Food Addictions
Updated on November 24, 2007
Addicted to Food?
You can get addicted to anything chemical as long as it influences your body chemistry.
Some addictions could actually be a pleasant idea. Imagine that you became addicted to a substance that made you depressed, and whenever you stopped taking it you experienced happiness and were completely unable to get depressed because your body was addicted to it. Unfortunately, most addictions work the opposite way.
The addictive substance usually makes us feel good when we use them, but when we crash, we feel terrible, so we take more of the substance to feel good again. When it comes to food, caffeine is the substance that comes to mind. (Oh, if only withdrawal gave us as much energy as a cup of coffee, then we'd all be in rehab clinics.) Then there are things like the chemical in chocolate and various herbs and spices. Sugar also comes to mind.
We need carbohydrates. It's the primary source of fuel for our brains, but the processed white stuff you find in 5 pound bags isn't the stuff our bodies were designed for. We were designed to get our carbohydrates from plants in their natural states, not processed and refined. Sure sugar tastes good and it gives us a rush of energy, but then we crash and need more sugar to bring us back up to that feeling good level. That's an addiction.
Overcoming Addiction
How do we break the addiction, so we can start feeling normal again. (You're not going to like this answer.) We stop taking the substance we're addicted to. We let ourselves crash. We go into withdrawal. We detoxify (a term that isn't accurate and is overused, but it helps you get the picture).
Yup, that means we need to give up the simple sugar, the chocolate, the caffeine, or whatever else we're addicted to. We let it drain out of our systems, wait for our bodies to adjust (which is the dreaded part of withdrawal), and learn how to enjoy a little of that addictive substance once in a great while rather than relying on it every day. (Note, if the substance is toxic or extremely addictive, such as nicotine, alcohol, or cocaine, you don't even get to enjoy it once in awhile because you'll fall right back into addiction again.)
When we have thoroughly allowed our bodies to return to their natural states, we start to feel good naturally. If we don't feel good naturally, something else is wrong and needs to be fixed, so head to your doctor and get to the root of the problem rather than trying to medicate yourself with food or any other substance.
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