Addicted to Sugar?steemCreated with Sketch.

in #philosophy7 years ago (edited)

I know what you're thinking. Sugar has no substance that's addictive. But it is possible and this is why...

There was recently confirmed that sugar is 8 times more addictive than cocaine itself. As sugar enters your bloodstream it releases the hormone, dopamine, (the feel good hormone) only a short period of time.

Quiz: Are you addicted to sugar?

Answer the following question honestly with a yes or no

  • Is it difficult for you to stop eating fast food, sweets or junk food?
  • Do you ever feel ashamed about your eating ways?
  • Are you still hungry after eating a full meal?
  • Eating one piece of cake, do you often find yourself back for more?
  • Is it impossible to stick to a healthier diet?
  • Can you eat sweets/junk food  till you're overfull?
  • When you feel upset/sad/bad do you find you that you need more sweet foods to feel better?
  • Do you hide the wrappers of sweets and chocolates you ate secretly, so no one would find out?
  • Do you feel it necessary to eat something sweet after a meal?

If you answered yes to 4 or more question you could be addicted to sugar.

Sugar fuels your brain cells, every single one. Sugar is also seen as a reward by your brain, making you want even more of it. Eating a lot of sugar can make it demanding to stop as you are emphasizing that reward. 

Sugar Highs and Lows

Basically the sugar in the things you eat, quickly turns into glucose in the bloodstream. This results in your blood sugar levels to impale. Blood sugar of over 240 is too high. This is a result of less insulin than needed. Blood sugar of under 70, would be too low.  Hypoglycemia (a low blood sugar reaction) can come fast. This is the consequence of missing a meal, too much alcohol, too much sugar, etc. This reaction makes you hungry, tired, shaky and even unhappy. 

10 Secrets To Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth

  1. Avoiding Processed Foods. Eating sugar synthetically stimulates a part of your brain (nucleus accumbens) to produce dopamine. We start to feel bad when our dopamine levels drop. That is when we crave the feeling again. Leading to a sugar addiction.
  2. Boost Serotonin (happiness hormone) by exercising, a diet and right amount of sleep. With higher serotonin levels you are less likely to have cravings for sugar.
  3. Satisfy Sweet Tooth Naturally by replacing sweets with fruits and sugar (in coffee or cereal) with some honey maybe. You can actually get very creative with this idea.
  4. Drink A lot of Water. Sometimes our body is just dehydrated and craving water when we mistake it as craving sugary treats.
  5. Keep Your Blood Sugar Stable by eating several small portions of healthy meals, instead of 3 large portions throughout the day.
  6. Have a lot of Greens which is loaded with nutrition.
  7. Eat more Sea Vegetables such as seaweed/sea vegetables. This is rich in the right vitamins and minerals and makes a great healthy snack.
  8. Enjoy Fermented Foods & Drinks This might be the most effective way to eliminate cravings for the wrong things.
  9. Meditate. Stress creates the hormone cortisol, increasing your blood sugar. By having a short meditation session before meals may help you relax during meals.
  10. Try EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) By simply tapping on emotional acupressure points in your body repeating key statements helps to shift your body, mind and habits.

https://bodyecology.com/articles/10-secrets-for-ending-sugar-cravings.php

There you have it! Sugar can be addictive and there are ways to cure your addiction, coming to the conclusion of  a happy healthy life.

Thank you for reading!


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Interesting! I've been reading about Metformin, one of the first line drugs used to treat diabetes. Research has found it to prolong the life of cells by as much as 10%. That could mean a person could live 10% longer. Think ten years on average.

I'm not diabetic but, given this information, reducing sugar even for healthy individuals sounds like it might have an even bigger impact. Diabetes is in the family as well, so 'pre treating' diabetes may be a thing one day.

Thanks for sharing.

That is true. My dad and my grandpa take Metformin and neither of them has diabetes. My grandpa's 80 and been drinking it for a year. His health has improved so much, he just looks like a younger person!

I've been pondering whether I should start as well. Smiling.
Thanks for the article. Nicely done. I'll follow you for more medical related articles.
Cheers.

I started avoiding high suguar foods months ago and It really changed a lot!
First thing I noticed is that when you eat sugar foods you suddenly want to eat more of them, is an addiction like you said! I also found that 1 hour after an highly suguar meal I felt really tired and unproductive..
So yeah, try avoiding processed food with high sugar as much as you can and you will feel much better

The secret here is, eat with moderation.

That piece of cake looks good! Now i feel like eating cake :-D. Thanks for sharing.

The amount of sugar most people consume is just unnatural and leads, among all, to enormous dentist bills! I replaced sugar with honey and candies with dried fruit. But even these things one should consume moderately.

anything can be addictive. Addiction comes from our minds. It's a reward system that can be manipulated.