SubscribeCarb Addiction: Real or Not?
A genuine affliction or part of a victim mentality? Now that carbohydrates are the shunned macro-nutrient of choice, the term "addiction" has been attached to them - particularly refined carbohydrates and sugars. Let's take a look at both sides of the argument:
The "Yes" Side
- Sugar and other refined carbohydrates have been shown to act in the same way as illicit drugs do - essentially by taking similar metabolic pathways.
- It occurs largely because of the overproduction of insulin that accompanies a refined carbohydrate feeding.
- High glycemic index foods also produce a boost in tryptophan - which has a tranquilizing effect. People can easily become addicted to tranquilizers, so it wouldn't be a big stretch to think that carbs may become the addictive substance to achieve this affect.
- Also, people reach for refined carbs and sugars while stressed. This may also be a sign of addiction. People have reported headaches, irritability and shakiness when needing a sugar fix - all signs of withdrawal commonly seen in addicts. Studies on rats have exhibited similar findings.
The "No" side
- Our society seems to have adopted a penchant for "pathologizing" bad habits
- This cult of victimization leads people to believe that their bad habits are a genetic or medical issue.
- Sugar cravings are just as much psychological as they are physical. By deciding to live a healthier life, anybody can reduce sugar intake without suffering any physical consequences.
- There are genuine addictions out there such as hard drugs and alcohol. Just because eating sugar may stimulate similar centers in the brain, does not make it an addiction.
Where I come out on this
I think people can have cravings for sugar that vary in strength. I also think that some people are genetically more susceptible to sugar/carb cravings than others from both a physical and mental perspective.
I have a problem, however with the comparison of carbohydrate addiction to hard drugs, nicotine or alcohol. I think the term "addiction" should be used only in reference to destructive chemical dependencies which are toxic to the body. Withdrawal from alcohol, for instance can cause seizures, profound confusion, disorientation, hallucinations, hyperactivity, and extreme cardiovascular disturbances). For this reason, I think any comparison of carbohydrate "addiction" to other substances is far-fetched.
For the purpose of overall health and fat loss goals, refined carbs and sugar should be kept under control, no doubt. I think it is possible, however to enjoy them sparingly and guilt free - without being "addicted" to them.
References:
- White PJ, Cybulski KA, Primus R, Johnson DF, Collier GH, Wagner GC. Rutgers, State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick 08903. Physiol Behav 1988;43(1):73-77
- Calantuoni, C et. Al. "Evidence that intermittent, excessive sugar intake causes endogenous opioid dependence" Obesity Research (2002)
- About.com: Alcoholism
Thoughtful piece. It could be repackaged into an article titled "Food Addiction: Real or Not?"
ReplyCool article.
I agree the main (only?) difference seems to be that "carb-addiction" does not have harsh withdrawal symptoms however some sort of related affliction seems to affect a lot of people -- especially in the US.
Perhaps it just comes down to semantics. "Addiction" is used in a lot of different contexts it seems.
People with any sort of addiction do feel victimized as you note. But whether it's hard drugs or Swiss Rolls it's all their own fault, but getting them to realize that is a struggle in and of itself.
Cheers,
Reply-Josh
"This cult of victimization leads people to believe that their bad habits are a genetic or medical issue."
ReplyExplains 90% of the people on this site.
You must feel really good about yourself now that you've mentioned how superior you are to the 90% of fat losers who think they are victims here on this site. Good job.
With this being a fat acceptance site and all, of course 90% of people make excuses and refuse to diet. Oh wait. It is called "Diet Blog" and everyone here has either dieted to their ideal weight already, or is in the process of dieting now. I can see how that was confusing for you.
ReplyA tad touchy aren't we?
ReplyPeople just need to learn how to eat correctly. Most peoples idea of a diet is starving themselves until they splurge on McDonalds then wonder why they failed. Then come to this site and cry about it.
I am just saying people need to stop playing the victim/genetic/medical card.
