Food addiction-Sugar
Replies
-
Processed sugar/fructose corn syrup/sweeteners are designed to be addictive so that we keep coming back for more i.e. helping people get rich. It may be my cynical view of capitalist society, but when it comes down to debates like this I always think about who profits.
Would the huge confectionary companies want it to be easy for you to give up their product? Of course not.
Did God/The Universe/Evolution/whatever force brought us all into existance have the same motive when fruit started appearing on the planet?
Just like MSG and sodium for the savory addicts, it's all about keepin 'em coming back for more...0 -
Processed sugar/fructose corn syrup/sweeteners are designed to be addictive so that we keep coming back for more i.e. helping people get rich. It may be my cynical view of capitalist society, but when it comes down to debates like this I always think about who profits.
Would the huge confectionary companies want it to be easy for you to give up their product? Of course not.
Did God/The Universe/Evolution/whatever force brought us all into existance have the same motive when fruit started appearing on the planet?
Just like MSG and sodium for the savory addicts, it's all about keepin 'em coming back for more...
conspiracy theories for the win! lulz.
0 -
That isn't addiction. That's how your body responds to sugar/lack of sugar.I know for a fact that it is real. I can't stop once I start and when do cut it out for a long period I shake, I am irritable & I feel sick. If I cut it out for long enough then I get over that initial shaky-sick feeling and I'm not even bothered when it;s around. This is exactly what I went through when I quit smoking. I do not believe that sugar can be addictive to everyone but I do believe that some are susceptible to it.
What is the definition of addiction?
Let's ask wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AddictionAddiction is the continued repetition of a behavior despite adverse consequences,[1] or a neurological impairment leading to such behaviors.[2]
Addictions can include, but are not limited to, drug abuse, exercise addiction, food addiction, computer addiction and gambling. Classic hallmarks of addiction include impaired control over substances or behavior, preoccupation with substance or behavior, continued use despite consequences, and denial.[3] Habits and patterns associated with addiction are typically characterized by immediate gratification (short-term reward), coupled with delayed deleterious effects (long-term costs).[4]
And before the pendantics begin, if you check other sources including the Oxford English Dictionary you'll see it's pretty much the same. When you find it really, really, really (x10) difficult to give something up - it's addiction. When it preoccupies your thoughts - it's addiction. When you know that the long term consequences are bad, but you do it anyway - it's addiction. When you are in denial about your behaviour - it's addiction.
Let's not kid ourselves, most of us are here because we are addicted to food in some capacity. Why would you eat yourself into an unhealthy state otherwise?
The OP is finding it very difficult to give up sugar despite the fact that she knows that she should for her health. It's like someone poking themselves in the eye and being told to stop because it's bad for them, but they don't...and they only reason that they don't in this case is because it feels really good, and the short lived high trumps all other consequences...addiction!0 -
Processed sugar/fructose corn syrup/sweeteners are designed to be addictive so that we keep coming back for more i.e. helping people get rich. It may be my cynical view of capitalist society, but when it comes down to debates like this I always think about who profits.
Would the huge confectionary companies want it to be easy for you to give up their product? Of course not.
Did God/The Universe/Evolution/whatever force brought us all into existance have the same motive when fruit started appearing on the planet?
Just like MSG and sodium for the savory addicts, it's all about keepin 'em coming back for more...
conspiracy theories for the win! lulz.
Economics for the win...lulz
David Kessler, the former head of the FDA, was asked did the food industry knowingly create foods that were addictive, that would make you feel as though you were never satisfied and always wanted more?
This was his answer:
""Did they understand the neuroscience? No. But they learned experientially what worked.'
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/jun/11/why-our-food-is-making-us-fat (The Guardian...you know one of the most respected publications in the world?)0 -
Oh nom nom nom...entertaining!
WAIT! Does this popcorn have sugar in it? Good sugar or bad sugar?0 -
Can you have chickpeas? They are in the legume family. There are many recipes for roasting them in the oven, tossed in spices (cumin, garlic, paprika, etc.) to taste. They come out somewhat like crunchy corn-nuts, but with protein!0
-
Processed sugar/fructose corn syrup/sweeteners are designed to be addictive so that we keep coming back for more i.e. helping people get rich. It may be my cynical view of capitalist society, but when it comes down to debates like this I always think about who profits.
