Contrary to what many people believe, sugar can be as addictive as any drug. While you fortunately can't die of an overdose on sugar, you definitely can be trapped in a powerful addiction to sugar that you might find nearly impossible to break and that may take a severe toll on your health over the years.In fact addiction is a complex phenomena, involving both physiological and psychological components. When you respond to your sugar craving by eating sugar, the neurotransmitter dopamine is released in your brain in much the same way that dangerous and addictive drugs cause dopamine to be released. Dopamine is involved both in providing us with those little rushes of pleasure that make life worthwhile, but also in causing the brain to initiate movement towards the things that give us that pleasure.[]
The scary truth is that sugar is found in all carbohydrates, not just table sugar. Whether it's an apple or a biscuit, a tomato or a slice of bread, once it has been chewed, swallowed and digested it is released into the bloodstream as sugar. This means that all carbohydrates have the potential to be addictive, depending on how quickly they enter the bloodstream as sugar.Whilst some carbohydrates break down into sugar and enter the blood very slowly (low glycaemic carbs), other carbohydrates break down into sugar and enter the blood very quickly (high glycaemic carbs). You won't be surprised to find out that the carbohydrates that have the fastest and biggest impact on blood sugar levels are refined pasta, bread, potato, alcohol and 'empty foods' (sweets, biscuits and cakes) - all the foods we turn to when we're feeling low, stressed or in need of a pick me up. Food companies have also been spending years researching ways to make these foods deliver the sugar even quicker, making them hyper-addictive and ultimately more profitable.
David Kessler, former head of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), claims that manufacturers seek to trigger a 'bliss point' when people eat certain products.It is time to stop blaming individuals for being overweight or obese. The real problem is we have created a world where food is always available and where that food is designed to make you want to eat more of it. For millions of people, modern food is simply impossible to resist - Junk food triggers our 'bliss point', The Sunday Times, June 28th 2009.
Signs and symptoms you're a sugar addict.Up to 60% or more of your diet is made up of high glycaemic carbs.You have strong cravings for sweet, sugary foods throughout the day.You struggle to give up bread, chocolate, alcohol and sugary drinks.You often finish whole packets of sweets or biscuits in one sitting.You serve yourself extra portions of rice or pasta even when you're full.You finish leftover bread, rice or pasta from other people's plates.You buy chocolate or sweets for your family but eat them yourself.When you are denied access to sugary foods you become irritable and low.When you eat sugary foods after withdrawal just one piece triggers a binge.The moment you eat sugary foods after withdrawal you feel an instant rush.
If you find it hard to eat fruit, as I used to (partly because if you eat a lot of artificially-sweet things like chocolate and ice-cream, fruit will not taste very sweet to you), try making fruit salads. Chop up your favorite fruits, mix them together and enjoy a generously-sized bowl every day.Be aware that fruit varies in quality, so you may need to hunt around to find fruit that's to your taste. Not all apples are created equal! Also make sure your fruit is ripe before you consume it. You may need to leave fruit in your kitchen to ripen for a few days after buying.
If you find preparing fruit boring, experiment with finding the fastest ways to prepare salads (you should be able to get preparation time down to around 5-10 minutes with a little practice), and get into the habit of preparing them at the same time every day. You can keep a fruit salad reasonably fresh all day in an air-tight plastic container. Even fruits like apples and bananas, which turn brown if chopped and left out in the air, will remain fairly fresh if mixed with juicy fruits such as chopped oranges or grapes and sealed in an air-tight sandwich box.