It is just this powerless attitude to make changes that is annoying.
ReplyIt was a number taken from thin air. It could be more or less.
Reply^_^ that's a fancy way of saying it's meaningless...
ReplyYou must not read the comment section much my friend. Should I go through and count each victim? How many posts back should I go to create an accurate statistic?
Fine... 87%
Reply76.45% of statistics are made up on the spot.
ReplySCal, we call that "argumentum ad ignorantiam"...
Hi Jim! I'll shut up now.
ReplyGood to see you around again :-)
ReplyForget substantiating 90% - point me to ONE victim post like that, with someone whining that they binged at McDonald's - cause I seem to be missing them. I see the regulars, I see the desperate people willing to go on stuff like the fat flush diet or the 5-bite diet, I see the teenagers with serious body image issues that scare me - but somehow I seem to miss these posts about binging on junk food.
ReplyIt never ceases to amaze me just how many ignorant people are out there.
For many individuals, there is a REAL thing as carbohydrate "addiction".
These individuals have some type of abnormality that causes them to be deficient in one or more neurotransmitters...especially serotonin and / or dopamine.
The body needs specific dietary amino acids to manufacture these neurotransmitters. When it comes to boosting the "feel good" neurotransmitter serotonin, the amino acid tryptophan is required. Eating protein-rich foods alone will NOT boost serotonin levels, as it is the "runt of the amino acid litter", and will not enter the brain, due to compettion with other amino acids.
Carbohydrate-rich foods will help sweep the other amino acids into the muscles, and allow tryptophan to enter the brain, thus boosting serotonin. When this happens, the cravings will cease...at least temporarily.
People DO suffer from addictions to carbohydrates, fats and other nutrients, which is the body's way of saying "I will keep craving certain foods UNTIL you give me what I need!".
For anyone that doesn't believe that carbohydrate or other foods can be "addicting", I suggest you read the books "The Diet Cure" and / or "The Mood Cure", both by Julia Ross, M.A., a specialist who deals with food addictions the same way many "real" addicts of drugs and alcohol are successfully treated!
Anyone that thinks carohydrate "addictions" are excuses made up by people lacking willpower, do your homework before making such idiotic comments.
As the old saying goes..."it is better to have people think you are a fool, rather than open your mouth and remove all doubt".
ReplyI think it's really important that addiction not be based soley on the danger of the substance. There's definitely a quality of life issue that comes into play with addiction and food addiction can be just as cripling in this sense as _________ (pick your poison) addiction.
I've been involved in OA (overeater's annonymous) and have heard a lot of stories that are clearly about addiction. From people eating themselves into coma's (seriously, they had to be hospitalized) to going through extreme withdrawal symptoms while trying to detox their bodies from sugar, caffeine, and refined carbs (it takes about 10 days and people experience migraines, dizziness, shaking, and nausea and they are generally unpleasant - one woman I know ended up taking a week off from work because she couldn't function during the withdrawal).
I do think food addiction is very real but it's a lot easier to hide and rarely taken seriously because the damage takes a while to show. One thing I'm sure of, if not addressed, it will eventually lead to premature death (through diabetes, heart disease, suicide, etc.).
And in the meantime, quality of life suffers.
ReplyI agree that one can have food addictions.
Of course, the addict is still responsible for recovery!
It was their choices which led up to the addiction, and they must now choose to recover.
(BTW, in the original article, it should be "illicit" rather than "elicit".)
ReplyGood catch, Kailash! I didn't pick up on that.
Replyi love sugar, i never did as a kid, but as an adult, i find myself always wanting something sweet. fruit doesn't always do it and i turn to chocolate muffins, its not a good thing. however, i wouldn't classify this as an addiction... more of a lack of will power, really. i know that if i have an apple instead of the muffin after i've already helped myself to a peach, that i'll still be better off with those carbs than refined sugar carbs. i just choose the muffin and regret it later LOL.
