5.17.2006

conquering addiction

Humans are habitual. We have our routines, our cycles, are paths we wear down every day. We depend on them, they keep us sane and whole. And so it is not so farfetched to imagine that we have our addictions. I think every single human alive has an addiction of one sort or another. Most are benign, which is why you don't hear of it- some people are addicted to exercise, some to tea or coffee, sugar or what have you... the ones you hear about are the ones who got snagged by something more insidious and harmful, something harder to shake like hard drugs or acohol.

I have heard a few times the theory that alcoholics are sugar addicts who find their sugar in a bottle instead of a candy bar. It makes a lot of sense to me. There is also the companion theory that alcoholism runs in families; runs in mine, in fact. That's something everyone knows. Now think about sugar. That addiction runs in families too. Runs in mine. Take a deeper look and you'll see that both of them, sugar and alcohol, run in the same families all the time. There are people in alcoholic families that refuse to drink... but they hit up dunkin' donuts every day, prove me wrong! I'm one of those; I refuse to drink- so Johnny Walker was no friend of mine, but I invited Ben and Jerry over all the time.

Think about it. What do alcoholics do when they are trying to quit? The eat candy. They suck on suckers, chew on gum, eat ice cream and snickers, whatever they can to keep their blood sugar up, keep their mouths working... it is all the same demon. Only no one talks about sugar addiction because no one thinks it's a problem.

I do.

It was a problem for me. Is it a problem for everyone? Probably not. But I think sometimes how 'hangry' I get when I am crashing off sugar; how much road rage are we seeing? How much teen violence, domestic abuse, the list goes on and on- society is raging, and why? I have a lot of questions and ideas; is it because they are all crashing off sugar? Is it because they have nothing to believe in? Is it because we are working so hard and getting nowhere? I have no answers; all I can say is, you can control what you do to your body and your environment; your own actions, reactions, and so forth- so you might as well make what you are given as good as you can. As healthy as you can. So you can deal with the rest...

3 comments:

Meena said...

Thank you! Glad to be of help... that's what this is for. I feel like the word needs to get out there.

Yes- I will definitely be into holistic vet med... can't wait to graduate and start!

Anonymous said...

Hi! First off, YOU'RE GREAT!!!! I thank you for posting your story! I have been a low carber in the past and find that I have much more energy after I get over the low carb "flu". My question for you is how do I know if I'm eating sugar? Is there a website that you recommend that can help me identify sugar? And you said that milk has sugar? Does that mean all dairy? Lastly, do you happen to know if stevia sweetened products can be imported from Japan? Thank you SO much for you time!
Anne (fellow pagan!)

Meena said...

Hi Anne...
Well, one way to identify hidden sugars is to know their names. Lactose is milk sugar. There is also glucose, sucrose, fructose. These are different molecules of sugar but your body essentially doesn't know the difference. You can look for "ose" on the end to help you. Including dextrose! Milk is a sugar just based on what it is for (energy and nutrition for a baby animal). I haven't any experience with stevia products from japan, as I have mostly relied on myself for a source. Lately I've been trying to eat more locally to cut down on the amount I consume, including petroleum... it's a long story... but good luck!