Sugar addiction

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TexasNurseMom78
TexasNurseMom78 Posts: 897 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Saw an interesting story a few days ago on either Today or GMA about food addiction. Really made sense. That certain people are pre wired for food addiction. That when you consume fat, sugar and or salt, certain areas in the brain are trigerred to make you want more of it. Not true for all people. Just as some people can have a drink now and then and be fine and others cannot put the bottle down. Thay had a "normal person" and a "food addict" both drink a milkshake while having a brain scan. The first tester (normal) has no visable reaction in the brain. The Seond tester (addict) had all kinds of sensory neuron and pleasure areas of the brain lighting up. So, it concluded that people can become addicted to certain foods just like drugs or alchohol. Definately know that this played a rol in my weight gain and has at times hindered my weight loss. Once I eat something sweet I just want more and more. But if I can avoid it all together, the craving goes away. Thoughts?

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  • erszike48
    erszike48 Posts: 24
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    I have heard that certain people are pre-wired for addictions. I had sweet cravings constantly and just went cold turkey. It helped, but they would sneak back up, especially around pms time! So now I take a supplement called Snack Defense that helps me so much I have no cravings whatsoever. It has calcium and chromium and another herb in it that has been my saving grace!
  • Alisha_countrymama
    Alisha_countrymama Posts: 821 Member
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    Yes I agree. I'm doing the Atkins diet, and have lost 75 pounds, and they say that carbs when consumed make you crave more carbs. So yes I agree on that, and I think it's worse for some, especially ones who are carb addicts
  • Whitty1982
    Whitty1982 Posts: 30 Member
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    That's kinda what my wife and I have learned while doing the Atkins program. We didn't realize how many foods triggered cravings and hunger. We've found lots of alternatives to satisfy cravings without putting the pounds back on.

    Instead of pancakes - she uses a soy powder to make the pancakes and we use sugar free syrup. No cravings for it and no urge to just keep eating and eating. With this plan, we've also noticed that we're not nearly as hungry all the time as we used to be. I eat 3 meals a day, maybe a snack here or there. She eats 5 smaller meals a day.

    Since May of this year - we have both lost nearly 50 lbs each and are still going!
    If we get a sweet tooth - we eat a Bryers Low Carb ice cream bar or Russel Stovers sugar free candy. It normally only takes one and we don't get the crash effect that junk food seems to cause.

    I've also noticed I rarely have heartburn any more. It's just been a matter of staying away from Fat Free foods and being smarter about what we eat. Hope this helps!
  • SuziC66
    SuziC66 Posts: 19
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    That's a tough one, some people say if you starve yourself completely that you crave it more. But if you think you are addicted to something like sweets only eating 1 M&M is going to drive you banana's wanting more. I think if you can figure out the solution to this problem you'll become a very wealthy woman!!
  • Keemckee83
    Keemckee83 Posts: 1
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    I totally agree with you and that article, When i grocery shop my will power is strong, so i don't buy the crap that i used to like for myself. It used to be if the (bad) food was there in the house i would eat it. I have to buy that stuff for my boyfriend (he is skinny no matter what he eats >-[ ) Now that i've been eating healthy and avoiding the sugar and fatty foods (junk) i look at it in our house, and i don't even want it.
  • melbaby925
    melbaby925 Posts: 613
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    That jibes with what I read earlier this year: that sugar and cocaine (alcohol, drugs in general) hit dopamine levels in the brain and you need more and more to hit that same high.

    Also, and this is what's sad - the earlier the person is exposed to sugar in their life, the more likely they are to be a food/sugar addict rather than a drug addict.

    I forget where I read this, but it was online...might have been Dr. Lustig's sugar lecture on YouTube.
  • icerose137
    icerose137 Posts: 318 Member
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    Another study showed sugar addiction is stronger than cocaine. Which explains why it's so hard to say no.

    I am a sugar addict. I try very hard to eat it moderately but I usually fail. I am definitely heading toward the road of cutting it out all together because the cravings are so powerful. Two of my other sisters are also sugar addicts while two of my sisters and my two brothers are not. I bet you can guess which of us are a healthy weight and which of us are not. It falls directly in line with that sugar addiction.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Too much of anything can be addicting. Sugar isn't evil, people have been eating it for several thousand years (the first crystallized sugars started appearing about 8,000 years ago.) If you're predisposed for addictions, you can get addicted to anything, food, drink, drugs, exercise, tv, video games, cleaning, etc.
  • icerose137
    icerose137 Posts: 318 Member
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    Actually like a subset alcholics some people are instantly addicted to sugar and get massive cravings if they have any at all. I am one of those. Even complex carbs if I don't have enough protein with them will give me massive sugar cravings. When I eat more carbs I literally can't think of anything else but food. Sugar is very much evil for me. I describe it as "My closest friend and worst enemy." Because that's how I feel with all things concerning sugar.

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