A Dose of Sweetness 🌿

Hi Reader,

The taste of sweetness is a favorite for most, myself included. I mean, how many people you know have a sweet tooth or admit to having sugar addictions? I know more than I can count!

And there's many reasons why we love sugar. Sugar is energy. It's fuel that we need to make energy for bodily function. We also all know that too much sugar consumption can lead to medical conditions such as diabetes mellitus from insulin resistance.

However, why do we crave sugar so much?

The Science: The Gut-Brain Axis

Science points to the gut-brain axis for the answer. The taste of sweetness activates the reward center in our brains thanks to dopamine, a brain hormone, being released as we enjoy that sugar rush. Then, there's the signals for sugar from the gut microbiome. Harmful microflora like to thrive from simple carbs and sugar, and this can lead to GI imbalances in the microbiome such as dysbiosis, GERD, gastritis, and more.

Ok, great to know. But it doesn't just stop there. Here are three more root causes I see regularly in clinical practice:

Blood Sugar Dysregulation. When blood sugar spikes and crashes throughout the day — triggered by skipping meals, refined carbohydrates, or caffeine on an empty stomach — your brain sends urgent signals for quick energy. The craving isn't greed; it's your body trying to stabilize itself. The fix is not restriction — it's rhythm.

Mineral Depletion. Chromium, magnesium, and zinc all play direct roles in insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism. When these minerals are low — common in people eating a modern diet — sweet cravings intensify. This is one reason the green juice I'm sharing today is so clinically relevant: it's not just hydrating, it's mineralizing.

Chronic Stress & Cortisol. Cortisol directly increases blood sugar and drives cravings for sweet and high-calorie foods. Your nervous system doesn't know the difference between a predator and a packed schedule. Managing the sweet tooth without managing stress is like bailing water without patching the boat.

The Mind-Spirit: The Energetic Imprint of Craving Sweets

What about the mind-spirit or energetic imprint of craving sweets?

As a Tikar African-Indigenous woman, I see another cause of sugar cravings worth considering.

Your sweet tooth can also come from needing to make life feel less bitter by eating sweet tastes. Have you ever noticed that we usually crave sweets when we're either very happy or emotionally stressed? There is an emotional link, which is also an energy link. The energetics of duality support the concept of balancing the bitter with the sweet.

I found this cause to be incredibly true for many instances, including my own. During weeks I'm feeling highly stressed and anxious — or another way to say it, when life feels bitter and sour — I start to crave sweeter foods. It's more than just a dopamine hit when I eat it. It feels like medicine in that moment. A way to feel there is something still sweet and feel-good even when in the midst of difficult times.

So What's the Cure?

You.

The cure is You.

Life can feel like a cycle of bitter because we practice perceiving it as bitter. Yes, shit happens, but it's also how we handle it that determines how things end or what happens next.

If you're craving sweets, ask yourself: what's the bitter that you're trying to lessen?

How can you alchemize that bitter into an opportunity for growth, joy, and healing?

The bitter is showing you what's not aligning for you. Don't ignore it. Observe it and seek to understand why it feels uncomfortable in order to understand the answer to accessing your sweetness.

A Dose of Medicine 🌿

ATRS* & AA-Medicine

In ATRS & African-American healing practices, there's the practice of putting a little honey or piece of candy on your tongue and saying positive affirmations to speak the Sweetness into your life.

Try it the next time you need to sweeten the bitter.

* ATRS = African Traditional Religions

Three Daily Practices to Tame the Sweet Tooth

1. Eat within an hour of waking. A protein-forward breakfast — eggs, nut butter, a savory smoothie — anchors your blood sugar before the day destabilizes it. Skipping breakfast is one of the fastest paths to afternoon sugar cravings.

2. Never eat sweet foods alone. Always pair them with protein, fat, or fiber. An apple with almond butter. Dark chocolate after a meal, not before. This slows glucose absorption and prevents the spike-crash cycle that drives the next craving.