ReplyThis is interesting. As someone whose been eating a high carb diet my entire life it's been surprisingly easy to reduce the amount of carbs I eat, though I haven't reduced my carb intake to atkins levels.
ReplySugar = weight gain and sickness. Pure and simple. You don't have to be overweight either to get diabetes or cancer. If people choose to eat sugar then it is their choice. I on occasion have sugar...and when I do I feel like crap an hour later...so hence I have no desire for more sugar.
Try fasting for 24-36 hours on water...you will see your cravings go from sugar....to more fat and protein based. Longer fasts reset the metabolic signaling for survival that is all in our DNA. We weren't designed to live on sugar....we were just designed to eat sugar during the short season it was available (in the summer), fatten up and then make it through the winter with more protein/fat eating and living off internal fat stores. That's the evolutionary way.
Kicking any addiction is never easy, but people have to take responsibility and just do it. Health is a choice made daily, no excuses.
ReplyFor sugar sensitive people, sugar is as addictive as any toxic drug.
That is the conclusion of Kathleeen des Maisons, a pioneer of sugar addiction research. (She wrote Potatoes Not Prozac.) Her work into sugar addiction came about after working with alcoholics. (Alcohol, after all, is simply a form of sugar.)
Does this mean everyone is sugar sensitive? No. Just like some people can drink a glass of wine and stop, while others drink to destruction, some people react to sugar with addiction, and others don't.
Radiantrecovery.com, Dr. Des Maison's site, explains the science of sugar addiction, but it goes beyond insulin.
In my own personal experience, I was a sugar addict from childhood into my early 30s. I gave up sugar for good, abstaining from all forms of sugar, including "healthy" sweeteners like honey or fruit juice concentrate, because sugar, was, literally, making me crazy. I experienced violent mood swings, depression, suicidal thoughts, irrational anger and irritability, weight gain, obsessive thoughts about food, and binge eating---all from eating sugar. When I gave up sugar, I regained my life.
This doesn't mean that I think every person who eats sugar should abstain. My husband can have a bowl of ice cream and be unaffected, unlike myself, who would eat ice cream until I was sick, unable to stop once I started.
How can you know if you're sugar sensitive? Look at how your body reacts when you eat sugar. Do you crave more and more of it after eating it? Do you compulsively seek it out, like a drug? Do you find you can't stop eating sugar once you start? Those are all clues that you may be sugar sensitive.
Now for the tricky part: How do you give it up? I wrote an ebook to answer that very question. My ebook will be available at my website, firstourselves.com, tomorrow. The best part? To serve the highest good of all, it will be free for the next 30 days.
Other resources you may try: Connie Bennett's informative, fabulous book, Sugar Shock (sugarshock.com), Lick Your Sugar Habit by Nancy Appleton, and Julia Ross's books The Diet Cure and The Mood Cure.
To your health,
ReplyKarly Pitman/First Ourselves
There's also been some research suggesting that women are more likely to crave carbohydrates in certain situations than men. For example, when a woman is feeling sad she will crave sweets and breads, whereas a man will often crave protein foods like chicken wings and cheese.
ReplyI think this has been long recognized as a real condition, except they call it "reactive hypoglycemia", isn't it?
They make you take a glucose tolerance test to determine if, when you have sugar, you have a fast rise then a fast drop in blood sugar. If you do, it is not that you become "addicted" to sugar (I believe addiction is the more psychological component, like musajen mentioned), but that once you have that fast drop in blood sugar, you reach for more sugar. Then the cycle repeats itself endlessly, and you get some crazy mood swings in the process.
I am a diagnosed "reactive hypoglycemic" person and I've tried everything from ketogenic diet to moderate low-glycemic carb to moderate carb excluding grain sources to a more traditional "balanced diet" and in my experience, there is a balance that can be achieved. When I was on a ketogenic diet, a carrot would give me a sugar crash - I don't want to go my entire life without carrots, so that is out. On a balanced diet, I was hungry all the time with mood swings, so that is out. I stick to moderate low-GI carb most of the time, but have something with sugar in it about once a week with no side effects. It has to be something fatty but without trans fats though (I found that trans fats, even when without any sugar in them, give me the same sugar crash I'd get from eating jellybeans) and always after a meal with protein and fiber in it.