Would the huge confectionary companies want it to be easy for you to give up their product? Of course not.
Did God/The Universe/Evolution/whatever force brought us all into existance have the same motive when fruit started appearing on the planet?
Just like MSG and sodium for the savory addicts, it's all about keepin 'em coming back for more...
yup that's it, the evil companies have us all hooked on sugar, so when they say "eat sugar" we all start binging...
Given your example then every single person would be constantly binging on sugar, and that is not the case...
gets on tin foil hat and heads to basement..0 -
Processed sugar/fructose corn syrup/sweeteners are designed to be addictive so that we keep coming back for more i.e. helping people get rich. It may be my cynical view of capitalist society, but when it comes down to debates like this I always think about who profits.
Would the huge confectionary companies want it to be easy for you to give up their product? Of course not.
Did God/The Universe/Evolution/whatever force brought us all into existance have the same motive when fruit started appearing on the planet?
Just like MSG and sodium for the savory addicts, it's all about keepin 'em coming back for more...
I would like to know which part of the process is the "addiction design."
0 -
Calling it an addiction is slapping every crack head in the face who ever has to suck their way to the next hit.You know what you are right I should just do a group but excuse me for not knowing the site very well (i didnt know there were groups) and also for the fact that i thought this was a supportive site but from comments on here and my profile I see that making a forum is nothing but an issue and people get judgmental pretty quick.
This forum has become so unwelcoming I hope that other people who post don't get such an negative response ESPECIALLY their first few times.
I'm done with the thread I'm done with your comments. thank you for those SUPPORTIVE ones that gave advice like the whole point of a freaking forum is. To the other I'm sorry you are still so miserable with yourself that this is what your life has come to I would hate to see your facebook, twitter, instagram, or any other social site. i respect your opinion so respect mine and just go away please.
I really wish that there was a delete button for the darn forum.
and a HUGE thank you to anybody who reached out to me with advice in a PM, Means a lot!
I'm happy for anybody success but please people don't forget how hard it was to get started and show a little support instead of knocking somebody when they are down...
so basically everyone who agreed with you is "supportive" and anyone that disagreed was an "a-hole"....
Not at all my question was not DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THERE IS A SUCH THING AS FOOD/SUGAR ADDICTION
it was for tips to stop impulses, if you don't believe in that it exist how are you going to give me tips on how to cope? you cant.
Self control and will power is what the crack head needs.
DIfference being, crack is actually addictive.
Addicts don't need it. They want it. They crave it. They have a compelling urge to have it even though they know it is destroying their health. Self control and will power is how they overcome it. It doesn't sound all that different to me.
please find me the person that is eating spoons full of sugar repeatedly out of a bowl and maybe then we can talk ....
But I would guess there are just as many people eating spoonfuls of sugar as spoonfuls of crack. I don't know where to find either, nor can I imagine why I'd try or how it would be tied to our ability to talk.
It seems the stumbling block to our talking is that we're on the internet.
See my example from the previous page:
I completely agree. When I imagine someone with a sugar addiction, I think of a person behaving like they have Willi-Prader syndrome and just tearing through the house or restaurant eating anything and everything with sugar in it, including fruit, milk, honey, syrup, or even sweet potatoes.
And the whole "studies with rats show that oreos are more addictive that drugs," well, the rats probably ate the oreos because they taste better than drugs. Just sayin'.0 -
Processed sugar/fructose corn syrup/sweeteners are designed to be addictive so that we keep coming back for more i.e. helping people get rich. It may be my cynical view of capitalist society, but when it comes down to debates like this I always think about who profits.
Would the huge confectionary companies want it to be easy for you to give up their product? Of course not.
Did God/The Universe/Evolution/whatever force brought us all into existance have the same motive when fruit started appearing on the planet?
Just like MSG and sodium for the savory addicts, it's all about keepin 'em coming back for more...
yup that's it, the evil companies have us all hooked on sugar, so when they say "eat sugar" we all start binging...
Given your example then every single person would be constantly binging on sugar, and that is not the case...
gets on tin foil hat and heads to basement..