Good combinations to try for fruit salads are:apple, banana, orange,melon, grapes, banana,Peach, orange, melon Don't be tempted to use canned fruit. For reasons that I don't understand, it just doesn't seem to curb sugar cravings in the same way. And as for dried fruit -- stay off it! It is so high in sugar that it may make your cravings worse.You also have to be careful of fruit smoothies, which can be high calorie if mixed with cream. However, sometimes when I find myself back in the grip of a strong addiction, I like to use the 'nuclear option' of banana milkshakes to help get myself off sugar. Use a kitchen blender to blend ripe bananas with semi-skimmed milk. You can also freeze ripe bananas and blend them while still semi-frozen for a deliciously-sweet drink that tastes so good you won't believe it's good for you.Alongside consuming fruit daily, also consider getting aerobic exercise. Aerobic, or cardiovascular exercise ("cardio") has powerful appetite-suppressing and craving-suppressing effects. Amazingly, recent studies show that this type of exercise even causes parts of your brain to grow in size, leading to higher mental acuity.
Sugar Is as Addictive as Cocaine.Studies show that sugar activates reward centers in the brain very similar to cocaine. It's time to take control of your health. You have the choice. The craving for carbs like bread and pasta creates the same response as eating sugar. When you eat high calorie carbohydrates like a plate of pasta, it leads to spikes in blood sugar followed by the inevitable crash which leads to more cravings for carbs.
Why Manage Sugar Addiction.The good news is that if you lower your consumption of sugar, you will also lower your risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. But for many of us, this is easier said than done. Most Americans eat and drink sweets without giving much thought to damaging effects it has on the body. This is why you need to end your sugar addiction starting now!
To help deal with your cravings psychologically, try to replace your regular sugar consumption with doing something else enjoyable instead. Watch TV or play computer games if you have to; do whatever you need to, to get through the first difficult couple of weeks of craving.If you are overweight, ask yourself whether you want that chocolate bar or you want to be thin. You probably can't have both. Don't allow yourself to think that you can defer the challenge indefinitely; recognize that your cravings have to be faced head-on. If you particularly crave sugar at certain times of the day, brace yourself for a battle.If you prepare sufficiently by eating fruit and preferably exercising too, you can reduce your cravings to a manageable level, then you can start winning your battle with your cravings. After a few weeks you won't even remember why you had such terrible problems in the first place.Change Your Life Scientifically.Break sugar addiction, lose weight, ditch your boss or move to another country.At Fascinating Experiments we discuss how to gain control of your life so that you can do the things that you want to do.Among other things, we look at ways of making money at home, how to get more money in your existing job, how to change career, and how to lose weight and increase your energy levels; with a focus on concrete steps you can take without spending any money and without signing up to dubious programs or buying dubious products.
[Sugar Addiction Treatment]
The scary truth is that sugar is found in all carbohydrates, not just table sugar. Whether it's an apple or a biscuit, a tomato or a slice of bread, once it has been chewed, swallowed and digested it is released into the bloodstream as sugar. This means that all carbohydrates have the potential to be addictive, depending on how quickly they enter the bloodstream as sugar.Whilst some carbohydrates break down into sugar and enter the blood very slowly (low glycaemic carbs), other carbohydrates break down into sugar and enter the blood very quickly (high glycaemic carbs). You won't be surprised to find out that the carbohydrates that have the fastest and biggest impact on blood sugar levels are refined pasta, bread, potato, alcohol and 'empty foods' (sweets, biscuits and cakes) - all the foods we turn to when we're feeling low, stressed or in need of a pick me up. Food companies have also been spending years researching ways to make these foods deliver the sugar even quicker, making them hyper-addictive and ultimately more profitable.
David Kessler, former head of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), claims that manufacturers seek to trigger a 'bliss point' when people eat certain products.It is time to stop blaming individuals for being overweight or obese. The real problem is we have created a world where food is always available and where that food is designed to make you want to eat more of it. For millions of people, modern food is simply impossible to resist - Junk food triggers our 'bliss point', The Sunday Times, June 28th 2009.
Signs and symptoms you're a sugar addict.Up to 60% or more of your diet is made up of high glycaemic carbs.You have strong cravings for sweet, sugary foods throughout the day.You struggle to give up bread, chocolate, alcohol and sugary drinks.You often finish whole packets of sweets or biscuits in one sitting.You serve yourself extra portions of rice or pasta even when you're full.You finish leftover bread, rice or pasta from other people's plates.You buy chocolate or sweets for your family but eat them yourself.When you are denied access to sugary foods you become irritable and low.When you eat sugary foods after withdrawal just one piece triggers a binge.The moment you eat sugary foods after withdrawal you feel an instant rush.
