“What is addiction, really? It is a sign, a signal, a symptom of distress. It is a language that tells us about a plight that must be understood.” – Alice Miller
Have you ever caught yourself passing by a wonderful looking chocolate store, full of delicious cakes and sweets, and feeling so ecstatic … like you’ve seen a gorgeous lady or a handsome guy, smiling and checking you out? Or thinking: “O.M.G. I am so in love with this store! I would eat all of it … everything.
Or, have you seen how a small child behaves after just one block of chocolate? Not to sound like C.K. Louise, but honestly, it’s a terrible thing to do ... not just to your kid, with diluted pupils acting like they took ecstasy or speed, but to yourself as well! Why? Because, the sugar “coming-off” thing is about to happen, and you’re about to witness your kid all-over-the-place! You’ll be lucky not to get kicked between your legs, face, chest, or even spat on. Not to mention that your former little darling will now sound and look like a “Chocolate Zombie” … which is scary!
See, that right there, is one of society’s “allowed,” or rather, most heavily encouraged addictions (next to alcohol) – SUGAR!
We all know scientists have found that sugar is extremely addictive. It actually stimulates the same pleasure centers of the brain as cocaine or heroin. Sugar withdrawal and cravings are similar to THC or coffee withdrawal, and it takes a comprehensive detox process to wean yourself from the terrible symptoms of sugar addiction.
So … how does it work?
Let’s say you just ended a toxic relationship and ate a comfort food with your movie, or took a piece of cake in some restaurant, or just got drunk (alcohol also contains a huge amount of sugar). For sure, your dopamine levels spiked and you felt better for a moment. Now, however, your organs are working overtime to digest all that sugar so that your poor body can rebalance its chemistry again. Your pancreas and liver are definitely not thanking you!
Not long thereafter, you will suffer withdrawal symptoms … since your dopamine levels are dropping and now you again feel those emotions that were briefly “numbed out” with sugar. The usual response? Go for more, right?!
Or, let’s say, your kid is having one of those hellish days. And you just can’t figure out how to “rescue” the situation. All you want is some sanity and a bit of peace! So you give your little darling the chocolate. The distraction works. The drugs kick in! And everything stops for a moment. No yelling, no running around, just peace. Sounds good, right?
Don’t be tricked, this doesn’t last. Very soon, the cycle is repeating itself!
Neuroscientist Dr. Nicole Avena clinically studied why people eat food that is not in their best health interest. What she found, was fascinating. It is known that addictive drugs act on brain systems which evolved to reinforce natural behaviors such as sex and feeding. She found that there are “overlaps” in brain pathways activated by palatable foods and drugs, and that sugar is particularly overstimulating this “brain rewarding system.” The brain works the same with drugs and sugar – the dopamine system is stimulated, which is a neurotransmitter. With sugar abuse, the pattern of release of dopamine levels is more akin to what you would see with hard drugs, and dissimilar to what you would generally see with regular healthy food.
“We should start with children. Stop giving them chocolate as reinforcing food.” – Nicole Avena
Unfortunately, the sugar addiction problem doesn’t stop there …
When sugar is in our system we stimulate a food reaction which is very dangerous for our health. In our intestines lives Candida Albicans, a pathogenic yeast, and a common member of our gut flora. But, when overgrowth occurs, humans suffer symptoms only marginally better than food poisoning. Our gut is also full of natural bacteria that feed on the yeast and keep levels naturally low, in order to stop it from becoming a problem.
The yeast becomes problematic when it grows beyond normal levels and spreads throughout the gastrointestinal tract, into the bloodstream, and from there throughout the body. It feeds off sugary food, alcohol, bread, pasta, and food high in carbohydrates. The worst thing is that, even when we quit eating sugar, it continues to give us cravings … like a parasitic organism.
If we take a look at another perspective and point out the massive intake of sugar around the world, the concordant obesity, and diabetes levels in our population, why is this not being addressed at a global level?
There are many researchers, scientists, and doctors addressing this problem, but the fact that humans are turning into Chocolate Zombies, rather than using food as fuel to build up the body, is as scary as the Apocalypse itself (in fact, it is a kind of apocalyptic event!).
Still, there are commercials everywhere ramming delicious sugary food down our throats. It’s as if we are programmed and forced into this addiction, in order to allow the monster corporations to make their obscene profits.