Again I'll say:
David Kessler, the former head of the FDA, was asked did the food industry knowingly create foods that were addictive, that would make you feel as though you were never satisfied and always wanted more?
This was his answer:
""Did they understand the neuroscience? No. But they learned experientially what worked.'
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/jun/11/why-our-food-is-making-us-fat (The Guardian...you know one of the most respected publications in the world?)0 -
Umm no they are designed to be cheap ingredients for "evil" companies to use to make a highly mass produced product at a profitable price point for consumers. Do you even business, brahProcessed sugar/fructose corn syrup/sweeteners are designed to be addictive0 -
*sigh*
Wait, what? What has insulin have to do with the toxicity of sugar? Insulin is a transport hormone that picks up the sugar from the intestine and moves it to whichever cell needs the energy. It does the same thing for protein, so is protein toxic also? Insulin also tells us when to stop eating (it triggers satiety, along with leptin,) so is being full also toxic? There's also about 100 other bodily regulatory functions insulin is responsible for, but yeah, you're right, obviously we only evolved it to deal with the pesky "toxic" sugar.Right. Sugar is toxic. Which is why human beings have been eating it since human beings existed.
Why doesn't anybody know how to think critically anymore?
Of course sugar is toxic - why do you think we evolved to produce insulin.
Sugar is also essential to our brains and other organs, but it toxic in large doses.
Why can't it be both toxic in large doses and at the same time be essential for us?
Your thought process on this seem quite narrow!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2246629/
Insulin isn't something we "evolved" to deal with "toxic" sugar. Insulin is a vital hormone required for life. Which is why every species of animal on the planet has insulin.
As for the rest of your argument, everything is toxic in too large a dose. It's a logical fallacy that fear mongerers like Lustig and Taubes love to use.
And the job of the pancreas is to secrete the hormone insulin into our blood stream when it detects high levels of glucose and to either burn it, store it or convert it into fat (to be used later).
I think Insulin has quite a connection with sugar and seems to want to move it out of our blood stream as soon as it can - maybe it knows something you don't about sugar?
That being said too much insulin in our system can be toxic (just saying!!)
Please take a biology course. There are many different hormones that are involved with taking all the vitamins, minerals, sugars, proteins, and fats in our blood and moving them to the places they need to go. Just because something doesn't perpetually stay in our blood doesn't make it "toxic." Blood has a specific viscosity to it. Too much or too little glucose and fat in the blood stream can Affect the viscosity of the blood, which can affect the ability of the heart to pump blood through the blood stream.
That's why it's regulated. Like everything else in your body. Also, insulin doesn't decide anything about sugar. It picks it up from the intestine and moves it to the blood stream. As it travels through the blood stream, various organs and cells take whatever they need. If the other organs don't take up any sugar, then the insulin delivers it to the liver. From there, the liver converts the glucose to glycogen. Once the liver's glycogen reserve is full (which takes a couple pounds of glycogen) then the liver starts converting the rest to glycerol. Once the glycerol is made, it's attached to fatty acids, and then transported to adipose tissue for storage.
Insulin doesn't decide any of that. Neither does your pancreas. Besides, your pancreas also secretes insulin when it detects high levels of protein being digested (it happens during digestion, it doesn't wait for it to hit the blood stream, in fact, the enzymes in your saliva are specifically there to begin the breakdown of carbs and sugar, long before you even swallow.) You even get a (smaller) insulin hit when you eat fat, because the simple act of eating food causes an automatic release of insulin but the pancreas, because again, insulin is the number one hormone to indicate satiety.
Yep I know that - You seem reasonably knowledgeable! therefor I still don't understand why you do not think excess sugar is toxic?
I think you enjoy talking in circles.0 -
Processed sugar/fructose corn syrup/sweeteners are designed to be addictive so that we keep coming back for more i.e. helping people get rich. It may be my cynical view of capitalist society, but when it comes down to debates like this I always think about who profits.
Would the huge confectionary companies want it to be easy for you to give up their product? Of course not.
Did God/The Universe/Evolution/whatever force brought us all into existance have the same motive when fruit started appearing on the planet?
Just like MSG and sodium for the savory addicts, it's all about keepin 'em coming back for more...
yup that's it, the evil companies have us all hooked on sugar, so when they say "eat sugar" we all start binging...