In short, I don't think sugar is necessarily evil, and neither is refined carb - but people eat too much of both of them as a rule. "Having a cookie" used to mean going to a bakery and getting something the size of a Chips Ahoy and washing it down with milk; now a bakery cookie could feed a small family. And having that cookie was an indulgence, not something you did everyday at 4pm. A small bowl (about 1 cup) of white rice with a vegetable and protein asian stir-fry isn't gonna kill you or make you feel sick, three cups with barely any vegetables and protein over them definitely will.
ReplyHeck, today's bakery cookies could feed a village. Those things are GINORMOUS!
ReplyI'm still traumatized about the time I bought a whole-grain blueberry muffin for breakfast in the US and it took me all day to finish it. I ate about 1/4 of it for breakfast, 1/2 for a late lunch, and only finished it at dinner - and I was walking around all day, *and* I'm usually considered a big eater to the point that people mention it to me.
So yes, portions are huge all over, but especially in the US. I also never managed to finish a restaurant entree while splitting it with my mother, and people were finishing theirs, getting dessert, an appetizer, and the bread basket. The whole weight problem thing just made so much more sense to me.
ReplyJan, I know what you mean about the muffins! I used to eat whole jumbo muffins from Perkins for breakfast and I found out that most of them are about 500-600 calories each, probably more. They really are gigantic and they probably do contain something like 3 or 4 actual servings. I would think eating that many carbs in one serving would cause a blood sugar spike in anyone, not just reactive hypoglycemics.
ReplyOh yeah - anyone eating a ton of sugar, like say, people who drink regular soda, will have reactive hypoglycemia. We really aren't built for the amount of sugar to which we've had access to in the past 50 years.
ReplyI don't think that food addictions can be classified the same way that illicit drug addictions are. Your body NEEDS food to live, so it sort of makes logical sense that your brain/body is sort of hard-wired to, ya know, CRAVE food when certain nutrients are missing from the diet. Drugs are something purely extra in the diet and most of them mess up your body's brain chemistry and we don't actually NEED them. I think our society uses the whole "addiction" thing to shift responsibility off of themselves. It's a lot easier to say "Well, I just can't give up sugar because I'm a sugar addict" or "I'm a chocoholic and I can't get over that". Just like some people are "carboholics" or "chipoholics" or "shopaholics" or "sexaholics", etc. It's another way to shift the blame off ourselves and onto society.
ReplySpectra, I agree that "holic" is added too often to things to flippantly excuse consuming an extra cookie or whatever your vice of choice is. That is not addiction.
But food addiction (FA) is different than that and, really, very similar to alcoholism.
You made the argument that we need to eat to live. In the same vein, we need to drink to live. We need to consume fluids just as we need to consume food for our body to function properly. The question then becomes, why can an alcoholic drink water without overdoing it? The issue for an alcoholic isn't the action of drinking, it's the fluid they are drinking.
The same is true of FA - the addiction usually revolves around refined sugars and carbs - things we don't need. We don't need table sugar, high fructose corn syrup, bleached flour, yellow die #5, twinkies, pop, or Lean Cuisine to survive. But this stuff can trigger reactions in some people much like an alcoholic encountering jack daniels and they don't even realize how much they've consumed until waking up with a hangover the next morning (food hangovers exist).
What an addiction comes down to is being powerless over a substance and life becoming unmanageable due to the substance (OA/AA Step 1).
Being powerless over a substance DOES NOT mean that people are helpless though. There are actions to take to prevent a fall down the rabbit hole. The real b*^%@ is the journey leading up to the moment when an addict is ready to act.
