How does this grab ya’?
Are you driven by cravings and need sugar, alcohol or excitement to keep you from feeling helpless or hopeless? You probably tell yourself things aren’t so bad and you can stop anytime. But you can’t and things keep getting worse.
Those are the words of Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.; author of Potatoes Not Prozac, and other books.
So, okay, I’ll admit it. Over the decades I’ve almost always gone with the sugary alternative when it came time to make a food or beverage choice. Oh, I suspect I’ve always known why, and that it was something I needed to deal with; but I was receiving too many emotional and physical strokes to want to do anything about it. Well, it’s been bugging me a lot lately, and my research led me to Dr. DesMaisons’ work. This is very cool stuff, folks.
DesMaisons suggests those of us who can’t manage our sugary food and beverage consumption tend to suffer from blood sugar instability, insufficient levels of serotonin (raise your hand if you take an SSRI or SSNRI), and low amounts of beta endorphin. This is very much innate, by the way. And it makes buckets of sense to me that when all three of these are out of whack we feel absolutely rotten without the ability to find any measure of relief either volitionally or medicinally. According to Dr. DesMaisons, we are, in effect, out of control.
For more information on unstable blood sugar levels, I’d like you to review my posts, “(Dis)Comfort Foods 1 and 2.” But just now, I’d like to give a bit more attention to these morsels…
Low Serotonin
Of primary importance is the fact that insufficient levels of serotonin in our brains puts the kibosh on solid decision-making. So that means we’re victims of a heck of a lot of impulsivity, making it darned near impossible to say, “No!” And that’s kind of a drag when icky foods and beverages are lurking about.
And, of course, low levels of serotonin leave us on the depressive end of the mood spectrum; which has us long for simple sugars and simple carbs like bread, chips, pasta, and candy. This is happening with biological intention, folks; because our brains know full well that ingesting such foods will provide a serotonin and mood spike. Sadly, though, what goes up must come down. And the effects of the crash are pretty hard to deal with. Am I right?
Low Beta Endorphin
Now, whether you’re sugar-sensitive or not; sugar, like alcohol, causes a release of beta endorphin. And that’s a pain-free buzz “normal” folks can very freely enjoy. However, sugarheads like us respond in a much more prolific manner. I mean, it can make us actually feel drunk. And, okay, being a chocoholic can be funny at times; but, sadly, chronic buzzes like this ultimately lead to a devastating and, perhaps, permanent drop in beta endorphin. And you can imagine what a smack upside the head that would be.
The bottom-line here is the fact that one can become addicted to simple sugars and carbohydrates. And the wild thing is it’s all about the very same dynamics as a heroin or Vicodin addiction. I mean, don’t forget we can catch an immediate buzz by ingesting sugary stuff, and we can go through physical withdrawal, manifested by symptoms such as irritability and headache.
Don’t ever forget, if the sugar bit is an issue for you it’s attributable to your signature body chemistry; which, like other substance dependence issues, may well have been inherited.
So what do I plan to do with this new insight? Easy. I’m gonna’ scoot on over to Dr. DesMaisons’ website right away and learn. And I’ll be sure to get involved with her blog.
What’s your take on all of this? How does this information fit with your life? What might you do about it? As always, we’d like to hear from you.
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