Understanding the concept of sugar addiction symptoms,A possible definition may be: the impossibility for a person to resist to the sweet foods or beverages temptation. People suffering from this condition find impossible to stay without sugar for too long: usually a day, a meal sometimes even an hour. Many times people don't realize they are suffering from it as the symptoms can be mistaken for seasonal affect disorder, general tiredness, dieting "issues," or depression. Controlling addiction can be difficult when you don't know it affects you. When you became aware of the existence of the sugar addiction symptoms you can easily manage the health risks and overcome the problem.[]
What is 'addiction' anyway? Addiction is a condition in which an individual has a dysfunctional relationship with a substance. For example, in the case of sugar addiction, sugar may be used to reward and/or relax a person. That is a dysfunctional relationship because reward and relaxation are not the intended purposes of a food item. With an addiction of any kind, the individual is unable to stop the behavior, regardless of consequences, and in fact seeks the target substance out on an ever-increasing basis.
Energy depleted body: when sweet foods become a habit you start to rely more on these than on your natural energy resources of your body. Hence you feel weak, lethargic and depressed.sugar habits: this is when you eat sugar or sugar food at about the same time each morning, afternoon, evening or even night. When you skip the "sugar" hour you find yourself very anxious or depressed.sugar snacks when you are bored: when you are in a boring situation you grab a high-sugar snack to keep you occupied. This is one of the most important sugar addiction symptoms.
Now, why exactly does eating sugar trigger a strong desire for more sweets or calories? Eating sugar triggers the release of opiates in the brain. Opiates are chemicals which make you feel good. For anyone who isn't sure what opiates are, understand that they are the in the same class of drugs as heroin or morphine. Eating sugar will also begin a cycle of craving or compulsion for more of the same feeling that was caused by the release of the opiates. You may not "get high" the way you would with a powerful narcotic, but that doesn't mean it doesn't impact your mood or your brain.
We'll talk more about sugar addiction next time. Until then, you have two assignments,Consume absolutely no sugar-containing foods for one day,Keep a journal of how you feel and what you struggle with throughout that day and the next two days.The solution to any problem begins with the identification of the problem! Let's determine for sure that sugar addiction is a problem for you...and then, let's deal with it.This isn't (really) a rant about sugar because let's face it you've heard it all before. You are well aware that too much sugar makes you fat and has ominous links to type 2 diabetes. You know the facts, so I'm not going to patronise you with a concoction of sensationalist stats. There is one question I need to ask though, it's nothing special, but it is important 'are you addicted to sugar?' Take a minute, think about it. Addiction is when you cannot control a behaviour or action, can you control how much sugar you eat?
If you have ever heard the term "sugar blues," all you need to know is that your blood sugar and your health will rise and fall like the Roman Empire if you eat like a king when it comes to sugar. Sugar's effect inside our bloodstream is even more straightforward: when we eat or drink sugar our blood sugar goes up, our insulin goes up, and we throw that metabolic switch that says store body fat. Meanwhile, as we get fatter we continue to overtax the pancreas and develop insulin sensitivity, which leads into diabetes. The picture being painted is not so pretty, is it?
Here's something amazing: even thinking about a sweet food we love can trigger a chemical response in our brains to eat it. Essentially, the chemical response and memory trace which eating sugar creates inside our brains urges us to go back for more. Meanwhile, that false sense of comfort we achieved from eating our sweets keeps us returning to the source over and over again and we form the insidious habit of associating comfort with food.
The truth is that most of us avoid thinking about the harm sugar or similarly damaging high-carbohydrate diets are causing to our bodies. We do this because of the pleasure it gives us. It's even more pronounced when we use it as a reward or as a release from our busy, stressed-out lives. Sugar does make us feel better for a brief while, perhaps. But nearly all of us have at one time or another experienced the downside that comes with the crash, even if we didn't know what was going on exactly inside of us to make us crash. The ultimate tragedy is that while we might acknowledge that we have a sugar challenge-some of us might even be self-proclaimed addicts-we also tend to feel powerless to do anything about it.
Having worked with many people who struggle with severe sugar cravings, I have come across some sure-fire ways of battling sugar addiction.Take every hour one step at a time. Start by giving up sugar today - just today. Focus on tomorrow when it comes.Give up sugar. This sounds harsh but like any other drug, you can't just cut back if you are truly addicted, it's all or nothing. Getting the taste is just a tease and will bring back all those feelings that come with a sugar hit.Ditch white bread. It has a high Gi which means it's quickly broken down and digested. It won't be long before you start getting cravings. Instead go for wholegrains, they are much more satisfying.Beef up protein. Protein takes longer to digest than carbohydrates so including a little protein in every meal will keep you feeling fuller and cravings at bay.
Just be aware that if you take up the challenge, you'll have to step out of your comfort zone for awhile. For awhile, you'll miss it like an old friend who has moved away, but like anything else, you'll get used to it. And I promise you, once you experience the wonderful clarity of mind and feel the natural energy your body provides without sugar's artificial high, you will never want to go back.
What is 'addiction' anyway? Addiction is a condition in which an individual has a dysfunctional relationship with a substance. For example, in the case of sugar addiction, sugar may be used to reward and/or relax a person. That is a dysfunctional relationship because reward and relaxation are not the intended purposes of a food item. With an addiction of any kind, the individual is unable to stop the behavior, regardless of consequences, and in fact seeks the target substance out on an ever-increasing basis.
Energy depleted body: when sweet foods become a habit you start to rely more on these than on your natural energy resources of your body. Hence you feel weak, lethargic and depressed.sugar habits: this is when you eat sugar or sugar food at about the same time each morning, afternoon, evening or even night. When you skip the "sugar" hour you find yourself very anxious or depressed.sugar snacks when you are bored: when you are in a boring situation you grab a high-sugar snack to keep you occupied. This is one of the most important sugar addiction symptoms.
Now, why exactly does eating sugar trigger a strong desire for more sweets or calories? Eating sugar triggers the release of opiates in the brain. Opiates are chemicals which make you feel good. For anyone who isn't sure what opiates are, understand that they are the in the same class of drugs as heroin or morphine. Eating sugar will also begin a cycle of craving or compulsion for more of the same feeling that was caused by the release of the opiates. You may not "get high" the way you would with a powerful narcotic, but that doesn't mean it doesn't impact your mood or your brain.
We'll talk more about sugar addiction next time. Until then, you have two assignments,Consume absolutely no sugar-containing foods for one day,Keep a journal of how you feel and what you struggle with throughout that day and the next two days.The solution to any problem begins with the identification of the problem! Let's determine for sure that sugar addiction is a problem for you...and then, let's deal with it.This isn't (really) a rant about sugar because let's face it you've heard it all before. You are well aware that too much sugar makes you fat and has ominous links to type 2 diabetes. You know the facts, so I'm not going to patronise you with a concoction of sensationalist stats. There is one question I need to ask though, it's nothing special, but it is important 'are you addicted to sugar?' Take a minute, think about it. Addiction is when you cannot control a behaviour or action, can you control how much sugar you eat?
If you have ever heard the term "sugar blues," all you need to know is that your blood sugar and your health will rise and fall like the Roman Empire if you eat like a king when it comes to sugar. Sugar's effect inside our bloodstream is even more straightforward: when we eat or drink sugar our blood sugar goes up, our insulin goes up, and we throw that metabolic switch that says store body fat. Meanwhile, as we get fatter we continue to overtax the pancreas and develop insulin sensitivity, which leads into diabetes. The picture being painted is not so pretty, is it?
Here's something amazing: even thinking about a sweet food we love can trigger a chemical response in our brains to eat it. Essentially, the chemical response and memory trace which eating sugar creates inside our brains urges us to go back for more. Meanwhile, that false sense of comfort we achieved from eating our sweets keeps us returning to the source over and over again and we form the insidious habit of associating comfort with food.
The truth is that most of us avoid thinking about the harm sugar or similarly damaging high-carbohydrate diets are causing to our bodies. We do this because of the pleasure it gives us. It's even more pronounced when we use it as a reward or as a release from our busy, stressed-out lives. Sugar does make us feel better for a brief while, perhaps. But nearly all of us have at one time or another experienced the downside that comes with the crash, even if we didn't know what was going on exactly inside of us to make us crash. The ultimate tragedy is that while we might acknowledge that we have a sugar challenge-some of us might even be self-proclaimed addicts-we also tend to feel powerless to do anything about it.
Having worked with many people who struggle with severe sugar cravings, I have come across some sure-fire ways of battling sugar addiction.Take every hour one step at a time. Start by giving up sugar today - just today. Focus on tomorrow when it comes.Give up sugar. This sounds harsh but like any other drug, you can't just cut back if you are truly addicted, it's all or nothing. Getting the taste is just a tease and will bring back all those feelings that come with a sugar hit.Ditch white bread. It has a high Gi which means it's quickly broken down and digested. It won't be long before you start getting cravings. Instead go for wholegrains, they are much more satisfying.Beef up protein. Protein takes longer to digest than carbohydrates so including a little protein in every meal will keep you feeling fuller and cravings at bay.
Just be aware that if you take up the challenge, you'll have to step out of your comfort zone for awhile. For awhile, you'll miss it like an old friend who has moved away, but like anything else, you'll get used to it. And I promise you, once you experience the wonderful clarity of mind and feel the natural energy your body provides without sugar's artificial high, you will never want to go back.
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