Given your example then every single person would be constantly binging on sugar, and that is not the case...
gets on tin foil hat and heads to basement..
Again I'll say:
David Kessler, the former head of the FDA, was asked did the food industry knowingly create foods that were addictive, that would make you feel as though you were never satisfied and always wanted more?
This was his answer:
""Did they understand the neuroscience? No. But they learned experientially what worked.'
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/jun/11/why-our-food-is-making-us-fat (The Guardian...you know one of the most respected publications in the world?)
Appeal to authority0 -
Calling it an addiction is slapping every crack head in the face who ever has to suck their way to the next hit.You know what you are right I should just do a group but excuse me for not knowing the site very well (i didnt know there were groups) and also for the fact that i thought this was a supportive site but from comments on here and my profile I see that making a forum is nothing but an issue and people get judgmental pretty quick.
This forum has become so unwelcoming I hope that other people who post don't get such an negative response ESPECIALLY their first few times.
I'm done with the thread I'm done with your comments. thank you for those SUPPORTIVE ones that gave advice like the whole point of a freaking forum is. To the other I'm sorry you are still so miserable with yourself that this is what your life has come to I would hate to see your facebook, twitter, instagram, or any other social site. i respect your opinion so respect mine and just go away please.
I really wish that there was a delete button for the darn forum.
and a HUGE thank you to anybody who reached out to me with advice in a PM, Means a lot!
I'm happy for anybody success but please people don't forget how hard it was to get started and show a little support instead of knocking somebody when they are down...
so basically everyone who agreed with you is "supportive" and anyone that disagreed was an "a-hole"....
Not at all my question was not DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THERE IS A SUCH THING AS FOOD/SUGAR ADDICTION
it was for tips to stop impulses, if you don't believe in that it exist how are you going to give me tips on how to cope? you cant.
Self control and will power is what the crack head needs.
DIfference being, crack is actually addictive.
Addicts don't need it. They want it. They crave it. They have a compelling urge to have it even though they know it is destroying their health. Self control and will power is how they overcome it. It doesn't sound all that different to me.
please find me the person that is eating spoons full of sugar repeatedly out of a bowl and maybe then we can talk ....
But I would guess there are just as many people eating spoonfuls of sugar as spoonfuls of crack. I don't know where to find either, nor can I imagine why I'd try or how it would be tied to our ability to talk.
It seems the stumbling block to our talking is that we're on the internet.
crackheads are crackheads because everything they do is based on one thing, which is finding more crack and smoking it. If you put a bowl full of crack in front of a crackhead, they will smoke all of it ...
I have never seen anyone eat a whole bowl of table sugar by themselves, in one sitting...
I have
He was a 400 pound junkie who lived on sugar and heroin (first time I stayed there he had a fridge full of 2 liter pepsi bottles and cake. nothing else. there was sugar in the cupboard nothing else. I woke up in the AM and the fridge was empty (about 8 liters of pepsi and 3 large 3 tier cakes) and mike was eating a bowl of sugar
He's dead now and actually quit both at one point but the hard living caught up and he had a heart attack
I'm a fairly Addictive personality myself but you can quit anything if you are determined (for me cold turkey for anything is always what worked)0 -
I have
He was a 400 pound junkie who lived on sugar and heroin (first time I satyed there he had a fridge full of 2 liter pepsi bottles and cake. nothing else. there was sugar in the cupboard nothing else. I woke up in the AM and the fridge was empty (about 8 liters of pepsi and 3 large 3 tier cakes) and mike was eating a bowl of sugar
He's dead now and actually quit both at one point but the hard living caught up and he had a heart attack
I'm a fairly Addictive personality myself but you can quit anything if you are determined (for me cold turkey for anything is always what worked)
I'm sorry for the loss of your friend. While I do think food addiction could be a real thing, I don't think a sugar addiction, when it does not include foods with naturally-occurring sugars, is a real thing.0 -
I love sweet stuff, I ate it without thinking and when I went without it, I seemed to crave it. I still have sweets once in a while, but I know when I am eating it and where it fits in. Here's what I did that worked.
