Food Addictions And The Upcoming Eating Season
Alcohol, Drugs, and Tobacco. All of these are known to be addictive. Have you ever considered that food can be as addictive as an
y of the Big three?
Ponder this: Up until the holiday season started (for some people that starts on Halloween and for some Thanksgiving) you had been able to stick with your diets with reasonable ease. However, when your ‘trigger date’ arrived, you went into the day with the best of intentions, only to find that by noon or for sure by early evening you had eaten more food than you had in the previous week.
Vowing to get it together starting the following day…you went to bed with a stomach bloated with food and your head full of remorse.
The following day you woke with a gnawing hunger and wonder how that could be because you had eaten so much yesterday you should still be full. You’re determined to get back on track.
You step into the kitchen and see the remainder of the goodies on the serving plate…and unbelievably, you swear you can hear them calling your name!
With very little resistance you take 1/2 a cookie…hmmmm, still tastes pretty good. Then, almost without thought, the rest of the plate is consumed. Once again, remorse and regret step in to keep you company. You ask yourself, “How am I ever going to get back on track?”
What has happened here is a clear picture of how addicting sugar and refined carbs can be. They constantly are playing with your body’s digestive system and its chemistry. Sugar is known to increase the naturally occurring ‘feel good’ drug, dopamine, in the brain.
This starts off a very simple vicious circle. Sugar is ingested – dopamine (and blood sugar) goes up (hyperglycemia). As your body produces more insulin than is necessary to process the sugar your body creates a low blood sugar -low dopamine- (hypoglycemia) condition in your brain. Your brain says…MORE SUGAR! Unless you realize that this chemical reaction is taking place in your brain and body and recognize the cycle that has started, you reach for your next sweet.
A large percentage of doctors and researchers feel that sugar and refined carbs aren’t addictive. I beg to disagree. With only the knowledge that I have read about how the body reacts when sugar is ingested, and analyzing how my own body reacts when I eat sugar and refined carbs, I know they are addicting. Once I start eating sweets I can’t seem to stop until the plate is empty!
The easy solution to avoid the addicting tendencies of sugar and refined carbs is to avoid foods that contain them. This will stop your blood sugar (glucose) from swinging from high to low which results in cravings.
However, if you do decide to eat them, research has shown that if they are consumed along with a higher fiber containing food, digestion slows, resulting in a steadier blood sugar level.
Awareness is needed to stop the cycle once it has started. It is necessary to be conscious of what is taking place in your brain and body. With awareness, you will be able to step away, regroup your thoughts, and break the sugar-induced cycle of behavior.
As you go into the Eating Season remember that I Create My Life Today. Start each morning with that realization. Make a plan ~ decide what you are going to do before temptation comes knocking.
Peace & Love
Janna Lynn
Putting the pieces in place to create a life
filled with Health, Wealth, Wisdom & Fun.