ReplyGood point. That's why it's our responsibility to know what we are putting in our bodies so we minimize our exposure to weird chemicals that screw up our bodies. I personally believe that we as a society are overfed yet undernourished. Most people eat a diet high in calories, yet low in vital nutrients. So then they crave yet more food so their bodies can get all the nutrition they need and the cycle continues. Once I started eating a diet rich in fruits, veggies, and lean proteins and cutting back on processed foods, I found I didn't even want the processed stuff anymore.
ReplyMan that chocolate bar in the article picture sure looks good!
ReplyPleasure on the lips, pain in the hips.
ReplyUmm... perhaps I'm warped, but I didn't see the chocolate bar first when I looked at the photo.
ReplyThe great majority of people are no more addicted to carbs than they are to food.
Dr. Atkins convinced me I am a "carbaholic." But I'm not going to forego the well-established health benefits of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
I've been a practicing physician for 24 years, in the hospital exclusively for the last 6. I've never seen anyone "eat themselves into a coma," except perhaps for the rare diabetic who overdoses on carbs. And that has always been accidental in my experience.
By the way, Mike, thanks for listing references. What a refreshing change from most bloggers!
-Steve Parker, M.D.
Replywww.AdvancedMediterraneanDiet.com/blog/
I don't know about carb addiction, but I believe food addiction is real. Maybe jumped to too quickly in scenerios-- but real.
I was bulimic long ago... the binging part was much harder to stop than the purging. Also, had problems when I was younger with crystal meth. That, being one of the most highly addictive drugs, was easier to stop than binging. Granted, I stopped all of these behaviors... but I still am struck with how very difficult it was to stop binging -- the food might not have been as addictive physically as the drug, but mentally-- you also couldn't give it up cold turkey and stop associating with anyone who you used to eat around, either.
Just my $0.02.
ReplyI don't think addiction should be trivialized. I've lost too many friends and family (including my mother) to drug addiction and alcoholism. But I have to wonder if assuming ALL cases of food addiction are just a personal failure, not an addiction, is similar to when alcoholism was first suggested as an addiction, and people responded it was just someone over imbibing, afterall, lots of people drink and aren't addicted, just like many people eat even eat too much and aren't really addicted to it.
You can BE addicted to something....but you still have a choice...slap a label of "having an addiction" then you lose all sense of personal choice and power. You do not own anything....nothing....you do not own a disease...you just have symptoms...so many people are giving up their power of choice and responsibility to labels (mostly sold by people who want to sell you a pill to "cure" you). A choice can be hard...or simple...but it's still a choice. The people telling you it is ok to eat sugar and kill yourself slowly....are not people with your best interest in mind. But the past doesn't matter...it's only the choices we make in the present moment that should matter all the time....and being aware of what we are really choosing.
ReplyI think a lot of people that are former food addicts tend to have an "addictive" personality, meaning that it's easy for them to get addicted to anything. My mom's side of the family is FULL of "addictive" personalities. My grandpa and two of my uncles are alcoholics, my mom and her two sisters are food addicts, one of my aunts is a compulsive gambler, and it seems like it's just very very easy for people in our family to get "hooked" on doing things. I used to depend on food to fill all my spare time and cure my boredom, but now that I don't do that anymore, I find myself more "addicted" to other things like shopping, working out, baking, etc.
There have also been quite a few studies showing that people who have had GB surgery become alcoholics after their surgeries because they substitute one addiction for another.
ReplyThat is a very interesting point. On one hand, we do tend to observe what seems to be a genetic component to addictive personalities, even; on the other hand, we are in a society where being addicted to things is made so much easier, be it drugs and their availability, shopping with how easy it is to get credit cards, or doughnuts and how cheap and easy to find they are. Then with food, you also add the physical components of reactive hypoglycemia and just being malnourished, and we have a recipe for disaster, with 4 different causes - and also the fact that contrary to alcohol, you can't have a food addict just stop eating altogether and not going to places where there will be food or people who consume food.