Cravings are tough but only for a couple of weeks, but they are mostly mental habit and they come and go, so with a little time, it gets a lot easier. How to get through the first couple of weeks? First, ask your boyfriend to store his sweet stuff in a private place so you have to ask for it if you want it. Second, log everything you eat. Third, if you have one particular sweet habit (mine was having a cookie along with the coffee I bought most mornings) drop it right now.
The combination of having to ask for it, logging everything so you see it, and dropping one habit to prove to yourself that you can will help you build better eating habits and free you from the demon sugar.
this is an excellent bit of advice. Speaking as someone who has kicked a few addictions the reality is the physical addiction is maybe 3 days, the mental is longer (and being cranky is part of the mental more than the physical)
I quit Alcohol, we still have it in the house (a fair bit in fact between wines and spirits) and I just ignore it. I get the odd craving but I just do something else for a while and it dissipates (Go for a walk, drink some water.... )0 -
I'm done with this debate. There are a lot of 'facts' being thrown around with no source or backup. Did you know that 78% of statistics are made up on the spot?
See you all at sugar eaters anonymous ;-)0 -
I'm done with this debate. There are a lot of 'facts' being thrown around with no source or backup. Did you know that 78% of statistics are made up on the spot?
See you all at sugar eaters anonymous ;-)
You won't see me. I'm not addicted.0 -
I'm done with this debate. There are a lot of 'facts' being thrown around with no source or backup. Did you know that 78% of statistics are made up on the spot?
See you all at sugar eaters anonymous ;-)
You won't see me. I'm not addicted.
if they're providing free donuts, i'll be there.0 -
I'm done with this debate. There are a lot of 'facts' being thrown around with no source or backup. Did you know that 78% of statistics are made up on the spot?
See you all at sugar eaters anonymous ;-)
You won't see me. I'm not addicted.
if they're providing free donuts, i'll be there.
What if they aren't made with sugar, but ARE made out of cauliflower?0 -
When I imagine someone with a sugar addiction, I think of a person behaving like they have Willi-Prader syndrome and just tearing through the house or restaurant eating anything and everything with sugar in it, including fruit, milk, honey, syrup, or even sweet potatoes.
No one does that, because no one has to do it. If crack were as readily available as sugar, crackheads wouldn't do it either.
Do you really think that not one single person would sleep with a stranger, steal something, hold up a 7-eleven if that is the only way they could get sugary sweets. It's beyond the imagination.
Sure, I think everyone could agree that sugar addiction does not equate to crack addiction. One is illegal and addicts must do a lot of crazy or illegal things to get it. The government will give you an EBT card to buy the other if you don't have enough money. The other is served up at every party and celebration and available at every store. People give it as gifts and leave it out free for the taking in offices.
But suppose this thing that is everywhere, often free for the taking, is the thing you crave most. The one thing you can't seem to control. The one thing that is keeping your from your goal.
And then suppose you come to forum in fitness site seeking help from others who have faced the same problem. Only to be met with all this nonsense.
Just because you can't understand a problem or you "think" it's not real, does not make it so, or make your assertions helpful.0 -
I may have missed it but this study pretty much concludes it is addictive for the same reasons other drugs are (dopamine stimulation is one)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/
It's peer reviewed and from a respected scientific site
So yeah it's possible
It's also possible to quit or control, but different people have different reactions to it.
a local guy has eliminated a processed and standard sugar from his diet (not naturally occurring ones like in fruit or onions for that matter) last time i drove by he was at 485 days
0 -
When I imagine someone with a sugar addiction, I think of a person behaving like they have Willi-Prader syndrome and just tearing through the house or restaurant eating anything and everything with sugar in it, including fruit, milk, honey, syrup, or even sweet potatoes.
No one does that, because no one has to do it. If crack were as readily available as sugar, crackheads wouldn't do it either.
Do you really think that not one single person would sleep with a stranger, steal something, hold up a 7-eleven if that is the only way they could get sugary sweets. It's beyond the imagination.
Sure, I think everyone could agree that sugar addiction does not equate to crack addiction. One is illegal and addicts must do a lot of crazy or illegal things to get it. The government will give you an EBT card to buy the other if you don't have enough money. The other is served up at every party and celebration and available at every store. People give it as gifts and leave it out free for the taking in offices.
But suppose this thing that is everywhere, often free for the taking, is the thing you crave most. The one thing you can't seem to control. The one thing that is keeping your from your goal.
