Thread: Sugar Addiction

Do you have an uncontrollable cravings for sweets? You might be addicted to sugar. Here an excerpt from the article at Health News:

"If you frequently crave sweets you may have a sugar addiction and it could affect your brain. Sugar and sweeteners seems to start chemical changes in the brain, as seen in addicts who use drugs such as cocaine and heroin."

Researchers studies this theory in rats and their findings were:

“Our evidence from an animal model suggests that bingeing on sugar can act in the brain in ways very similar to drugs of abuse."

This is the reason why people can't stop their cravings for sweets but like any other addiction, there can be treatments. Dr. Louis Aronne, the director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Center says:

"To fight sugar addiction, start your day by eating protein and vegetables in the morning, because if you start your day eating starch and sweets it could lead you to crave them all day."

Interesting isn't it?

Source: Health News

Interesting indeed. Now I understand why it's so hard to control yourself once you've started eating sugary foods like cakes, chocolates, ice creams, etc.

Sugar addiction is curable.. I'm the living proof of that. I can control my chocolate cravings now. But if I start eating one, it's hard for me to stop. I'm sure one day, I will be able to completely say no to it.

I can understand. We are human after all. same with me. I've been dieting for years but there are days where I just can't stop myself from eating sweets. But I exercise 2x a much to make up for it. I need to burn them off.. hehehe

Nice post! Sugar addiction is not good for the health.

We should try to avoid refined sugar as much as we can because it is not good for the body at all. As long as you keep it in moderation or follow the recommended daily serving, you'll be okay

I don't use refined sugar anymore. I use pal sweet or equal to substitute sugar and it has helped me control my weight for almost a year now. I don't use it that often though and I know that it is alright to do that. Although I have heard that it is unsafe, taking it in moderation is not that dangerous.

Recent studies show that even the use of artificial sweeteners creates a craving for sweets because your body doesn't know the difference. I used to drink Crystal Lite and use splenda as a sugar replacement. It wasn't until I quit using them that I finally got rid of my sweet cravings.

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You're right. Sugar substitute maybe lower in calorie but the body will still not know the difference. I had a huge craving for sweets and I cut it down slowly until I only have about 10% of sweets now than what I eat before. I believe that gradually cutting back on sweets will give you better chances of not craving more of it than cutting it rapidly.

I have made a research earlier about the subject. Hope this helps www. healthy data .ca
Sugar: Additive & Addiction

Historically spoken, when we began consuming sugar, it was designed for the sole use royalty and it was an occasional sweet threat because of its high cost.

Today we consume it as high as 18% of our daily calories. It is added as an additive in food processing. Whatever you mix it with sugar always increases the taste and because of its low cost it is added in the majority of processed food.

Because of the high sugar products exposure, it is very likely that you are addicted to sugar and unaware of it. It is so common in the Western industrialized nations that we don’t suspect it.

When you consume sugar, it goes straight to your brain giving you a high by influencing a nerve transmitter called serotonin that promotes good mood. It creates a pleasure from the center of your brain and right as it pushes your pancreas into producing a maximum of insulin to balance out your blood sugar and digest the simply sugar. Once your insulin levels drop below normal because your pancreas is exhausted, you feel an immediate sensation of fatigue and drop in your mood. Our bodies were not designed to handle heavy amounts of sugar. Over the years this increased consumption leads to a pancreatic dependency for simply sugar to regulate your body’s blood sugar levels

A few simple ways to fight off the sugar addiction is to

Exercise is efficient for raising your serotonin. It promotes a better mood and energy level.
Take Vitamin C, B Vitamins and chromium to help reduce sugar cravings
Keep your refrigerator and cupboards free of processed food with sugar associated ingredients.
Eat plenty of greens and drink green tea.
These are the symptoms of a sugar addiction.

hypoglycemia
diabetes
chronic constipation
chronic stomach upset
intestinal gas
arthritis
asthma
headaches
osteoporosis
heart disease
obesity
chronic Candida infection
tooth decay
inflammatory bowel disease