person if they would like a sweet taste and they come with all those lovely antioxidants, not to mention some fiber. I understand this would not apply to everyone, all type 2 diabetics would have to determine what's right for them. However, if someone cannot handle a small amount of low glycemic fruit, I would seriously investigate chromium/vanadium deficiency. These trace minerals in particular are frequently depleted in diabetics.
Thanks to BLE for providing the link to the study referenced in the vlog.
* meaning after various kinds of natural sugars in whole foods are converted into glucose
* this would vary from person to person, depending on individual's sensitivity