Monday, October 6, 2014

Are you an addict?

As it turns out, for most of us the answer is yes. Most Americans and westernized cultures consume tons of sugar on a daily basis.
Sugar has been researched to be more addictive than cocaine and the same centers in the brain that light up from cocaine, light up for sugar.
In actual fact when cocaine addicted mice were given the choice between cocaine and sugar water, most chose the sugar water. Sugar is actually 8 times more addictive than cocaine, so you tell me, are you an addict?

Everything processed and in a box, bottle or can has added sugar.  The major shift from fat to low fat foods happened around the 70's eliciting additional sugar being added to "the new low fat foods" to make them palatable and thus kicking of our addiction years and the consistent rise in obesity.

Like with any other addictive drug, sugar and processed foods cause a temporary high followed by a crash, leading to a vicious cycle of abuse as we tend to eat more for another high and so on. Food addicts, as research shows, are no different from alcoholics or cocaine addicts. Their lives become increasingly out of control, as does their health.

Here are some of the sugar facts and diabesity:

  • Sugar consumption: 152 pounds/year up from 40 lbs in 1980
  • Flour consumption: 146 lbs/yr (GI 100) FYI: flour causes an even higher blood sugar spike than consuming straight sugar.
  • Added sugars:    - 600,000 products and 80% with added sugar, HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) the biggest source of calories in diet.
  • Children sugar consumption facts: 34 tsp a day 
                          - Lustig, R, Nature, Feb 2012, volume 482, 27-29

20 ounces of soda = 15 teaspoons of sugar
A yoplait light yogurt = 1 can of pepsi

Teenage pre-diabetes and diabetes increased from 9% to 23% from 2000 to 2008

Sugar Sweetened Beverages:

  • 60% increased risk of obesity in kids with 1 can of soda a day
  • 80% increased risk of type 2 DM (Diabetes Mellitus) in women with 1 soda a day
  • Sugar sweetened beverages increases risk of Cardio Vascular Disease (CVD), the number one killer in the US

Drinking Soda:

  • spikes blood sugar
  • raises triglycerides
  • lowers "good cholesterol"
  • raises blood pressure
  • lowers testosterone
  • makes men lose body hair
  • makes women infertile
  • makes women bald
  • makes women grow facial hair
This is just soda, not to mention other sweetened beverages. Fruit juice is basically just sugar water and has a very high Glycemic Index (GI)and thus is not the healthier choice.
We tend to forget that all simple carbohydrates act the same way when it enters the mouth...it converts to sugar. When you eat cookies, flour, grains, pasta, white potato etc. these all convert to sugar and should thus be added to your sugar consumption of the day.
HFCS is added to everything...bacon, sausages, processed meats, boxed foods, gum, sweets....the list is endless.

If you eat fast, easy and cheap food, you are an addict and at risk for premature death. This is not a threat, it's a fact. We have had a flood of an extra 700 calories per person per day since 1970 mostly in the form of HFCS from corn and trans fats. This is a major problem and it is time for all of us to pay attention, read food labels, become informed and educated about our food and health.
It has become more and more important to get off sugar and start eating real food. Our health and the lives of future generations depend on this. For the first time ever the next generation is not expected to outlive us.

The food industry has hijacked our taste buds, our brain chemistry, our biology, but it is still up to us to get of the sugar train, to break free of cravings and life-destroying food addictions and to take our health into our own hands. We have no choice but to make healthier food choices and detox from sugar. Only then can we move forward into a healthier, happier future.

Read more about this in greater detail...The blood sugar solution (10 day detox diet) by Dr. Mark Hyman
and more about the food industry and their ploy to keep you addicted: Michael Moss...Salt, sugar, fat






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