Addiction – Cyd Notter

Whatever a person gives in to soon becomes his master. (2 Peter 2:19b, VOICE)

One of the biggest barriers to making dietary change is physical food addiction. Food obessesions and uncontrollable cravings can become all-consuming patterns which dominate our thought processes and make us slaves to our impulses.

Those struggling with food addiction not only face the mental angst of defeat and helplessness, but the far-reaching health threats assocated with unhealthy foods as well.

Photo credit: bark on Visualhunt / CC BY

The Standard American Diet (SAD), filled with sugar, fats, salt, and animal products, is the ideal breeding ground to create food cravings, all while contributing to inflammation, chronic disease, and the growing rate of obesity.

A chapter in The “Plan A” Diet – titled “Hooked on Sweets, Treats, and Other Cheats” – explains the process used by food manufacturers to create and enhance food addictions in our brains; by maniuplating their products with addicting properties, they keep us hooked and maximize their sales.

Companies spend billions of dollars formulating products with just the right amount of sugar, salt, and fat in order to optimize taste and create a heightened “sensory profile.” The point at which this perfected blend of addicting properties is reached is referred to as “the bliss point.” It’s the optimal point at which our brains light up from the release of natural opiates and dopamine stimulation in our reward centers.

Food addictions are powerful, but there ARE ways to break free and overcome their lure. The book spells out several guidelines, but if your addictions are quite serious, you may need professional help too. Future online classes may be developed on this very topic – please subscribe to my monthly newsletter to stay informed.

When you’re given a box of candy, don’t gulp it all down; eat too much chocolate and you’ll make yourself sick. (Proverbs 25:16, MSG)

Many people struggle with sugar, after all, it’s one of the most highly addictive foods out there.

Perhaps your New Year’s resolution includes giving up (or reducing) the amount of processed sugar in your diet.

In this brief video, Dr. John McDougall discusses how to use natural sugar in small, reasonable amounts when consuming it along with starch (oatmeal, whole grain pancakes, and so on). Doing so is fine for most people.

Photo credit: Vinko HK on Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

If you’re a sugar addict, however, all refined sugars are best eliminated totally. Fruit and dates are a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth or sweeten recipes, too. Here’s a simple Chocolate Caramel Shake recipe – sweetened only with bananas – which is delicious, and satisfying:

1.5 cups unsweetened plant milk
2 small frozen bananas (peel bananas, cut into chunks, freeze)
2 TBS cacao powder (or cocoa)
¼ tsp. caramel extract

Blend all in a high-powered blender until smooth. To make the shake sweeter, add a few pitted dates . To thicken the shake AND add sweetness, add additional chunks of frozen banana. To thin the mixture, add a bit of plant milk. Tweak as you go.

It’s not smart to stuff yourself with sweets,
nor is glory piled on glory good for you.

(Proverbs 25:27, MSG)

The Bliss Point (when foods light up our brains)

Sugar – In Reasonable Amounts?