And one of my friends who had the GB is an alcoholic. He will drink to the point of passing out every weekend, and even had to be taken to the ER for alcohol poisoning. This was a guy that before, would have 1 beer. Now he is a hardcore alcoholic.
My aunt who had the GB (RIP) became a serious "shopaholic" after it. She'd watch tv shopping channels and order stuff nonstop. So it does seem like the fundamental causes are not addressed.
ReplyJan, I definitely see what you mean...our society these days is built on instant gratification and it IS very easy to get addicted to things. My therapist calls them "soft" addictions, meaning that they aren't real physiological addiction (shopping, internet addiction, video game addiction, etc.). And I do agree with you that the way our food supply is, it's very easy to eat addictive foods because they're all around us and they're cheap and relatively tasty. I still maintain that once you rid your diet of most refined carbohydrates, you stop craving most of that sort of stuff. I used to hunt down sugar like a fiend...if there was a cake in the house, I'd eat piece after piece of it. Now I could care less if there is cake around or not; I just don't care for it anymore.
Oh, incidentally, I know a woman who had the GB surgery done and who is now an alcoholic as well. I really do think you have to address all the psychological issues behind overeating before you cut someone open. The surgery is stomach surgery, not brain surgery :)
ReplyI think you have to eat it in masses and everything is ok
ReplyThis is a bunch of crap. Everything is bloody addictive these days. As someone who quit cigarettes and cocaine, I find it annoying.
Besides, I REALLY enjoy my almost daily thin mint or two, or a chocolate almond or two. And I am Far from death, and it doesn't make me feel like crap (though a whole piece of cake does). Moderation really is the key to life (except with cigarettes-just not going to go there).
ReplyI explored OA, FA and FAA at the beginning of the year. Although I have a weight problem I did not feel I fit into the classic "food addict" category, and was not sure that I agreed that people were physiologically addicted to sugar,wheat and flour. I found a lot of the people in these organizations were addicts in other areas of their lives and many binged, purged on food, none of which I did. Many said they were now "free" but I saw constant struggle.
In addition although they said all fat people were not food addicts, the minute you questioned if you were they immediately felt you were in denial and were simply "not ready" or were not surrendering. Chewing a stick of gum or having a breath mint did not send me into a downward spiral like they apparently felt it would. When I eliminated flour, sugar and wheat from my diet I did not go into "withdrawals" as they said I would, nor did I feel different when I added some back into my diet after several months. My heart goes out to those who seem to genuinely be addicted (whether physically or mentally) but I am not one of them and continue to find my way in the maze of weight loss advice and thought.
I agree we need to be careful with sugar and refined foods, but a physiological addiction like alcohol and drugs? The jury is still out where I am concerned on that one.
ReplyLaura, but I can also have a glass of champagne at New Year's Eve and not go into a week-long binging drink, and that doesn't mean some people aren't alcoholics, you know?
Just because you are not addicted, does not necessarily mean they are not.
ReplyI couldn't agree with your feelings more! The term "addiction" should stay in the realms of nicotine and drugs etc - not food.
ReplyIt drives me nuts when I hear people say they are addicted to food. We need food to live. I really believe that we crave carbs because our bodies need it. Carbs are after all fuel for our body. The problem really lays with the fact that we choose the wrong type of carbs.
excuses excuses excuses guys
Replyinteresting article!
ReplyIf it is an addiction I should treat it like one, I quit smoking no more cravings, I quit drugs and alcohol no more cravings , so if I stay off the refined carbs and sugars I`ll be OK right?
ReplyAs somebody recovering from an eating disorder, I think that we are all addicted to carbs. We need them in order to function: work, go out with friends, sleep. Take them away and you get one very hungry person. It is an addiction, but not a bad one.
ReplyI think we feel addicted to the feeling we get when our blood sugar is low and how good carbs make our bodies feel. I know I can get to be a carb junky where all my bodie is craving sugary carbs. Absolutely not good, but it definitely happens.
Reply