And then suppose you come to forum in fitness site seeking help from others who have faced the same problem. Only to be met with all this nonsense.
Just because you can't understand a problem or you "think" it's not real, does not make it so, or make your assertions helpful.
Sigh...this has been argued before. Not in this thread, but in others I've seen in the past. There are places in this world where sugary treats are not readily available. They're not trafficking it to get it in, killing people over it, etc.
The only nonsense I keep bringing up is how people say they can be addicted to one form of sugar and not addicted to the other. Saying that you curb your sugar addiction by eating fruit instead of cake sounds...silly.
Editing to add this: I DEFINITELY understand not being able to control yourself around certain foods. I can't eat just one girl scout cookie. I can limit cupcakes to just one, though. Does that mean I have a sugar addiction because I can't resist GS cookies (even though I can resist other things)? No, I think it just means I think GS cookies are tastier than cupcakes.0 -
I may have missed it but this study pretty much concludes it is addictive for the same reasons other drugs are (dopamine stimulation is one)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/
It's peer reviewed and from a respected scientific site
So yeah it's possible
It's also possible to quit or control, but different people have different reactions to it.
a local guy has eliminated a processed and standard sugar from his diet (not naturally occurring ones like in fruit or onions for that matter) last time i drove by he was at 485 days
Well then, he hasn't really eliminated sugar from his diet, has he?0 -
When I imagine someone with a sugar addiction, I think of a person behaving like they have Willi-Prader syndrome and just tearing through the house or restaurant eating anything and everything with sugar in it, including fruit, milk, honey, syrup, or even sweet potatoes.
No one does that, because no one has to do it. If crack were as readily available as sugar, crackheads wouldn't do it either.
Do you really think that not one single person would sleep with a stranger, steal something, hold up a 7-eleven if that is the only way they could get sugary sweets. It's beyond the imagination.
Sure, I think everyone could agree that sugar addiction does not equate to crack addiction. One is illegal and addicts must do a lot of crazy or illegal things to get it. The government will give you an EBT card to buy the other if you don't have enough money. The other is served up at every party and celebration and available at every store. People give it as gifts and leave it out free for the taking in offices.
But suppose this thing that is everywhere, often free for the taking, is the thing you crave most. The one thing you can't seem to control. The one thing that is keeping your from your goal.
And then suppose you come to forum in fitness site seeking help from others who have faced the same problem. Only to be met with all this nonsense.
Just because you can't understand a problem or you "think" it's not real, does not make it so, or make your assertions helpful.
Sigh...this has been argued before. Not in this thread, but in others I've seen in the past. There are places in this world where sugary treats are not readily available. They're not trafficking it to get it in, killing people over it, etc.
The only nonsense I keep bringing up is how people say they can be addicted to one form of sugar and not addicted to the other. Saying that you curb your sugar addiction by eating fruit instead of cake sounds...silly.
Editing to add this: I DEFINITELY understand not being able to control yourself around certain foods. I can't eat just one girl scout cookie. I can limit cupcakes to just one, though. Does that mean I have a sugar addiction because I can't resist GS cookies (even though I can resist other things)? No, I think it just means I think GS cookies are tastier than cupcakes.
What does it matter? Why must everyone who chooses to use this term have their thread highjacked with meaningless nonsense about who thinks what can be addictive? Why not either post something helpful, or roll your eyes and move on?0 -
When I imagine someone with a sugar addiction, I think of a person behaving like they have Willi-Prader syndrome and just tearing through the house or restaurant eating anything and everything with sugar in it, including fruit, milk, honey, syrup, or even sweet potatoes.
No one does that, because no one has to do it. If crack were as readily available as sugar, crackheads wouldn't do it either.
Do you really think that not one single person would sleep with a stranger, steal something, hold up a 7-eleven if that is the only way they could get sugary sweets. It's beyond the imagination.
Sure, I think everyone could agree that sugar addiction does not equate to crack addiction. One is illegal and addicts must do a lot of crazy or illegal things to get it. The government will give you an EBT card to buy the other if you don't have enough money. The other is served up at every party and celebration and available at every store. People give it as gifts and leave it out free for the taking in offices.
