Food Addiction and Diabetes?

DCUKMod

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Edited to post the powerful embedded video:



The embedded video in this article is really very good indeed, in my view. I will be endeavouring to get the video in it's standalone format to post on here.

Like Jen and Charlotte, I firmly believe that food addictions are all around us, and are incredibly common within the population of people with diabetes, and the non-diabetic population too.

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/in-depth/jen-unwin-charlotte-summers-food-addiction/
 
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Guzzler

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Yes please to the video! I need to see the bananas being obliterated and the carbs being Tinder-swiped into the bin.
 

DCUKMod

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Yes please to the video! I need to see the bananas being obliterated and the carbs being Tinder-swiped into the bin.

To manage your expectations, I mean this video, but without having to go to it, via a link. I couldn't find a link to display the video directly. I thought it an excellent presentation and one I feel many may identify with in one form or another.
 
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Guzzler

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To manage your expectations, I mean this video, but without having to go to it, via a link. I couldn't find a link to display the video directly. I thought it an excellent presentation and one I feel many may identify with in one form or another.

My steam driven Tablet gave me a photo of Jen and Charlotte but no video (I may try again using the dreaded iPad). Great sound, though, so I listened with interest to the facts such as the non existant research into T1 and food addiction and especially to the lady speaking near the end about about dignity and shame. I agree, it is a great piece.
 

DCUKMod

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It is certainly addictive for me.

Lucy - I hope you can find some time to watch it, sometime. There were some absolute gems in there, I'm sure you'd find both comforting and disturbing at once.
 

lovinglife

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I fight food addictions every day - sometimes on a minute to minute basis - it can be all consuming but I'm winning the war even though there has been some bloody battles at times lol
 

DCUKMod

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I fight food addictions every day - sometimes on a minute to minute basis - it can be all consuming but I'm winning the war even though there has been some bloody battles at times lol

Keep finding the good fight.
 

Geoffno6

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Yes please to the video! I need to see the bananas being obliterated and the carbs being Tinder-swiped into the bin.

I had my first banana since June having been a 2nanaaday man for decades. I had it for ‘medicinal’ reasons on doctors advice. I had it with cream after a sensible (to the LCHF Peeps) breakfast of eggs, bacon and @Rachox Keto porridge. 2.5 hours later I was on 13.5 , even with a 5k run followed by a walk. Next week I’ll do that same exercise and food regime (without the banana) and see if my numbers are better.
 
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pixie1

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I had my first banana since June having been a 2nanaaday man for decades. I had it for ‘medicinal’ reasons on doctors advice. I had it with cream after a sensible (to the LCHF Peeps) breakfast of eggs, bacon and @Rachox Keto porridge. 2.5 hours later I was on 13.5 , even with a 5k run followed by a walk. Next week I’ll do that same exercise and food regime (without the banana) and see if my numbers are better.

Sugar in a skin I thinks oops
 

kokhongw

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You seldom hear people craving for slabs of fatty meat...except when they are slathered with sweet tangy sauces...
 
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Goonergal

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Wow @DCUKMod what a thought provoking video - just watched it straight through.

Playing along with the ‘stand up’ exercise at the start has confirmed a fear that has been in the back of my mind for a few months now: namely that I am in the process of replacing one form of addiction with another. Yes, I’ve kicked sugar and the major carbs and my diabetes is under very good control but as my tastebuds have changed, the old propensities to overeat certain foods are returning.

To date I’ve been a bit of a sceptic when it comes to the ‘sweeteners are just like sugar’ debate: testing confirms that those I regularly use don’t negatively impact my blood glucose, but what impact are they having on insulin response and just as importantly, my emotional response to food?

The answer lies in the stand up exercise which identified 12 behaviours, of which 11 applied to me before low carb/Keto. Being brutally honest with myself, 7 of them are currently relevant. We’re not talking high carb foods here, but rather those that overtime have started to taste sweet and/or provide the same sort of gratification emotionally and physically. I can now comfortably down an entire 100g bar of 100% chocolate, overeat clotted or extra thick double cream mixed with nut butters and/or said chocolate. And don’t mention the increasing consumption of Diet Coke (which was successfully ditched for 2 full months on diagnosis). While this doesn’t lead to the same highs and lows in terms of blood glucose or energy levels, the emotional and addictive behaviours are extremely similar: right now I’m mentally wrangling with excuses not to just drop supplies of the offending items straight into the bin and move on.

