Quit Sugar Forever and Lose Fat
By: Shane Ellison, M.Sc.
www.healthmyths.net
Sugar addiction is a real and present danger. Addiction to sucrose may be considered the number one cause of obesity. Obesity is a well-established risk factor for heart disease. The addiction is best illustrated by our natural tendency to refer to our little girls as “Sugar.”
The voluntary act of relating our loved ones to sugar is due to the fact that like sugar, love for our children feels good. Said another way, love blocks pain.
Scientists have discovered this similarity between sugars and love to be their ability to trigger opioid receptors. When these receptors are triggered, a complex cascade of reactions is ignited. This cascade culminates in the inability to feel pain. The end result is happiness.
In addition to sugar and love, drugs can also trigger opiod receptors. These drugs include opium, codeine, morphine and oxycodone. Accordingly, they are known as opiates. Beyond just plain ol’ happiness, opiates can elicit unequivocal feelings of euphoria. This in part explains why they can be so addictive – this euphoria is hard to come by naturally, but not impossible. It also might explain why those people who lack the feeling of being loved reach to either sugar (i.e. your wife eats chocolate when upset) or drugs.
Most anything that triggers opioid receptors may become addictive for some people. Some addictions are healthy. Some are not, as in sugar addiction.
Happiness is the most sought after feeling in the world. Sugar is among the most abundant chemicals around. Herein lies the problem. Because sugar makes people happy and because it is so readily available, it can be addictive. This is unhealthy due to the many side effects of sugar, and specifically obesity.
A sugar addiction is rationalized by a myriad of excuses. They typically go like this: Everyone drinks soda, If it was bad for me they would not sell it, Kids eat it, it must be O.K., It said “sugar free” on the label, I’ll quit tomorrow, I don’t mind being fat, it’s in my genetics, Everyone is fat, Fat is healthy, I read somewhere that sugar is not addictive.
Knowing how the sugar addiction develops provides great insight into how to treat it. When consumed, sugar increases serotonin levels within the brain. This increases the production of endorphins. Like drugs, these brain chemicals trigger opioid receptors, thereby eliciting happiness, or blocking pain. If opiod receptors are repeatedly triggered by sugar, thereby artificially increasing serotonin levels, the human body down regulates its natural production and release of serotonin. Serotonin is responsible for controlling mood and appetite. Without serotonin a person is depressed and craves more sugar. This forges an emotional bond between happiness and sugar. Sugar addicts become dependent on it to increase serotonin and therefore make them happy. This phenomenon has been referred to as “emotional eating.”
Over time, emotional eating results in fat gain because it revolves around eating sugar, which blocks thermogenesis. To overcome this, sugar addicts need to develop a healthy addiction that increases serotonin levels without eliciting negative side effects like sugar. Two habits fit these criteria, exercise and the use of the essential amino acid L tryptophan (not 5-HTP).
The well-known “runners high” is the result of endorphins triggering opioid receptors. This feeling of happiness can be attained with even moderate exercise. It is a superb replacement to sugar. Admittedly, this replacement requires substantially more effort than eating Dairy Queen and can result in an unhealthy addiction – as seen by those who exercise daily. Balance is required.
L-tryptophan is an easy replacement to sugar and supplementing with it periodically should be combined with exercise. It increases the body’s own supply of serotonin by serving as a "building block" of it. Resultantly, L-tryptophan users eliminate their biological craving to sugar. This essential amino acid also increases melatonin. This is a welcome benefit to those who enjoy a good night’s sleep.
Alternatives to sugar are few. The only suitable ones are stevia, xylitol or agave. High fructose corn syrup, aspartame, acesulfame-K, sucralose or Splenda, mono-sodium glutamate, and hydrolyzed vegetable proteins do not count as alternatives. Read the labels and discard products with these ingredients.
Once the sugar addiction is ended, thermogenesis will be activated – allowing anyone the ability to live thin and slim. This also greatly decreases your chances of suffering from the pandemic killer known as heart disease.