3. Add bitter foods to your daily diet. Dandelion greens, arugula, radicchio, lemon zest, unsweetened cacao. Bitterness is the taste most missing from the Western modern diet — and one of the most powerful natural regulators of sweet craving. When you train your palate to appreciate bitter and green, the pull toward sweet naturally softens over time.

Dr. Ray's Prescription: The Green Machine Juice 🥦

One of the most powerful things you can do to begin resetting your palate is to flood your body with a living mineral tonic first thing in the morning — before cravings have a chance to take hold. This juice is rich in chlorophyll, trace minerals, digestive enzymes, and natural bitter compounds that signal your liver to detoxify and your gut to rebalance.

This recipe makes approximately 64 ounces — a half gallon. Juice once a week and drink a glass each morning. That's seven days of medicine from one session.

Dr. Ray's Recipe

The Green Machine Juice

Ingredients

1 whole bunch of celery
2–4 cucumbers — or substitute dark green zucchini if good cucumbers are hard to find
1 bunch of fresh parsley
1 lemon, peeled
1 handful dandelion greens and/or kale
1 green apple
1–2 inch piece of fresh ginger root
Optional: add filtered water to dilute bitterness and stretch the batch to a full half gallon

Instructions

Wash all produce thoroughly.
Run all ingredients through a masticating (cold-press) juicer for maximum nutrient retention. A centrifugal juicer works too — just drink it a little faster.
If the flavor is very bitter at first, add filtered water gradually until it feels right for you. That's the medicine working. The green apple, cucumber, and lemon provide natural balance.
Drink one glass immediately on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning.
Store the remainder in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Shake or stir before each pour.

🌿 Dr. Ray's Tip: Juice once on Sunday and you're set for the entire week. A wide-mouth quart mason jar works beautifully for storage.

Why It Works

Celery — natural sodium, blood pressure support, anti-inflammatory
Cucumber / Zucchini — deep hydration, silica for skin and connective tissue
Parsley — kidney tonic, rich in vitamin K and chlorophyll
Lemon — liver activation, alkalizing, vitamin C
Dandelion greens / Kale — bitter compounds that regulate appetite and support bile flow
Green apple — prebiotic fiber, gentle natural sweetness, malic acid
Ginger root — digestive fire, anti-inflammatory, blood sugar support

Sweeten the Healthy Way

Here are other ways to enjoy sweetness with a healthier twist:

Dr. Ray's Chocolate Chip Cookies 🍪

These aren't actually "healthy" but they are made with love and taste delicious. Eat sparingly 😉

Ingredients

113g softened pasture-raised butter or plant-based butter alternative
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1/2 cup dark organic brown sugar
Assorted spices: clove, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg — just a hint of each for extra flavor
1 egg, room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract
125g flour — any AP flour works, or use brown rice flour blend for gluten-free & extra fiber
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 bag 70% dark chocolate chips or cacao nibs

Instructions

Cream butter and sugar.
Add the spices to taste.
Add in egg and vanilla extract.
Slowly mix in flour, baking soda, and salt.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Chill the dough for 30 min in freezer or 1 hour in refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 350°F and bake for 10–12 minutes. Watch closely until edges are lightly brown and center is set.

Speaking of Sweets — A Summer Gift Just for This Village 🌿

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Questions? Reach me at ray@drraynd.com

Want to go deeper? Over on Dr. Ray UnFiltered, I go beyond the newsletter — deeper clinical protocols, real patient case studies, ancestral nutrition deep dives, and the unfiltered conversations about health that don't always fit a polished format. It's $8/month and the village over there is growing. Come join us.

Thank you for reading!

Asé 🙏🏾

P.S. — The green juice works best with a masticating (cold-press) juicer, which preserves the live enzymes and minerals. If you don't have one yet, a regular juicer still works — just drink it immediately. Your body will thank you either way. 🌿