It’s by no means a crisis, but I guess I just have to be clear that I’m one of those for whom moderation in relation to sweet sensations is extremely difficult - I’ve come too far and am enjoying so many of the benefits of this way of eating to want to go back. If this means being a bit more ‘hardcore’ then maybe that’s the way I have to go.
 

Indy51

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As the talk is from PHCUK2018 Conference (if I'm remembering the streamed version I saw at the time correctly), the individual video will most likely be posted on Youtube eventually. When and if I see it, I'll post it to the PHCUK2018 thread.
 
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DCUKMod

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As the talk is from PHCUK2018 Conference (if I'm remembering the streamed version I saw at the time correctly), the individual video will most likely be posted on Youtube eventually. When and if I see it, I'll post it to the PHCUK2018 thread.

Yes, Indy, I've been watching for it there too, since the Conference, but your (to us) nocturnal activities mean you'll often see it first.

Thanks for all you do posting those provocative videos.
 
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DCUKMod

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Wow @DCUKMod what a thought provoking video - just watched it straight through.

Playing along with the ‘stand up’ exercise at the start has confirmed a fear that has been in the back of my mind for a few months now: namely that I am in the process of replacing one form of addiction with another. Yes, I’ve kicked sugar and the major carbs and my diabetes is under very good control but as my tastebuds have changed, the old propensities to overeat certain foods are returning.

To date I’ve been a bit of a sceptic when it comes to the ‘sweeteners are just like sugar’ debate: testing confirms that those I regularly use don’t negatively impact my blood glucose, but what impact are they having on insulin response and just as importantly, my emotional response to food?

The answer lies in the stand up exercise which identified 12 behaviours, of which 11 applied to me before low carb/Keto. Being brutally honest with myself, 7 of them are currently relevant. We’re not talking high carb foods here, but rather those that overtime have started to taste sweet and/or provide the same sort of gratification emotionally and physically. I can now comfortably down an entire 100g bar of 100% chocolate, overeat clotted or extra thick double cream mixed with nut butters and/or said chocolate. And don’t mention the increasing consumption of Diet Coke (which was successfully ditched for 2 full months on diagnosis). While this doesn’t lead to the same highs and lows in terms of blood glucose or energy levels, the emotional and addictive behaviours are extremely similar: right now I’m mentally wrangling with excuses not to just drop supplies of the offending items straight into the bin and move on.

It’s by no means a crisis, but I guess I just have to be clear that I’m one of those for whom moderation in relation to sweet sensations is extremely difficult - I’ve come too far and am enjoying so many of the benefits of this way of eating to want to go back. If this means being a bit more ‘hardcore’ then maybe that’s the way I have to go.

To be honest, Goonergal, I felt the presentation and even moreso the interactive elements of it, to be so supportive of those who have felt all or some of those experiences/emotions at some stage in their lives, even if not now.

As someone who spent a long time in treatment for an ED in my late 20s, I so identified with the secretive, shame, unworthy aspects of it all, and to be honest, to think that a decent population of "healthy" people had or have those feelings was a massive comfort, but also a massive blow. It's easy to say "Why don't people talk about these things?", but of course that's because they are feeling exactly the same emotions we were, but perhaps are better equipped, for whatever reason, to deal with those thoughts at the time, and maybe didn't get onto the revolving door of food issues (or found a gap to jump out before they were lost in it).

I really so hope that that presentation can help just one person understand why they might feel those feelings and more importantly to understand that others have them too - just not everyone, and perhaps to differing degrees.
 
