We left off somewhat abruptly with our
sugar discussion, the other day. So I went scouring and ran across a blog
written my Kevin Cann, with which I greatly agree. Following are some excerpts
from that blog that I would like to share. You may read the entire thing on his
website: https://robbwolf.com/2012/12/21/sugar-drug/
“No one will argue the fact that
heroin, morphine, and pain killers are highly addictive substances. They
become addictive due to their ability to suppress pain, reduce anxiety, and can
even cause us to have a higher sense of joy. There is another opiate that
most of us consume on a daily basis that may be just as addicting, and that is
sugar.
Opioid receptors are located in the
brain and the spinal column. They are 7 transmembrane-spanning, G
protein-coupled receptors. They are responsible for aiding
neurotransmitters and hormones, the most well-known being our endorphins.
Addictive substances work by enacting upon these receptor sites (Waldhoer,
2004). To further understand this, let us look at heroin addiction.
Basically, heroin increases the amount
of dopamine. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter responsible for energy,
memory, and focus. Our system has a check and balance process. When
dopamine is released, we also release GABA to counteract it. The problem
with heroin is it enacts upon the opioid receptor responsible for GABA.
This disallows GABA to do its job. We are then left with a dopamine surge
left unbalanced. This brings about sustained energy and feelings of
euphoria. Here is a link that explains it in a little further detail and
also has a chart for any visual learners,
If we are dopamine deficient, this can lead to addiction according to Kenneth
Blum’s Reward Deficiency Syndrome.
High sugar foods can cause similar
reactions as what we see with heroin. Excessive amounts of sugar (as well
as fat) can lead to the release of increased amounts of dopamine. This is
the same as with heroin (Avena, 2009). Sugar also inhibits the release of
GABA from pancreatic beta cells (Wang, 2005). The pancreatic beta cells
also release insulin, so this mechanism is important for a couple of
reasons. GABA being released from those pancreatic cells shows that it
may play a role in regulating insulin. Also, GABA needs to be released to
balance out the dopamine. This could lead to diabetes and weight gain.”
The bottom line is, if we eat large
amounts of refined white sugar, high fructos, which is poisionous, or corn syrup - say 10 plus teaspoons a day, we may well be in more health trouble than we want. Trust me; getting that amount is not difficult; any
processed product will have that much and more in it. Therefore, read your
labels and try to eat less on a daily basis. I know that is what I’m seeking to
do. Let’s cheer each other on to better health! Yay!
More: http://amzn.to/29jp91N
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