I’m sure many people have heard the term sugar addiction in the past few years, and you may or may not take the subject seriously. I know some people consider it a faux addition and individuals plagued with sugar binging or excessive daily consumption are really just weak people. Well, whether you are on the fence or you mind is made up one way or another, I am going to discuss a study that goes into great detail about sugar addiction.

Why,  you ask? Well, not only does excess sugar have serious consequences on longevity, but I feel that I am personally affected by this addiction. Before I became serious with CRON and the paleo diet, I would regularly consume sugar treats. I would often dismiss the fact I knew it wasn’t good for me, and ended up at a high point in my weight just before I went on paleo. At 146lbs, I would compulsively go by the grocery store on the way home and buy boxes of sugary cereal to eat instead of a healthy supper. The more I did that, the more I wanted to do it and the quality of the food I was eating hit a low point in over 5 years.

My problem improved once I became paleo. However, I still had regular bouts of excess sugar consumption, and a few times I have even deviated from paleo to satisfy this urge. I have been trying to analyze these feelings (versus beating myself up for eating X) since starting CRON so I can help fix the root of the problem. I have finally come to the conclusion that I have some sort of physical dependency going on sugar – as do many many people in the USA.

There is no sense in feeling upset over this or beating myself up for not being perfect, but at the same time this issue MUST be solved if I am going to reap the benefits of CRON. I am taking this issue as a life and death matter. It feel like it is that important. If you have been following my blog, you are aware of deviations where I consume something very stimulating. Often in these situations, I am somewhat in control until the first bite. Also, after one of these episodes I notice a swing effect in how I feel. As I am “coming down”, resisting once again is hard, and at some point I “relapse”. I see this cycle. Fighting this cycle is much more that just having willpower. I need to not only fully understand how this addiction works, but I need and plan that includes complete avoidance and ways to deal with cravings and withdrawal.

I experienced these issues very strongly after consuming all that high sugar sweet potato casserole yesterday. When I got home, I was craving sugar and carbs horribly. QB and I actually went out and bought potato chips. I wanted to turn this craving experience into an experiment. After I ate some chips, I had a strong sense of well being, my cravings were gone, and I felt I could go to sleep very peacefully. WARNING! Analyzing those effects (rather than chastising myself for lack of willpower), made me realize the seriousness of the situation. Thus, I am taking serious action.

Now that you have gotten though my introduction and understand the back story, in the following post I am going to discuss the sugar addiction article, then in a post following that, I am going to discuss how I am going to beat this addiction.

If you don’t take this topic seriously, I suggest you do a little research first. Maybe you do not have sugar addiction (or any addiction) issues (QB does not have this issue at all), but odds are someone in your life does, and this addiction IS hurting them.