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NicoleC1971

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I have just watched the video coming at this as a type 1 with a history of eating disorders post diagnosis aged 11 and then peaking whilst at university. I would have ticked most of those 12 boxes but the origin of my problem was probably a mixture of cultural and biological issues e.g. being anxious/depressed/competitive/ tyoe A, pubescent female and having to count everything I ate, being weighed monthly and being forbidden certain foods. I got help in my 20s because it was recognised that my bulimia was not compatible with type 1! I continued with sub clinical bingeing and going low carb has definitely helped me crave sweet stuff much less for physiological reasons.
The trouble with this concept of food addiction for me is that it puts many of us into this category because we are biologically programmed to like sweetness; we are all on the sprectrum. We are only addicts in the context of the current food envionment where it is always Summer and there are always grapes on the vine. In other contexts the drive to eat high calorie foods above all else would be appropriate and cause us to survive a long Winter. So the concept makes a pathology of a normal human bheviou that in the past has been advantageous for survival.
For me the term 'addict' connotes a helpless victim of the modern sugar laden environment - its too passive and might give people a diagnosis that justifies failure to take simple steps to modify their own food environment e.g. I am a sugar addict and if I do eat one cupcake, I will therefore binge on the entire packet' or the complaint my husband and father make ' I can give up alcohol or cigarettes but I can't stop eating with the implication therefore that when they eat their genes are compelling them to eat junk.
Our thoughts can turn into instructions if we keep telling ourselves that they are 'true'.
If we focus on addictive behaviors do we not play into the trap of blaming diabobesity on the modern equivalent of gluttony and sloth? Big Food could pick this up and fund a charity to help those 'small number of people who have a problem controlling the consumption of our products'. But I think everyone has a potential problem with sugary processed foods so lets tackle the food environment as a matter of public health rather than making it a marginal concern for those 10% who are 'addicts'
Also why single out sugar? People ususually co binge on sugar with fat though not fat. It is the combined mouth feel of fat, salt and sugar that appeals if we eat Salted caramel ice cream (sorry if I have triggered anyone!)
Finally, I do agree that the solution to those who have a sweet tooth for most people will be eating a low carb high fat diet that is so high in nutrient density that their never satisfied feeling (addiction?) retreats.
 

Goonergal

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I have just watched the video coming at this as a type 1 with a history of eating disorders post diagnosis aged 11 and then peaking whilst at university. I would have ticked most of those 12 boxes but the origin of my problem was probably a mixture of cultural and biological issues e.g. being anxious/depressed/competitive/ tyoe A, pubescent female and having to count everything I ate, being weighed monthly and being forbidden certain foods. I got help in my 20s because it was recognised that my bulimia was not compatible with type 1! I continued with sub clinical bingeing and going low carb has definitely helped me crave sweet stuff much less for physiological reasons.
The trouble with this concept of food addiction for me is that it puts many of us into this category because we are biologically programmed to like sweetness; we are all on the sprectrum. We are only addicts in the context of the current food envionment where it is always Summer and there are always grapes on the vine. In other contexts the drive to eat high calorie foods above all else would be appropriate and cause us to survive a long Winter. So the concept makes a pathology of a normal human bheviou that in the past has been advantageous for survival.
For me the term 'addict' connotes a helpless victim of the modern sugar laden environment - its too passive and might give people a diagnosis that justifies failure to take simple steps to modify their own food environment e.g. I am a sugar addict and if I do eat one cupcake, I will therefore binge on the entire packet' or the complaint my husband and father make ' I can give up alcohol or cigarettes but I can't stop eating with the implication therefore that when they eat their genes are compelling them to eat junk.
Our thoughts can turn into instructions if we keep telling ourselves that they are 'true'.
If we focus on addictive behaviors do we not play into the trap of blaming diabobesity on the modern equivalent of gluttony and sloth? Big Food could pick this up and fund a charity to help those 'small number of people who have a problem controlling the consumption of our products'. But I think everyone has a potential problem with sugary processed foods so lets tackle the food environment as a matter of public health rather than making it a marginal concern for those 10% who are 'addicts'
Also why single out sugar? People ususually co binge on sugar with fat though not fat. It is the combined mouth feel of fat, salt and sugar that appeals if we eat Salted caramel ice cream (sorry if I have triggered anyone!)
Finally, I do agree that the solution to those who have a sweet tooth for most people will be eating a low carb high fat diet that is so high in nutrient density that their never satisfied feeling (addiction?) retreats.

I love that this thread is drawing out some personal experiences that hopefully will help others who may feel alone or who have not yet understood the basis of some of their issues.

