Carbohydrates as an addiction

zand

Master
Messages
10,784
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
The following paragraph is from the DietDoctor web site in an article that focusses on Alcohol, but I think is very suited to this thread:-

Even if you are able to successfully stop one addiction, addiction transfer, also called addiction-interaction disorder, is a well known phenomenon. Jonsson notes that many sugar addicts can become alcoholics. Likewise, alcoholics who quit drinking often turn to sugar in an attempt to control cravings. Studies show that patients undergoing bariatric surgery, who can no longer overeat, have a 20 % higher rate of post operative problems with alcohol dependence.

Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases: Alcohol and other substance use after bariatric surgery: prospective evidence from a U.S. multicenter cohort study

'>9
I don't think you are being very understanding or supportive to those of us who have addictions and the possible reasons for those addictions. It sounds like you are writing us off if we can't fit into your way of doing things.

I understand you are a relatively new convert to LCHF and as such are very keen and evangelical in your approach ( I was too), but please understand it just doesn't suit all of us. Even if it did suit us in the beginning when we were first diagnosed there may be reasons why LCHF just doesn't work for us now, other health issues being a primary reason. There really is more than one way of doing things.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jjraak and Pasha

NicoleC1971

BANNED
Messages
3,451
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
I am fortunate that I don't have your problem. But interestingly I was reprimanded by a Moderator for suggesting that Carbs are like a poison. Dr Cywes in the video link I posted says that he tells his teenage patients that Carbs are like Dog Poo.
He asks them :
1. Would you eat Dog Poo?
2. What if it was pretty and didn't smell bad?

They always say no way would they eat dog poo.
Personally I'm not too sure of that! I have eaten a close, but worse equivalent, though I didn't realise it at the time.
Has anybody used Margarine? Did you realise that rodents and insects don't even recognise it as food and that it is so stable it almost never goes off - even after years?
How on earth was I persuaded to eat such garbage? Obviously Humans are less picky about their foods than Rodents and insects - both of which will eat Dog poo !
I've posted a Robert C video and am not sure why it would have been removed or was it just your comments that might have 'triggered' someone in theory? Suggesting sugar should not be seen as food is something that Rob Lustig has said (he is contesting it being 'Generally Regarded As Safe' i the US).
As for the other carbs, in the context of an obese teenager who has come to him for bariatric surgery, then it is likely that they do need to make a complete break with carbs and won't suffer for it from a nutritional point of view. Some people can't eat carbs in moderation and our current food system plays on this design fault (aka The Omnivore's Dilemma and The Fat Switch (the latter describes our biological compulsion to load up on fructose/glucose at the peak of Summer in order to survive a long Winter).
Taken out of context calling carbs poison may be an unnecessary dramatisation as a significant minority can easily tolerate carbohydrates and don't overeat them.
 
Messages
18,448
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Bullies, Liars, Trolls and dishonest cruel people
Taken out of context calling carbs poison may be an unnecessary dramatisation as a significant minority can easily tolerate carbohydrates and don't overeat them.

Agree
 

ianf0ster

Moderator
Staff Member
Messages
2,398
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
exercise, phone calls
Taken out of context calling carbs poison may be an unnecessary dramatisation as a significant minority can easily tolerate carbohydrates and don't overeat them.


Yes, Nicole you decided to post the exact same Robert C video that I started this thread with.
I have no idea why a Moderator (or somebody) might have removed it - unless they thought is was superfluous .

Note: I didn't say that Carbs were a poison! I qualified it and it was in context of Type 2 Diabetics - but I was still reprimanded.
Are you saying that a significant minority of Type 2 Diabetics can easily tolerate carbs and don't overeat them ? - If so, I am surprised and would like to see any evidence you have.
 
Last edited:

ianf0ster

Moderator
Staff Member
Messages
2,398
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
exercise, phone calls
I don't think you are being very understanding or supportive to those of us who have addictions and the possible reasons for those addictions. It sounds like you are writing us off if we can't fit into your way of doing things.

I understand you are a relatively new convert to LCHF and as such are very keen and evangelical in your approach ( I was too), but please understand it just doesn't suit all of us. Even if it did suit us in the beginning when we were first diagnosed there may be reasons why LCHF just doesn't work for us now, other health issues being a primary reason. There really is more than one way of doing things.

The words you are disagreeing with are not mine - they are posted by one of the doctors behind the DietDoctor web site!
So you are saying that the DietDoctor web site are unsympathetic!

I have expressed and opinion that for some people Carbs are addictive and because of my support for such people I have (in this thread) been criticised for apparently (inadvertently) being construed to mean that this is an excuse for not trying to do anything about Type 2 Diabetes.

I have never advised LCHF without mentioning crash diets like Newcastle or 800 Cal Blood Diet and also Fasting.
-How does that make me evangelical about LCHF?

I wish people would just read what I actually say - rather than trying to interpret subtle meanings to it.

I am not a subtle person ! - I am a blunt Yorkshireman.
 

zand

Master
Messages
10,784
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
The words you are disagreeing with are not mine - they are posted by one of the doctors behind the DietDoctor web site!
So you are saying that the DietDoctor web site are unsympathetic!

I have expressed and opinion that for some people Carbs are addictive and because of my support for such people I have (in this thread) been criticised for apparently (inadvertently) being construed to mean that this is an excuse for not trying to do anything about Type 2 Diabetes.

I have never advised LCHF without mentioning crash diets like Newcastle or 800 Cal Blood Diet and also Fasting.
-How does that make me evangelical about LCHF?

I wish people would just read what I actually say - rather than trying to interpret subtle meanings to it.

I am not a subtle person ! - I am a blunt Yorkshireman.
I am not disagreeing with the words. I am simply saying not everything is so black and white. The diet doctor site is a very useful site. No problem with that. This however isn't diet doctor, it's a forum where many voices can and should be heard. As I have said before I follow LCHF (most of the time, when other health issues allow it)

I don't feel very supported by you, I feel you are judging 'such people' as an underclass. I have agreed that carbs can be addictive, but I don't agree that LCHF is the only way forward. I don't agree that all addicts are weak people who will eventually fail, that's a dreadfully damning thing to say, whether it's your own words or diet doctor's words. Also you didn't say that you were quoting from diet doctor in the post I responded to, so yes, you come over as being harsh.

The blunt Yorkshireman excuse is wearing thin. I have heard you say it a couple of times now. Being an addict isn't an excuse not to try to control T2, being a Yorkshireman isn't an excuse to be rude. I have known some very polite people from Yorkshire.

Edit: Was that you telling Boris to get out of Yorkshire lol? ;)
 
Last edited:

Winnie53

BANNED
Messages
2,374
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
As I mentioned earlier, I work in a department of 21 people. Candy is out all the time. It's a trigger for me, but after making a few brief complaints early on, I stopped. Just because it's a problem for me, doesn't mean its a problem for everyone else. I get it.

Some of my co-workers eat incredibly healthy food, too many do not. It's hard for me because I care about them.

Earlier this year, I posted information on the outside wall of my cubicle on how damaging industrial seed oils are to the body. I was unprepared for the reaction I got. Almost no reaction, silence. One staff member agreed and made the effort to walk over to my cubicle and tell me, which was really nice. Another removed the information, and I assume copied or read it, then returned it, yet didn't comment. And the next day, I heard one conversation that seemed likely was generated by the information, but that was about it.

I was really surprised how defensive we are around information related to food.

Yet everyday, I hear co-workers discussing food in the context of how good a recipe they made was or perhaps a meal at a restaurant. It seems that discussing food, healthy or unhealthy, is for the most part okay, but anything else is off limits.

November 14th is World Diabetes Day, and the month of November is Diabetes Awareness Month in the US, not sure about elsewhere.

I'm thinking about sharing information on diabetes, what it is, how to know if you have diabetes, pre-diabetes, or pre-pre-diabetes, understanding the importance of tracking your numbers over time on your comprehensive metabolic panel and lipid panel (US), how to move into action if your lab test results begin trending up, and perhaps what I've learned over the last 30 years about blood glucose dysregulation, and how important it is to catch it early and make appropriate lifestyle changes.

But I don't know...is there a way to initiate this conversation without generating defensiveness? Not sure. I think the only way to do this is to focus the most attention to how to be proactive around the issues of food and exercise.

It's hard tackling this topic without some mention of the dark side of the food and drug industries. Addiction is profitable, and it's beginning to look like it's going to eventually bankrupt countries.

Addiction is such an important topic. I had no idea the extent that processed foods are addictive until I was re-diagnosed with T2DM, dumped most of the processed foods, and began eating a real, whole food diet. It's been quite the education. But realistically, who has thousands of hours to learn what we have here and elsewhere? I was able to do so only because I was between jobs for almost 2 years and while I do work now, it's only part-time. For those who work full-time, it's not so easy.
 

Goonergal

Master
Retired Moderator
Messages
13,466
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
All, a number of posts have been deleted because they were unnecessarily confrontational and/or derailing.

Please remember the forum rules and ethos (available in the signature of all moderators), particularly rule A5
‘All Members are equal, with all views equally valuable. It is important, for the Forum to work best, that Members are polite to each other when exchanging views, even when debating views that differ.’

This thread has been subject to extensive moderation on at least 4 occasions. Further breaches of forum rules may incur additional sanctions including thread bans.
 
  • Like
Reactions: zand

AloeSvea

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,051
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Will-power always ultimately fails.

This is a hypothesis taken from the worlds of Gambling and Financial trading.
What it means in practical terms is that everybody has a limited amount of capacity for postponing an 'immediate fix' for a longer term reward.


In Gambling and Financial Trading even successful intelligent skilled speculators will almost inevitably take a position purely out of an invalid reason such as boredom, because eventually they run out of the will-power not to do it!. They way that the best speculators deal with that is to :
A). Pre plan, knowing that it is inevitable and arrange things so that it does the least damage.
B). Organise thing such that the temptation is as rare as possible.

The same strategies can be (but usually aren't) used in Dieting and Nicotine addiction.

Knowing that they will eventually succumb, I feel that a dieter should choose a diet/lifestyle that:
A). Is sustainable over the long term.
B). Can be achieved with the minimum exposure to temptations.
C). They actually enjoy/like some parts of it - substituting one (less harmful, or even virtuous) food pleasure for a more harmful one.


Thus it amazes me that so many people embark on severely calorie restricted diets instead of going LCHF which can work for almost everybody except perhaps strict Vegans - because for example Avocado by some.
OK there are some people who can manage, e=and even enjoy, fasts of over 24 hrs - even more than 1 week. The medical evidence suggests that for a normal healthy weight person, a fast could last for up to 2 months before death!
But on those occasions where I've had to fast for over 36hrs I found it really tough. Note these were not a complete fast since I was allowed clear liquids.

In trying to diagnose why my BG figures are suddenly different I fasted for 23 hrs yesterday - and I was really hungry!


This was very interesting stuff on willpower and addictions, relating it to type two - thanks for presenting this info in such a good way.

I absolutely agree with you about sustainability of a way (or ways) of eating, and minimum exposure to temptations, and feeling pleasure around healthy food - all really important for us.

But don't be amazed by some folks going for dramatic and two-month span severely calorie restricted diets (I have done it twice myself so of course I am going to say this!). And I suggest not seeing it as "Instead of" but as one of the treatment methods available that can and does work for some, or even many, to varying degrees. Along with fasting and intermittent fasting.

And in terms of dealing with addiction - there is nothing quite like going 'cold turkey' off of all food? For a period of time, to put the role of food, of eating, and definitely of comfort eating, and how to deal with hunger (if you are like me and feel hunger very poignantly, as many 'mere humans' do after all!) - into perspective. To know oneself around food and the role of food in one's life really well - it has been hugely important to me when it comes to designing treatment programs for me.

We are of course all 'addicted' to food! We would be a sorry species if we weren't. But this special attraction and longing for carbohydrate-rich and sugary food, and the sometimes dreadful side effects of sugar in particular - that is a very special kind of addiction for sure.

Sigh.



 
Messages
1
Hey Im new here, 3 months ago I was diagnosed whit insuline resistence and metabolyc syndrome,first I felt confused and sad, but then I decided to make something about it, once I was awareness of my condition I started the right diet for me, and my ancatanosis, my acne and my fat belly started to heal, one special weakness from carbohydrate are the desserts and I know you all will agree whit me hahaha, so Im glad to share whit you my case :)
 

Listlad

BANNED
Messages
3,971
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Carbs and addiction. For a long time now I have been aware of the school of thought that there is a “spectrum” of addiction and that all of us can be prone to addiction to a range of things and that includes of course carbohydrates. In that sense carb addiction is not any different to an addiction to other food types or perhaps as another example an avid collector of birds eggs or addiction to watching a certain sport or the like. There is a lot of material on these topics of addiction in its various forms on the internet.

I did want to add that also for many years now I have been aware that we hanker for foods that we enjoyed when we were young. It is something I noticed. If you enjoyed tripe and onions as a kid you probably still crave for it nowadays. In other words if we became accustomed to eating carbs in abundance in our earlier years and for many years then we will crave for them later in our lives if we can no longer have them. (People who move from one country and food culture to another do experience this).

So it might appear to be drifting off topic but it isn’t if you consider so called carb addiction in the same light.
 
Last edited:

Guzzler

Master
Messages
10,577
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Poor grammar, bullying and drunks.
Ask and it shall be done.

 

Indy51

Expert
Messages
5,540
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
This might be a longer version of the low carb Denver talk?