Sugar and carb addiction addiction

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  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    edited October 2015
    TL:DR yes food addiction is a real thing as is food restriction (brain is sick in both of these cases) yes the brain rewards us for eating

    but i might give this as pass as i just realized it was talking about sugar/cho addiction. food addiction though is a real world thing and provides the sick brain with the same chemicals as sex, gambling, drugs, and drinking http://foodaddiction.com/resources/science-of-food-addiction/
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22647301
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20042860
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member

    [/quote]
    The amount of things outside their narrow purview doctors can be fairly ignorant of is sometimes shocking, given the things we put in their hands. I've generally avoided one of the doctors at the practice in my area because the last time I saw him, he recommended "try eating less processed food to reduce inflammation" as something to try for depression. The most I got out of that visit was a double down on my desire to restart losing weight because the better my health the less I'd need to see him, and I could have evidence that his advice on nutrition and depression are bad.[/quote]


    But your doctor and thousands on various continents are right, eating less processed food DOES reduce inflammation and can diminish depression that can come with this problem.
    In the beginning of 2013 I was literally only able to crawl with a walker through my apartment due to Lupus and with that a sky-rocketing inflammation factor and the depression that often comes with such a state of health..
    In Feb.2013 I started to eat a diet as free of processed food as I could and within three month I was able to walk with a cane, climb the four flights of stairs from and to my home and start walking in the street.
    Now, about 2.5 years later I no longer need a cane and walk ( even after two heart attacks this spring ) unassisted on any terrain for 30-45 minutes every day.....apart from walking my dog twice a day and walking to and from public transport/stores etc.
    My mood has changed dramatically for the better. I cannot say if the depression disappeared, or if I am just in a better mood, because life is better. I really don't care, but know that I will stick to not eating any processed food ( with that I mean industrially processed food, I still grind things, ferment vegetables naturally, make yogurt out of milk and Kimchee out of cabbage ), because the quality of my life has really changed a lot.

  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    Ang, with all due respect, I'd submit that your depression was not linked to the inflammation, but rather that your lupus was. Autoimmune conditions and inflammation go hand in hand. I'd also, as a sufferer of chronic medical conditions myself, submit that your depression was secondary to your medical decline. Such a result is quite common.

    Fun fact -- my migraine clinic does a psych screening on every visit because depression and chronic pain conditions like frequent migraines go hand in hand. So does depression and debilitating flares of lupus. Anything that effects your functioning drastically can spiral you down into depression.

    The processed foods may have helped with the lupus, but the relief you feel with your depression is likely linked to an overall improvement in health. Again, as a person with chronic medical conditions, I speak from experience.

    BTW, yes, my conditions are inflammatory. I still eat some processed foods. I find exercise and my medication regime are enough to keep my symptoms in check.
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
    Ang108 wrote: »
    The amount of things outside their narrow purview doctors can be fairly ignorant of is sometimes shocking, given the things we put in their hands. I've generally avoided one of the doctors at the practice in my area because the last time I saw him, he recommended "try eating less processed food to reduce inflammation" as something to try for depression. The most I got out of that visit was a double down on my desire to restart losing weight because the better my health the less I'd need to see him, and I could have evidence that his advice on nutrition and depression are bad.[/quote]


    But your doctor and thousands on various continents are right, eating less processed food DOES reduce inflammation and can diminish depression that can come with this problem.
    In the beginning of 2013 I was literally only able to crawl with a walker through my apartment due to Lupus and with that a sky-rocketing inflammation factor and the depression that often comes with such a state of health..
    In Feb.2013 I started to eat a diet as free of processed food as I could and within three month I was able to walk with a cane, climb the four flights of stairs from and to my home and start walking in the street.
    Now, about 2.5 years later I no longer need a cane and walk ( even after two heart attacks this spring ) unassisted on any terrain for 30-45 minutes every day.....apart from walking my dog twice a day and walking to and from public transport/stores etc.
    My mood has changed dramatically for the better. I cannot say if the depression disappeared, or if I am just in a better mood, because life is better. I really don't care, but know that I will stick to not eating any processed food ( with that I mean industrially processed food, I still grind things, ferment vegetables naturally, make yogurt out of milk and Kimchee out of cabbage ), because the quality of my life has really changed a lot.