But suppose this thing that is everywhere, often free for the taking, is the thing you crave most. The one thing you can't seem to control. The one thing that is keeping your from your goal.
And then suppose you come to forum in fitness site seeking help from others who have faced the same problem. Only to be met with all this nonsense.
Just because you can't understand a problem or you "think" it's not real, does not make it so, or make your assertions helpful.
Sigh...this has been argued before. Not in this thread, but in others I've seen in the past. There are places in this world where sugary treats are not readily available. They're not trafficking it to get it in, killing people over it, etc.
The only nonsense I keep bringing up is how people say they can be addicted to one form of sugar and not addicted to the other. Saying that you curb your sugar addiction by eating fruit instead of cake sounds...silly.
Editing to add this: I DEFINITELY understand not being able to control yourself around certain foods. I can't eat just one girl scout cookie. I can limit cupcakes to just one, though. Does that mean I have a sugar addiction because I can't resist GS cookies (even though I can resist other things)? No, I think it just means I think GS cookies are tastier than cupcakes.
What does it matter? Why must everyone who chooses to use this term have their thread highjacked with meaningless nonsense about who thinks what can be addictive? Why not either post something helpful, or roll your eyes and move on?
You're the one that came into the thread late wanting to argue. Maybe you should take your own advice?
I personally speak against using "sugar addiction" as an excuse because it puts the blame squarely on a mythical disorder, and not on the person that can't stop eating awesome foods. I point out that it's the person's responsibility to get rid of trigger foods and learn moderation because it's so much more empowering than restricting yourself completely. To know that you can still eat cookies or ice cream because YOU are in control of what you put in your mouth, not some addiction you're convinced you have, is a great feeling.0 -
I personally don't see sugar addiction as an "excuse" but it does need to be recognised if that is something you see in yourself, I thought they had already proven that sugar was just as addictive as heroin? It triggers the same release of chemicals in your brain's reward center, making you crave more and go through withdrawal without it.
Now I'm sure that not everyone who does heroin becomes addicted, but it is likely if you have an addictive personality. When I quit smoking it was 3 years before I didn't REALLY want a cigarette, even though I have asthma and knew I liked breathing more, it was still really really hard sometimes not to buy a pack while I was at the counter.
There is also parts of our brain that certain food triggers, I stopped eating fast food and soda a few years ago, but if I see a pepsi or McDonalds commercial I want it for a few seconds, I can imagine the taste and texture... but I don't actually want it, I wouldn't eat it, but something in my brain is telling me to, that I believe would be linked to addiction, if my will was not stronger the urge would win. That dang Fillet-o-fish commercial kills me, but I also think McDonalds is disgusting, that's not something I can explain any other way.
And there's no way I will be attempting to go off sugar, but I do try to limit it.0 -
I may have missed it but this study pretty much concludes it is addictive for the same reasons other drugs are (dopamine stimulation is one)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/
It's peer reviewed and from a respected scientific site
So yeah it's possible
It's also possible to quit or control, but different people have different reactions to it.
a local guy has eliminated a processed and standard sugar from his diet (not naturally occurring ones like in fruit or onions for that matter) last time i drove by he was at 485 days
Well then, he hasn't really eliminated sugar from his diet, has he?
shhhh! don't burst their bubbles. they don't like it when their bubbles are burst.0 -
It's a process!
For me it took me a long time & I tried everything you can think of to kick the habit. The reality is there's always going to be some kind of sweets somewhere, You just have to learn how to deal with it and have self control.
I once eliminated everything and it just back fired, I ended up binging and lost control
After years of battling this issue, I've accepted it and now I allow myself what I want when I want I just have to be accountable for it.
I have cookies, chips, cereals & ice cream at home, I'll have some once in awhile, but I prefer to make my own version of it
I carry this stuff because everyone in the house eats it, everyone else has self control it's werid I know haha 0 -
Food can give a person pleasure, for a lot of reasons - texture, taste, scent, oysters aphrodisiac (thats what they say , etc.. but also food can trigger dopamine which is your body's feel good drug thing.
You can nay say all you want, but to those of us who use food to self medicate, its real.
now that we are aware of it, we can take steps to combat it, but to discount all the people who are dealing with it, its not helpful.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 426 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions