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So, I seem to be hopelessly hooked on sugar. I really don't want to be; I've been gaining a bit of weight lately and it just makes me feel horrible. I quite smoking cigarettes quite a few years back, and this seems much, much harder. So, is sugar addiction a real thing? Are there any good books about it? Are there any legitimate programs or treatment centers that deal with this?
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Jan 21, 2016 01:57
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Switching to a sugar substitute (such as Splenda) seems like a good first step. Alternately, if you'd rather not eat anything artificial, consider stevia extract, honey or agave syrup. Past that, the usual advice applies: see your doctor for a physical, exercise regularly, and eat healthy. EDIT: For the record, I am not a nutritionist nor do I have any medical experience.
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Jan 21, 2016 21:14
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Artificial sweeteners are a good way to go. Your consuming sugar is more of a habit than any sort of physical dependence, so as long as you still feel like you're eating sweet things you shouldn't have much trouble. If you drink soda/juice, switch over to diet. Non-diet soft drinks have crazy amounts of calories, and after 2-3 days of drinking diet, your taste will adjust. Fat free whipped cream is zero calories and is really versatile for making desserts. You can make all sorts of low calorie desserts to satisfy your sweet tooth; it just takes some time to learn the recipes and get in the habit of preparing them for yourself.
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Jan 22, 2016 03:46
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Wampa Stompa posted:Non-diet soft drinks have crazy amounts of calories, and after 2-3 days of drinking diet, your taste will adjust.and get in the habit of preparing them for yourself. I was never really a regular soda drinker, but would occasionally have something that didn't come in a diet/sugar-free version. After switching to solely diet soda, those actually became too sweet so I moved over to flavored seltzer water. I found that I was mostly drinking soda for the carbonated aspect, plus seltzer is pretty cheap where I live, so win-win.
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Jan 23, 2016 00:07
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Doghouse posted:So, I seem to be hopelessly hooked on sugar. I really don't want to be; I've been gaining a bit of weight lately and it just makes me feel horrible. I quite smoking cigarettes quite a few years back, and this seems much, much harder. How do you consume most of your sugar? Do you add sweeteners to drinks and meals, drink soda, eat lots of baked goods or candy? Use an artificial sweetener like stevia in your hot drinks, change to a diet soda or a sugar-free squash, make your own baked goods and substitute things like stevia and agave nectar for the sugar. Cut down on milkshakes, Starbucks coffees, or anything like that you might be consuming regularly. Stop adding sugar to meals like spaghetti and chili if you do that. Look for low-sugar canned sauces and vegetables. If you like pure fruit juice, try eating the fruit itself instead, you will get the same taste but with more fibre to balance out the sugars a little. Candy is a little more difficult to deal with in my experience. I really love the stuff and the alternatives are pretty meh to me. I deal with this by not buying any candy during my weekly shop, but instead only purchasing single bars of chocolate or small packets of sweets on a pitstop during a long walk. This might also help you lose weight, a somewhat speedy 4-5 mile walk can burn about 500 calories and if you only get 300kcal worth of the sugary treat, you will manage to get a small fix at a net benefit to your health. Don't buy multipacks with lots of bars of chocolate in, as then you'll be tempted to eat them whenever without doing something to balance it out. TL;DR: the key is not to deny yourself a sugary treat now and again, but make sure there is minimal sugar in the rest of your diet and that you're getting enough exercise.
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Jan 23, 2016 06:05
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There are a few decent sugar-free candies out there. Sugar-free Reese's cups taste almost exactly like the real thing, and both the sugar-free York patties and Russell Stover's candies are decent as well. There's also a ton of sugar-free gum out there, which can help as a distraction.
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Jan 23, 2016 22:11
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lambeth posted:There are a few decent sugar-free candies out there. Sugar-free Reese's cups taste almost exactly like the real thing, and both the sugar-free York patties and Russell Stover's candies are decent as well. There's also a ton of sugar-free gum out there, which can help as a distraction. Don't eat too many of these, they will make you poop a lot. Just get small bites of dark chocolate and eat slowly. You'll appreciate the taste more and it has less sugar.
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Jan 23, 2016 22:51
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And here's a documentary about the dangers of aspartame: https://youtu.be/7Wu66sGw2dQ So perhaps the only smart thing to do is severely limit sugar, and otherwise eat unprocessed foods. I'm not here to argue with people - I'm sure the film is biased to some extent. However, it's foolish to put too much trust in the corporate powers that be, and they certainty want to make money more than they want to be socially responsible.
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Jan 23, 2016 23:27
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Diabetes 101, or Put Down the loving Candy is pretty good as showing the end result of too much sugar.
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Jan 24, 2016 00:32
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Tenacious J posted:And here's a documentary about the dangers of aspartame: https://youtu.be/7Wu66sGw2dQ Yeah, and rabies vaccines gave my cats autism. Aspartame is one of the most thoroughly tested and studied food additives the FDA has ever approved. And they're not alone in their findings. http://www.gao.gov/products/HRD-87-46 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10408440701516184 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273230002915424 (full text behind a paywall, but abstract also claims aspartame is safe) http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blasp.htm http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/addit/sweeten-edulcor/aspartame-eng.php http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/additives/aspartame/pages/default.aspx https://web.archive.org/web/20070102024642/http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/1999/699_sugar.html
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Jan 24, 2016 01:50
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Tenacious J posted:And here's a documentary about the dangers of aspartame: https://youtu.be/7Wu66sGw2dQ Yeah, this is nonsensical fear mongering. There isn't a shred of peer reviewed evidence that Aspartame is detrimental to health in any way, and misinformation like this is why they took it out of Diet Pepsi, replacing it with the infinitely shittier-tasting Stevia. Thanks a lot for ruining my diet cola of choice, rear end in a top hat  !
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Jan 24, 2016 02:32
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Don't quote youtube 'documentaries' as evidence, good lord. That is basic common sense. I'm not that well read on it so I will not make any outlandish statements but I've never read a peer reviewed study concluding that aspartame isn't safe for humans in normal doses. Like almost anything to do with health and nutrition, not everyone agrees - and those disagreements range from legitimate gripes about research methodology to stupid youtube video conspiracy theories. Like most fitness and weight loss related problems, people who say you might have sugar addiction are usually trying to sell you a cure for sugar addiction. Keep that in mind.
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Jan 24, 2016 04:38
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The addiction is real. In some people sugar increases dopamine more than others. Try replacing your sugar habit with other dopamine producing activities, like sex.
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Jan 24, 2016 05:21
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It is definitely a real thing and can be linked to having an alcoholic parent in some cases. So maybe try not having those genes and/or an alcoholic father OP?
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Jan 25, 2016 05:40
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Aspartame can contribute to weight gain in certain groups. Basically, for some people it triggers a response as if you had eaten sugar... basically giving you the effects you don't want. Try and get drinks sweetened with stevia etc. if you can and see if it makes a difference. Also try to load up on high fibre veggies when you eat...you'll still get snacky cravings for sweets but hopefully feel fuller so eat less.
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Feb 8, 2016 01:02
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Just stop eating processed sugar. It will suck for about a week. Eat fruits as a snack. Get some carrots and almonds, as well.
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Feb 9, 2016 06:27
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Rolled Cabbage posted:Aspartame can contribute to weight gain in certain groups. Basically, for some people it triggers a response as if you had eaten sugar... basically giving you the effects you don't want. Try and get drinks sweetened with stevia etc. if you can and see if it makes a difference. Also try to load up on high fibre veggies when you eat...you'll still get snacky cravings for sweets but hopefully feel fuller so eat less. I don't think it triggers anything, some people just eat more because, hey I'm drinking a diet drink so I can afford the calories for a piece of baklava or something like that.
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Feb 9, 2016 16:12
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FetusSlapper posted:I don't think it triggers anything, some people just eat more because, hey I'm drinking a diet drink so I can afford the calories for a piece of baklava or something like that. It's not a huge study by any means, but since gut flora is the new hotness I suspect this is going to get a lot of attention of the coming years: Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota Here's a more accessible link with some info about testing on a TV show http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/51yxBQyvqpNYPT3PF0LGL3G/are-artificial-sweeteners-bad-for-me
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Feb 9, 2016 16:46
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Thanks for all the answers and insight. I'm still kind of looking for some kind of actual 'treatment programs' for sugar addiction, but it seems like that don't exist. Even something comparable to nicorette would be interesting.
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Feb 9, 2016 18:02
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Doghouse posted:Thanks for all the answers and insight. I'm still kind of looking for some kind of actual 'treatment programs' for sugar addiction, but it seems like that don't exist. Even something comparable to nicorette would be interesting. R/Keto
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Feb 9, 2016 18:15
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OP you may find this useful http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/How-I-reduced-my-sugar-intake.aspx I am doing something similar and as Waltzing Along says it can be quite crap. It took me about 1.5 months to really adjust and I still occasionally have sweets. Mostly when I am working and need to think hard, then start becoming less and less coherent as my blood sugar drops. I find fruit/nuts take too long to have an effect then and keep a bag of mini chuppa chups or other less appealing hard candy in my draw to eat.
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Feb 9, 2016 19:10
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Doghouse posted:Thanks for all the answers and insight. I'm still kind of looking for some kind of actual 'treatment programs' for sugar addiction, but it seems like that don't exist. Even something comparable to nicorette would be interesting. Hire someone to follow you around and slap you when you eat sugar. I'm sure you can hire a goon for cheap.
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Feb 10, 2016 00:07
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If you're willing to put down some money, I have heard good things about Pavlok (bracelet that shocks you when you do X -- to condition you not to do X).
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Feb 10, 2016 02:50
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You can literally be addicted to anything. The mechanism of addiction in the brain is simply based on the reward cycle:  Anything that produces pleasure or reduces pain becomes habit forming. There are several ways to change any habit. 1) Reduce triggers Sugar cravings might be triggered by seeing or smelling certain foods. Simply not having X foods at home will reduce triggers and you will simply "forget" to eat sugar as frequently. 2) Reduce other causes For example, sugar cravings might be be triggered by hunger, or boredom, or sadness or stress. By proactively fixing or managing these issues, your desire for sugar will be less. 3) Associate pain and future danger with the current habit Imagine yourself 10 years in the future, having continued to massively over-eat on sugar and other junk. Start writing a letter to your present self starting with... "Dear Doghouse..." Go on to describe your current situation. How have things changed after eating sugar and junk food for 10 years? What health problems might you have developed? What opportunities did you miss out on? How do you look now, after 10 years of this? What do you regret after 10 years of this? What do you want to tell your younger self? Don't let yourself off the hook, let your nervous system get associated with that pain. (This is the same process as the Pavlok bracelet, you're just using your imagination to create the pain) 4) Associate pleasure and future reward with being healthy Then write another letter. This one where you took control of your diet and health, and for 10 years you kept at it. How do you look now, after 10 years of being totally healthy? What improved as a result of all this? What benefits have you enjoyed? Then make a "Getting Healthy" plan. Put up on your wall and keep conditioning your mind to what's important to you.
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Feb 10, 2016 04:13
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To the extent that addiction has a definition or meaning more specific than "doing thing you enjoy", no, sugar is not considered addictive. NIDA, for example, does not consider sugar addictive. What it sounds like, based on the limited info you've given us, is that your reward mechanism behaviors are shifting sideways toward sugar as you've removed yourself from the most immediate effects of nicotine addiction. DeGooninator's advice is very solid, I'm just not comfortable using the a-word; it's too much a term of abuse, and its meaning has spread so far as to be useless if applied in this context. It would help us a lot to know more about your current consumption habits- what do you mean by "sugar", and how do you consume it that you see as problematic? Everything past this point is my  commentary on specific sources of information. I know...way too much about this area, due to 1. a background in science of science research focusing on problems in nutrition research and policy, and 2. an immediate family member who publishes in sweetener research.Speaking of abuse, there is a tremendous amount of paranoid scaremongering about noncaloric sweeteners- industry groups and nutjobs both feed into this in a bunch of complicated ways that won't be immediately interesting to you. Unless you have one of a couple very rare genetic conditions (and you would almost certainly know if you do, because you'd be dead, permanently disabled or brain damaged), the major different sweeteners aren't meaningfully different in health impact except for fringe cases and specific issues. Since they've been mentioned before: Sole.Sushi posted:Switching to a sugar substitute (such as Splenda) seems like a good first step. Alternately, if you'd rather not eat anything artificial, consider stevia extract, honey or agave syrup. Agave nectar/syrup, stevia and honey are all caloric. Stevia is still restricted in the united states based on carcinogenesis research that is now not considered less valid- derived substances ("truvia", for instance) are legally used and are entirely safe for consumption. Honey and agave syrup/"nectar" are both caloric sweeteners with plenty of downsides- in particular, agave often has a much higher glycemic impact profile. Avoid it if you're diabetic. Tenacious J posted:And here's a documentary about the dangers of aspartame: https://youtu.be/7Wu66sGw2dQ Remember up at the top of my post where I mentioned "paranoid scaremongering"? Yeah, this is a classic example. "processed" is no more meaningful than "natural" as a way of describing which foods are good or bad. As others have said, it's hard to find a substance more vetted than Aspartame. maporfic posted:The addiction is real. In some people sugar increases dopamine more than others. Try replacing your sugar habit with other dopamine producing activities, like sex. This isn't what addiction is. It's also a poor metric for...anything. Instant Jellyfish posted:It is definitely a real thing and can be linked to having an alcoholic parent in some cases. So maybe try not having those genes and/or an alcoholic father OP? This article is another example of scaremongering. Notice how even the author puts "sugar addiction" in scare quotes in the abstract. This is mostly because they and a group of others in specific fields are trying to shift the scope of the general addiction definition to contain sugar- much as others try to shift it to contain sex, or food, or bulimia. Rolled Cabbage posted:Seems like the study I was thinking of was for saccharin not aspartame, but the point still stands, it does seem that for some people they gently caress with blood sugar, which would not help with fattitude or problems controlling sugar intake. 1. Most of the studies in this article are in mouse models, which might as well be in griffins. The human studies failed to adequately control a huge set of factors and involved unrealistic dietary manipulations. (as a general tip, don't cite to nature or science when you can avoid it- both journals have very poor reporting and editing standards, especially the headline imprints). 2. the BBC article is massively underpowered and is reporting naive p-values from a selection of an already too-small sample- it's meaningless.
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Feb 14, 2016 10:03
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Waltzing Along posted:Just stop eating processed sugar. It will suck for about a week. Eat fruits as a snack. Get some carrots and almonds, as well. There's no actual difference between fruit sugar and "processed" sugar.
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Feb 14, 2016 18:42
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TROIKA CURES GREEK posted:There's no actual difference between fruit sugar and "processed" sugar. "But the fructose molecules know how they were synthesized and it makes a difference!!!!" -- idiots, no matter how often you tell them otherwise.
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Feb 14, 2016 18:47
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TROIKA CURES GREEK posted:There's no actual difference between fruit sugar and "processed" sugar. If you're eating the actual fruit though, doesn't that come with a nice helping of fiber? I always figured that was the main reason that fruit was recommended.
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Feb 14, 2016 19:35
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Every time you crave sweets and think you're "addicted" think about what real addicts go through and instead punch yourself in the balls and maybe order a diet coke or something. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEtbLDOgI3s
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Feb 14, 2016 22:24
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Wouldn't drinking diet soda, which still tastes sweet, just keep you addicted to consuming sweet food and drink? With people I know who have made a significant change in the way they eat and exercise, they all say they lost the taste for a lot of food they used to eat all the time. What other kind of food do you like? A big part of a healthy diet is finding food that is healthy that you actually enjoy. I think if you get used to eating satisfying meals then you'll have less of a craving to eat candy all the time. e. Also Jesus Christ don't do any Pavlovian shock therapy for food or you're just going to develop more mental issues about the whole thing Stealth Tiger fucked around with this message at 16:11 on Feb 15, 2016 |
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Feb 15, 2016 16:07
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Discendo Vox posted:
This is some plain ignorance, actually. There is a very significant difference between processed and natural foods, at least in non-American countries. Processed foods are generally foods that have moved through various stages of.. processing, like the bread you get at subway. Count how many steps that bread goes through, starting from grain, and you'll end up with a relatively big number. Natural foods, on the other hand, are generally closer to the original form of food. So Subway bread will have features like less fiber, more additives, and more easily biotransformable starches - all of which are features that are bad for you. Generally speaking, "natural sugar" is rhetoric, and all sugars are the metabolically same, however some people refer to natural sugars VS processed sugars as eating a piece of fruit opposed to a piece of candy, respectively. Have you never heard of this? the SUGAR is the same, but with fruit it comes packaged with fiber and nutrients. I promise you fruit is healthier than candy, and the sugar content doesn't spike your insulin as fast. Regarding aspartame, you do not have to look far to find a history in America of lobbyists and biased researchers creating doubt (look at how tobacco was handled). If people crave something (e.g., caffein and sweetness in a can), they're looking for any sort of confirmation that it's ok, so merely doubting the naysayers is enough. There are conflicting reports about aspartame, and the approval of it by the FDA is a sordid affair. To me, at least, that will get my attention, and I don't have unquestionable trust in the peer review process given how many scandals have been revealed and how much money is interested in the outcome. So I'm hesitant about aspartame. I've also noticed that it had perceptual effects on me years before I even thought to question its safety, so I have personal anecdotal reasons as well. Go ahead and post some pubmed articles then, and don't worry about the incredibly large, rich, and powerful organizations that are stakeholders in aspartame's success. Don't you think they could put their foot on the scale if they wanted to? TROIKA CURES GREEK posted:There's no actual difference between fruit sugar and "processed" sugar. How goony can you be to say this. You're technically correct, but practically unrealistic. The guy you're replying to said to stop eating processed sugar and eat some fruit. Processed sugar is the sugar that is extracted from natural sources (i.e., sugar cane, fruits, etc.) and concentrated into pure sucrose. Do you think you may as well just eat candy because the sugar is the same? Maybe candy is good for you too because it's "Low fat!"? Tenacious J fucked around with this message at 20:11 on Feb 15, 2016 |
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Feb 15, 2016 20:04
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Tenacious J posted:Regarding aspartame, you do not have to look far to find a history in America of lobbyists and biased researchers creating doubt (look at how tobacco was handled). If people crave something (e.g., caffein and sweetness in a can), they're looking for any sort of confirmation that it's ok, so merely doubting the naysayers is enough. There are conflicting reports about aspartame, and the approval of it by the FDA is a sordid affair. To me, at least, that will get my attention, and I don't have unquestionable trust in the peer review process given how many scandals have been revealed and how much money is interested in the outcome. So I'm hesitant about aspartame. I've also noticed that it had perceptual effects on me years before I even thought to question its safety, so I have personal anecdotal reasons as well. Go ahead and post some pubmed articles then, and don't worry about the incredibly large, rich, and powerful organizations that are stakeholders in aspartame's success. Don't you think they could put their foot on the scale if they wanted to? How do you reconcile this perspective with the fact that saccharin, championed by many equally powerful people including President Roosevelt, was for many years banned from sale and classified by the FDA as a food adulterant following studies that showed possible carcinogenicity?
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Feb 15, 2016 21:40
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Tenacious J posted:This is some plain ignorance, actually. There is a very significant difference between processed and natural foods, at least in non-American countries. Processed foods are generally foods that have moved through various stages of.. processing, like the bread you get at subway. Count how many steps that bread goes through, starting from grain, and you'll end up with a relatively big number. Natural foods, on the other hand, are generally closer to the original form of food. So Subway bread will have features like less fiber, more additives, and more easily biotransformable starches - all of which are features that are bad for you. Once again, there is nothing that the FDA has approved that has been more thoroughly vetted than Aspartame. I know you don't want to hear it, but that's a simple fact. The sad part is that there were some good parts of your post before you shat your credibility to hell. It's like if Ben Carson was giving a lecture on brain surgery and then slipped in his beliefs on the pyramids. Edit: ok, there was only one good part about how the sugar in a piece of fruit comes with a nice side of fiber. But I want to be generous christmas boots fucked around with this message at 00:28 on Feb 18, 2016 |
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Feb 16, 2016 10:12
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Tenacious J posted:This is some plain ignorance, actually. There is a very significant difference between processed and natural foods, at least in non-American countries. Processed foods are generally foods that have moved through various stages of.. processing, like the bread you get at subway. Count how many steps that bread goes through, starting from grain, and you'll end up with a relatively big number. Natural foods, on the other hand, are generally closer to the original form of food. So Subway bread will have features like less fiber, more additives, and more easily biotransformable starches - all of which are features that are bad for you.
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Feb 17, 2016 21:19
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Your answer is "topo chico", OP. You can paypal me at __________, just whatever you feel like donating in return for this lifesaving tip.
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Feb 17, 2016 22:33
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