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Carbohydrates as an addiction

I

ianf0ster

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Fantastic Video of Dr Robert Cywes giving a surgeon's view of Carbs, Obesity and Diabetes:

He says lots of great things and has lots of tips, my only gripe is that he assumes all Type Diabetics are overweight - since it is only those that he ever sees.

Dr. Robert Cywes is an expert at weight loss surgeries. But if it were up to him, he might not do any of them. His first step is always to help his patients break their addiction to carbohydrates. He still uses surgery in the right situation, but he is the first to admit that surgery without addressing the underlying carbohydrate problem is destined to fail.

His focus on emotional attachment, finding an alternative to meet our emotional needs, and whole lifestyle intervention is a refreshing break from the “just have this surgery and everything gets better” approach. If you or a loved one is thinking about bariatric surgery or struggling with weight loss, this episode is for you.

 
Dr Cywes, says there are 5 criteria that a harmful addictive drug has to meet in order to be categorised as such.
He says that Alcohol and Nicotine meet all those criteria along with Heroin; but then so do Carbs !

Perhaps if @zand watches the video he will understand why asking an addict how/ if they got remission by taking the drug they are addicted to gets the response that it does!
 
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ianf0ster said:
Dr Cywes, says there are 5 criteria that a harmful addictive drug has to meet in order to be categorised as such.
He says that Alcohol and Nicotine meet all those criteria along with Heroin; but then so do Carbs !
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How about salt and fat?
 
Salt & Fat are required in the Human diet.( as I had to remind my GP - who then claimed we get more than enough of each from the processed food we eat - except I eat real food, even when on the High Carb diet) - Carbs are not, since our bodies can make all the Carbs that we need from Protein and Fat.
 
True. Never heard anyone say in truth that they are addicted to either salt or fat. Not sure if there can be an emotional attachment to ether.
 
Not disputing the need or otherwise. Just wondering about the addictiveness element. Personally I have always enjoyed all three.
 
Carbs are addictive. Processed carbs are nutrient deficient and carbs suppress the hormone which tell us that we are full.
They give us a 'sugar rush' or in other words a 'high' and unlike real food of which it is almost impossible to carelessly over-eat, they both make us fat and make us crave more!

When I recently did the Dave Feldman protocol (just the 2nd part) I discovered how hard it is to over-eat on a High Fat diet ! - You start to feel queasy.
But it happens without noticing on a Carb based diet.
 
Guzzler said:
True. Never heard anyone say in truth that they are addicted to either salt or fat. Not sure if there can be an emotional attachment to ether.
Click to expand...

Ooh, I dunno Guzzler. When I am in the canteen I watch in amazement at the amount of extra salt literally being poured onto food. Not sure whether they just like the taste or its habit.
 
KK123 said:
Ooh, I dunno Guzzler. When I am in the canteen I watch in amazement at the amount of extra salt literally being poured onto food. Not sure whether they just like the taste or its habit.
Click to expand...
Possibly habit but would they have it on its own? There's a lot of debate around salt intake and the RDAs. Seems like the recommended amounts are below optimum.
 
KK123 said:
Not sure whether they just like the taste or its habit.
Click to expand...
It helps to mask the putrid taste of the food most probably, it certainly did with my ex sister in laws cooking...
 
This gent is excellent, very confident in his assertions. He is prominent enough to panel with other heavy weights in this space such as Professor Phinney and Nina Teicholz

 
ianf0ster said:
Perhaps if @zand watches the video he will understand why asking an addict how/ if they got remission by taking the drug they are addicted to gets the response that it does!
Click to expand...

Not sure what you meant there, did i miss a post ?
 
ianf0ster said:
5 criteria that a harmful addictive drug has to meet in order to be categorised as such.
Click to expand...
There is a danger to labelling carbs as an addictive. It can become an excuses for people to fail before they even start."It's not my fault. It's an addiction. There is nothing I can do about it" mind set.

Addiction is defined as: not having control over doing, taking or using something to the point where it could be harmful to you.(sorry don't wan't to get into a war of words over definitions)

I firmly believe if you give people an excuse not to succeed they will take it.
 
For some of us that is precisely what happens when we eat carbs, or certain carbs, or certain amounts of carbs. Its how binge eating occurs.

Like all addictions, it can be addressed, but knowledge of what we are dealing with is important in addressing it.The relief of knowing its not our fault we have these binge cravings, and we are not weak or stupid or useless, we have an addiction. It can be the first step in taking back control and is important in formulating a workable plan to deal with it.

I have talk to several women about carb addiction and the response has never yet been to claim it as a reason for not addressing the issue. Eating disorders are real, as you know, and carb addiction is part of that disorder for some, a trigger which can be recognised and avoided.
 

I was treated for binge eating disorder for about 18 months - group and individual. In that time I did not met one mental health professional, and working with those who’s specialty was eating disorders, who believed food was addictive. Several good studies have shown that there are changes int the brain with similarities to an addict getting a “fix”, but it’s the anticipation/planning that creates those changes, NOT the food itself.

One such observational study took whole grain - oat groats, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, etc which is MUCH higher percent of carbohydrates than pastries, cookies, etc and guess which foods the study participants binged on? NEVER the whole grains. If that was all that was available, no binging occurred.

By the way, those with BED will binge on proteins and fats too - cheese, bacon and nut butters being a classic example.

“Carbs” being addictive? Nah.
 
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Reactions: VMK
I disagree. Carbs can and do mimic the effects of any other addiction such as alcohol or cocaine. It has been shown under fMRI that the brain lights up when a patient sees pictures of their 'drug of choice'. I think the area involved is called the nucleus acumbens but I stand to be corrected on that. Fructose is especially good at this as we are hard wired to fatten up for winter and as we know winter never comes.

My drug of choice was never sweet, it was the savoury, ultra processed carbs such as crisps and crackers but I also have no off switch when it comes to nuts (most of which are high in carbs).
If we had a poll today to find out which foods were the hardest to give up I would bet that cereals (be they wholegrain or not) and bread of any type would be up there at the top of the list.
Big Food does not spend millions in R&D finding the Bliss Point of food to benefit customers they do it to get the 'Once you pop you can't stop' money spinner.

Are highly processed hyperpalateable carbohydrates addictive? Oh Yeah.
 
A 45 minute non techy video covering the topic by the lovely Charlotte and Jen.

 
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