This might sound like one of those conspiracy theories, but it is proven sugar is addictive as cocaine, and it is sold everywhere, isn’t it?! As the eternal question goes … “cui bono” (who benefits?), the answer to that seems pretty obvious. Certainly not humanity.
The only real question is, whether there is a “safe” measure for us as the consumers, or should we not use it at all?
“If you can quit for a day, you can quit for a lifetime.” – Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Even though we are humans and chocolate might be one of the best things ever made, there do exist ways to enjoy it without becoming addicted to sugar and thereby providing a feeding-frenzy for other organisms in our bodies.
So, now you know all the above, what do you think? Are we having a Chocolate Zombie Apocalypse, or what?!
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Have a wonderful day, week, and life!
I think a chocolate zombie apocalypse is bit of a stretch but sugar addiction is without a doubt real. If taken moderately, sugar is benificial but like all things if it is abused then it is harmful. Unfortunately, this is one addiction that is difficult to stop, much harder than drugs like cocaine and heroin. Unless the government take a stand, we will see more and more of the effect of sugar addiction and a real chocolate zombie apocalypse might actually happen.
I'm going to kindly disagree with you there. Part of the reason this issue exist is because of government subsidies making sugar and corn syrups cheaper than healthier alternatives along with the regulations regarding organic food making them more expensive. It's not only in the government's best interest to keep the money they make from this, as well as another reason to take control of healthcare, but also helps the masses stay nice and fat and happy. Bread and circuses and let them eat cake, as they say.
The best we can hope is to continue to educate and raise awareness so people make smarter decisions and vote with their personal choices. If people want to be sugar addicted zombies, that's there choice. I choose not to, and I would hate if someone got the government to regulate my choices just because they disagreed with it.
Best of luck to you on this site. Hopefully we can impact some change through it, and thank you and @lifenbeauty for opening a dialogue!
Edited for spelling.
Thank you and best of luck to you as well.
Well, the title was meant to be a bit stretchy. 😊
There are many healthy alternatives to sugar, like honey, for example. I believe that our governments should deal with sugar in a similar way they deal with tobacco - it's not forbidden, but excise is paid on it and the awareness about its negative effects is becoming more and more widespread.
Thank you for the comment, @riovanes!
Sugar is everywhere in everything. When my kids were little I kept them away from processed sugars of every type and then .... they started school .... the teachers were rewarding the students, including my children, with candy. It was simply impossible to keep them away from it.
Many people don't realize how many types of food contain significant amounts of sugar. Unfortunately, this also includes many teachers, who should be role models for the kids. Thank you for the meaningful comment and good luck with saving your kids from the "Apocalypse"! : )
I was just talking about this to a few clients! Sugar is crazy addictive and for someone our culture just supports the addiction. I think many people don't even realize they are addicted until the stop. You begin to no longer crave anything with sugar. It is something everyone needs to be educated on so they can make informed decisions when it comes to their health
Awesome post! :)
Thank you! I agree, it's important to spread awareness about the sugar problem in our culture. I believe that one day it will be frowned upon like the tobacco is and I hope that the day will come sooner rather than later. I see that you are new on Steemit, good luck, keep up with the good comments and posts! : )
Great article! I started the Ketogenic diet at the end of January and have cut my carb and sugar intake drastically. Despite there being so many things that have sugar in it, I have managed to lose over 30lbs to this day. It was challenging at first but once I got past the first two weeks I rarely crave sweets.
Keep up the great work, I'm definitely following for more.
Wow, very nice results, congratulations. Yes, I can imagine that it is usually critical to overcome the initial adjustment hurdle, with the healthy diet later becoming much more easier and natural. Thank you, @zacanarchy143! : )
Sugar is a problem and processed sugar is the real problem.
There are better alternatives to sweet, for example, honey; however, when money is involved, the industry will try to lower costs.
Thanks for your valuable post.
I agree 100% that healthy alternatives to processed sugar should be used. I have a habit of drinking a tea with honey and lemon in the morning. Unfortunately, in many places around the world, things like honey are not very affordable. Thank you for commenting, @antonella!
Great Read. Sugar is the devil!!
@steviezenith
I agree sugar is the devil.
Is very humorous this post and pictures
but thruth.
Thank you, @steviezenith, I'm glad you liked it! The article I mean, not the devilish sugar. : )