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Addicted to sugar DEBATE

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Replies

  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    CSARdiver wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    I use a lot of words to describe my problematic relationship with sugar. And I have used many of them in this thread.

    Stop cherry-picking one sentence without taking all of my post. Context.

    Have fun arguing amongst yourselves. It's a pointless discussion as it always is. "Addict/addiction/alcoholism" it's a matter of choice of words. No one gets to define it for another. ::shrug:: I personally don't care what people call it. If it's a problem, it's a problem.

    I talked about my experience. You can't change that, no matter how many pages of talking. Just like I said on page one.

    Still don't know who you're speaking to.

    How is this woo-worthy? I legitimately don't know who you're addressing because you haven't let us know. You're not quoting anyone.

    Their side cares, so anyone debating otherwise is automatically categorized as woo.

    I interpret these votes of woo as being awesome. Appeals to logos are always awesome.

    Especially when the appeal to logos is in response to an appeal to pathos.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Thanks for answering, I appreciate it! Couple of follow ups.
    cjsacto wrote: »
    Do I like the taste of sugar? White sugar, not especially by itself. I made a syrup with water a few times & drank it. When I discovered grenadine I thought that was great. I do like the taste of brown sugar, could easily eat a teaspoonful. I like honey, smetimes mixed with peanut butter 50/50. I have eaten cake sprinkles directly from a jar, taste is so-so. The best is real maple syrup, I have sipped that many times. I've had these behaviors since I was a kid, maybe about age 9. I used to drink huge amounts of juice, too, which I didn't have to sneak like plain sugars. (We never had regular sugar, soda, candy, sugary cereals, etc. at my house as a kid but we did have honey and real maple syrup.)

    Would you want to consume sweet foods like this that you didn't particularly enjoy the taste of? Or is it about seeking a particular taste?
    Satisfying? I wouldn't say so. I like the initial sugar taste but it's a letdown when it's gone and I want more.

    I guess what I meant was if you were jonesing for a cookie and didn't have any, would you think sugar was an adequate substitute? I've been at home and wanted something to eat, ideally some ice cream (for example) and it's never crossed my mind to eat sugar because for me that doesn't have the taste I'm looking for (and just sugar is not an appealing taste for me).

    I don't think this has much to do with the addiction thing, but I find it interesting. It's quite normal for humans to enjoy a sweet taste, obviously -- it's the first taste we apparently seek out, and evolutionarily it makes sense, but plain sugar has never been something I enjoy outside of fruit (I love syrup and honey on things, but not alone, too overwhelming for me).
    Why did I take my roommate's sweets? It was always something I was initially offered a piece of, then they would just let it sit there for days. It didn't happen very many times but it drove me crazy that it might go to waste and it was so close.

    Ah, I get this.

    Glad what you are doing is working. Even though I'm not a sugar fiend in that savory foods tend to be more my weakness and just sugar (like sugary cereal, which I dislike) doesn't appeal to me, I do tend to gravitate in part to sweet foods for snacking and emotional eating, so I found cutting out added sugar for a while (about a month) when I started and not snacking (I still don't) to be very helpful.
  • jakea1963
    jakea1963 Posts: 23 Member
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  • cjsacto
    cjsacto Posts: 1,421 Member
    edited September 2017
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Thanks for answering, I appreciate it! Couple of follow ups.,
    Would you want to consume sweet foods like this that you didn't particularly enjoy the taste of? Or is it about seeking a particular taste?

    I prefer the things I like the taste of, but I'd eat something with sugar I don't like that much if there was nothing else. Like, I'd never buy gummy worms but if there was a bowl of them I'd eat 'em.
    I guess what I meant was if you were jonesing for a cookie and didn't have any, would you think sugar was an adequate substitute? I've been at home and wanted something to eat, ideally some ice cream (for example) and it's never crossed my mind to eat sugar because for me that doesn't have the taste I'm looking for (and just sugar is not an appealing taste for me).

    I wouldn't really crave a specific food. I'd think. "What do I have that's SWEET," and hunt through the cupboards. If all I had was jam, I'd eat jam and bread. (Or eat it straight.) If all I had was sugar, I might have a spoonful or I might think of something I could put it in, like tea or cereal. Yes, if I bought ice cream I'd eat the whole pint but that's not what the craving is.

    I've eaten candy until I had sores in my mouth, and I mean as a middle-aged person.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,843 Member
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    I use a lot of words to describe my problematic relationship with sugar. And I have used many of them in this thread.

    Stop cherry-picking one sentence without taking all of my post. Context.

    Have fun arguing amongst yourselves. It's a pointless discussion as it always is. "Addict/addiction/alcoholism" it's a matter of choice of words. No one gets to define it for another. ::shrug:: I personally don't care what people call it. If it's a problem, it's a problem.

    I talked about my experience. You can't change that, no matter how many pages of talking. Just like I said on page one.

    Still don't know who you're speaking to.

    How is this woo-worthy? I legitimately don't know who you're addressing because you haven't let us know. You're not quoting anyone.

    Perhaps you are unaware of the two different uses of the Woo reaction?

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10570889/new-community-reaction-woo#latest

    Woo can mean two things. You can click it both to mean woo as in woo-hoo or to express that you think an idea or approach is too good to be true.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    Saying that you are addicted to sugar is like saying you're addicted to oxygen...

    Not really. I can live without eating any sugar - I have had days where my carb count is zero - because my body can make the glucose it needs. I can't produce the oxygen I need.

    But you literally cannot live without sugar. So much so to the point your body will produce it on its own.

    That's the point. You still need some sugar in your system to function.

    Not the same way I need oxygen.

    I do not need to take in any sugars at all. I can make my own. It is not essential to life to ingest it.

    On the other hand, oxygen intake is as essential as you can get.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    Saying that you are addicted to sugar is like saying you're addicted to oxygen...

    Not really. I can live without eating any sugar - I have had days where my carb count is zero - because my body can make the glucose it needs. I can't produce the oxygen I need.

    But you literally cannot live without sugar. So much so to the point your body will produce it on its own.

    That's the point. You still need some sugar in your system to function.

    Not the same way I need oxygen.

    I do not need to take in any sugars at all. I can make my own. It is not essential to life to ingest it.

    On the other hand, oxygen intake is as essential as you can get.

    This is semantics and drawing really fine lines.

    Essential to take in vs. essential to survive.

    I am aware that you are using the word "essential" as if it were in the context of the phrase "essential nutrient", but we've moved the discussion past that and aren't talking in that context.

    The fact is, you need glucose to survive, so much so, that your body makes it.

    You want to mince words and say something isn't necessary because you don't need to take it in because your body makes it? Well, it's still there in your body. There's no getting around that.

    It's necessary to survive.

    I don't think I am mincing words. I never said glucose is not necessary to survive. Or essential to survival. I said I don't need to consume it, which is true. It is not necessary/essential to take in/consume/eat glucose (in the form of carbohydrates) - I can live fine without consuming it.

    Oxygen must be consumed. It is essential/necessary to take it in as I cannot make it. Oxygen and glucose are different that way. One can be made by the body and one cannot. I see a difference there. Perhaps you do not see the distinction - that's okay. We'll just disagree on another thing. ;)
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    I would say my former neighbor was addicted to it. Had type 2 diabetes and would always drink soda, eat junk food, and if someone brought her baked goods she would eat it all and not share with her husband. Anyone who eats sugar to the point their legs have open, seeping diabetic sores, then continues eating is an addict. Ew Dx

    Or perhaps she had a disconnect between her choices and their long term consequences.