Have you ever had a day of eating where it just seemed to go on forever and you couldn't stop? For
some people they seem to have an incredible appetite, never able to satisfy their hunger until the clock says it's time for
bed. They start their day off with waffles or danishes and before they know it, they've had 4000 calories worth of food to
pack onto their hips.
If you are one of these people, don't fret. An addiction like this is most probably caused by the
type of food you are eating and not by your behavior itself. Foods like pastries, donuts and other sweet foods can have
little if any nutrition in them, and, if eaten on an empty stomach especially during breakfast, can cause an insatiable hunger.
Food addiction like this can even be worse than a drug habit. Unlike street drugs, twinkies
and coffee cakes aren't $10 000 each. To further complicate the matter, ideas of these addictive foods being seen as "comfort"
foods have circulated around the media ever since the birth of television. Since the 1940's, advertisers have successfully
persuaded entire populations of people with their ideas that junk food like candy bars and cookies are heartwarming treats
to be devoured at least once a day. Well meaning parents have been taught that baking up cookies for their youngsters
shows affection and that handing a child a chocolate bar is as good a reward as any to show a job well done.
But the truth is, candy is addictive and messes up your hunger response so you never know when to
stop eating. The worst time to have it is on an empty stomach, where you'll eat it over and over again, consuming all the
fat and preservatives that come with it. Worst of all, it can be one of the hardest substances to get off of because you can
experience extreme cravings and sugar shakes just as if you were experiencing withdrawal symptomes when you went off a drug.
Candy in small amounts can cause pleasant euphoric sensations, but the rest of the time it can cause mood swings, irritability,
depression, and in extreme cases, psychotic behavior.
Solution? Well the obvious solution is to cut it out altogether. But like street drugs, going cold turkey
off sugar can have its own side effects. And if it is hard for you to go off it cold turkey, chances are
any kids you want to wean off it aren't going to obey gracefully.
Instead, try taking yourself off it gradually. Maybe instead of buying that big family package of cookies that
lasts all week, you can opt for a smaller bag that lasts for a few days. You can also set up rules with yourself
and other members in your household to ration your cookie intake per day. At the same time, you can increase the
amount of fruit tasting in your house by improving its "advertising" - you can set it out on the counter
in pieces small enough for you to take a bite without thinking about it, or you could buy fruit cups and set them out in a
basket to make them look more reachable. Through taking these little steps, you too can be a survivor of the Sugar Anonymous
club!