I had a different take on the video - for me it came across as incredibly supportive and empowering. I don’t feel that acknowledging food addiction is a path to passive acceptance, anymore than the identification of alcohol, tobacco or any other addiction does.

For me, one of the reasons that this is such a hidden problem is due to the social unacceptability of obesity and associated assumptions that the overweight are lazy and unable to control themselves. The contrast with the social acceptability of drinking - including over consumption - couldn’t be greater. Smoking is far less socially acceptable these days, but neither of the latter two groups are so roundly and publicly vilified.

Using the concepts of the stand up exercise to identify - or self-identify - could in my view open up a whole new world of empowered individuals who feel able to take steps, however small, to help themselves manage their daily struggles (emotional and physical) more effectively. That can only be a good thing.
 

NicoleC1971

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I love that this thread is drawing out some personal experiences that hopefully will help others who may feel alone or who have not yet understood the basis of some of their issues.

I had a different take on the video - for me it came across as incredibly supportive and empowering. I don’t feel that acknowledging food addiction is a path to passive acceptance, anymore than the identification of alcohol, tobacco or any other addiction does.

For me, one of the reasons that this is such a hidden problem is due to the social unacceptability of obesity and associated assumptions that the overweight are lazy and unable to control themselves. The contrast with the social acceptability of drinking - including over consumption - couldn’t be greater. Smoking is far less socially acceptable these days, but neither of the latter two groups are so roundly and publicly vilified.

Using the concepts of the stand up exercise to identify - or self-identify - could in my view open up a whole new world of empowered individuals who feel able to take steps, however small, to help themselves manage their daily struggles (emotional and physical) more effectively. That can only be a good thing.
Hi ! I am liking this thread and knew I would get some blow back on my take on this so that's fine. Btw I asked you a question on another thread but could not work out how to tag you! (Food Labelling Workshop Londond).
If you felt ashamed of your eating behaviours then I totally understand your point that it would be empowering to name it and not feel isolated with it and therefore deal with it.
My feeling however is the opposite - most people are overweight and happy to buy foods that they over consume. It is socially acceptable to Supersize your bag of crisps or go to the All You Can Eat buffet and get your money's worth. Snacking on junk is the norm (when you go into a petrol station people do pick up a choc bar on their way to the checkout).
There a small subset of people e.g. vegans or health freaks who might be judgmental about other people's eating habits but as Jen pointed out in her presentation its normal in our culture to eat a Snickers if you're feeling a little or low on sugar. If you're a woman then chocolate is practically the cure for everything (Galaxy and Flake when you want a little me time?).
Perhaps the sugar addict label is useful for some people but I feel uneasy about the concept still.
 
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lucylocket61

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I see the label "sugar addict" as empowering. it enables me to face the problem and also to identify that there is a problem at all. And releases me from guilt, but not from the responsibility to do something with this knowledge. i have been a "victim" of clever advertising, and a deliberate attempt by the food manufacturers to make us want more and more, in the sene of a predator stalking its prey, but I am not a victim now.

I see direct parallels with the tobacco industry in all this.

I think the difference is whether someone sees the term "sugar addict" as a reason justify and continue the behaviours, or whether, like me, someone sees the terms as enlightenment of what is actually happening, deliberately by manufacturers, to use us to make money, regardless of the damage it does, and using that knowledge to make decisions and take back control.

If people dont know their appetite and food choices are being control in a damaging way, how can they break free from it and take control back?

Its all about choice and knowledge = power.

some people may well choose to still eat sugar in excess, just like some people still drink too much regularly, or smoke. The difference now is that they are making a choice to continue with those behaviours, not being decieved anymore into not even realising there is a problem with it.


caveat: and there should be resources available for those who need help to choose to get free from this, unfortunately those resources seem negligible.
 

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My feeling however is the opposite - most people are overweight and happy to buy foods that they over consume.
Do you not think that could be because of an "addiction" .. and also that the obesity is a symptom rather than a cause?
I was in the room during that talk and was to be honest completely amazed at the number of people who identified as being addicted.
Once you have identified an addiction it surely becomes far easier to do something about it?