If you find it hard to eat fruit, as I used to (partly because if you eat a lot of artificially-sweet things like chocolate and ice-cream, fruit will not taste very sweet to you), try making fruit salads. Chop up your favorite fruits, mix them together and enjoy a generously-sized bowl every day.Be aware that fruit varies in quality, so you may need to hunt around to find fruit that's to your taste. Not all apples are created equal! Also make sure your fruit is ripe before you consume it. You may need to leave fruit in your kitchen to ripen for a few days after buying.
If you find preparing fruit boring, experiment with finding the fastest ways to prepare salads (you should be able to get preparation time down to around 5-10 minutes with a little practice), and get into the habit of preparing them at the same time every day. You can keep a fruit salad reasonably fresh all day in an air-tight plastic container. Even fruits like apples and bananas, which turn brown if chopped and left out in the air, will remain fairly fresh if mixed with juicy fruits such as chopped oranges or grapes and sealed in an air-tight sandwich box.
Good combinations to try for fruit salads are:apple, banana, orange,melon, grapes, banana,Peach, orange, melon Don't be tempted to use canned fruit. For reasons that I don't understand, it just doesn't seem to curb sugar cravings in the same way. And as for dried fruit -- stay off it! It is so high in sugar that it may make your cravings worse.You also have to be careful of fruit smoothies, which can be high calorie if mixed with cream. However, sometimes when I find myself back in the grip of a strong addiction, I like to use the 'nuclear option' of banana milkshakes to help get myself off sugar. Use a kitchen blender to blend ripe bananas with semi-skimmed milk. You can also freeze ripe bananas and blend them while still semi-frozen for a deliciously-sweet drink that tastes so good you won't believe it's good for you.Alongside consuming fruit daily, also consider getting aerobic exercise. Aerobic, or cardiovascular exercise ("cardio") has powerful appetite-suppressing and craving-suppressing effects. Amazingly, recent studies show that this type of exercise even causes parts of your brain to grow in size, leading to higher mental acuity.
Sugar Is as Addictive as Cocaine.Studies show that sugar activates reward centers in the brain very similar to cocaine. It's time to take control of your health. You have the choice. The craving for carbs like bread and pasta creates the same response as eating sugar. When you eat high calorie carbohydrates like a plate of pasta, it leads to spikes in blood sugar followed by the inevitable crash which leads to more cravings for carbs.
Why Manage Sugar Addiction.The good news is that if you lower your consumption of sugar, you will also lower your risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. But for many of us, this is easier said than done. Most Americans eat and drink sweets without giving much thought to damaging effects it has on the body. This is why you need to end your sugar addiction starting now!
To help deal with your cravings psychologically, try to replace your regular sugar consumption with doing something else enjoyable instead. Watch TV or play computer games if you have to; do whatever you need to, to get through the first difficult couple of weeks of craving.If you are overweight, ask yourself whether you want that chocolate bar or you want to be thin. You probably can't have both. Don't allow yourself to think that you can defer the challenge indefinitely; recognize that your cravings have to be faced head-on. If you particularly crave sugar at certain times of the day, brace yourself for a battle.If you prepare sufficiently by eating fruit and preferably exercising too, you can reduce your cravings to a manageable level, then you can start winning your battle with your cravings. After a few weeks you won't even remember why you had such terrible problems in the first place.Change Your Life Scientifically.Break sugar addiction, lose weight, ditch your boss or move to another country.At Fascinating Experiments we discuss how to gain control of your life so that you can do the things that you want to do.Among other things, we look at ways of making money at home, how to get more money in your existing job, how to change career, and how to lose weight and increase your energy levels; with a focus on concrete steps you can take without spending any money and without signing up to dubious programs or buying dubious products.
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