    [/quote]

    n=1, and no. You cannot categorically say processed food causes inflammation.
    I have seen nothing compelling about the depression as inflammation hypothesis.
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
    PeachyCarol wrote: »
    Ang, with all due respect, I'd submit that your depression was not linked to the inflammation, but rather that your lupus was. Autoimmune conditions and inflammation go hand in hand. I'd also, as a sufferer of chronic medical conditions myself, submit that your depression was secondary to your medical decline. Such a result is quite common.

    Fun fact -- my migraine clinic does a psych screening on every visit because depression and chronic pain conditions like frequent migraines go hand in hand. So does depression and debilitating flares of lupus. Anything that effects your functioning drastically can spiral you down into depression.

    The processed foods may have helped with the lupus, but the relief you feel with your depression is likely linked to an overall improvement in health. Again, as a person with chronic medical conditions, I speak from experience.

    BTW, yes, my conditions are inflammatory. I still eat some processed foods. I find exercise and my medication regime are enough to keep my symptoms in check.

    It can be a two way street in fact. Depressed people sometimes have increases in substance-p, the neurotransmitter for pain. For those people, saying depression is painful is pretty much literal.
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
    ldrosophila wrote: »
    TL:DR yes food addiction is a real thing as is food restriction (brain is sick in both of these cases) yes the brain rewards us for eating

    but i might give this as pass as i just realized it was talking about sugar/cho addiction. food addiction though is a real world thing and provides the sick brain with the same chemicals as sex, gambling, drugs, and drinking http://foodaddiction.com/resources/science-of-food-addiction/
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22647301
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20042860

    First link, I'm not bothering with.
    Second link is a rat study. Bit sick of the rat study on sugar addiction that didn't pan out in humans.
    Third link talks about similiarities in neurochemistry. Great, go read the first part of this post. You'll see why saying the neurochemistry is similar isn't useful. Also, it is from "Curr Opin Gastroenterol." which I take to be Current Opinions in Gastroenterology. I'd put an emphasis on opinions. Potentially we have a gastreologist trying to combine his expertise with neuroscience via recto-cranial inversion.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    senecarr wrote: »
    Newton didn't write laws of thermodynamics, he wrote laws of motion.

    and cooling - http://www.ugrad.math.ubc.ca/coursedoc/math100/notes/diffeqs/cool.html

    and probably a lot of other stuff like calculus, fluid dynamics etc etc.
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
    yarwell wrote: »
    senecarr wrote: »
    Newton didn't write laws of thermodynamics, he wrote laws of motion.

    and cooling - http://www.ugrad.math.ubc.ca/coursedoc/math100/notes/diffeqs/cool.html

    and probably a lot of other stuff like calculus, fluid dynamics etc etc.

    Yes, though his law of cooling has little to do with thermodynamics. In Newton's time, the concept of heat and temperature weren't entirely distinct.
    Also I think he did a thing or two with gravity and planetary motion. Something about how much an Apple computer weighs?
  • rileyes
    rileyes Posts: 1,406 Member
    The food industry hires scientists to create complex foods that steer clear of the feeling of satiety. More product gets sold because people can't eat just one.

    Sugar is one of the top added ingredients.
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
    I feel this should be moved to the nutrition debate section so that it can eventually become another gloriously closed thread.
  • TheBeachgod
    TheBeachgod Posts: 825 Member
    It won't be closed, we'll just have to edit your OP to say "Oh, you're a sugar/carb addict? You poor thing. Isn't it a shame how the evil food industry did this to you?"
  • TheBeachgod
    TheBeachgod Posts: 825 Member
    P.S. as I stated in yet another addiction thread, which did get moved to the debate forum (R.I.P. that thread):

    Lack of insight and self control ≠ addiction.
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