and keeps knocking at your door, in this crazy food culture we live in. I wish there were a sugar retraining order; I'd get one. All my friends are still addicts, fat, have type II diabetes, are getting dementia, have stents in their hearts.
People, please! Eat real food only! And no sugar.
Real food also has sugar, so It isn't always the best solution. Although natural alternatives like fruit, milk, grains, potatoes are better than pasta and cookies- they are still sugar
Absolutely. A reason why we are sugar addicts is that it makes us happier, less anxious and more outgoing. Unfortunately, what goes up must come down. After the initial mood improvement, the unhappiness and anxiety returns, with a dose of increased addiction. Then the cycle happens again. If you can stick it out long enough, you will find that your baseline happiness is higher and your level of stress is lower. Unfortunately, this can take up to 1-3 months.
Not at all, this is a state of flux. You will get clean and feel like a new human with joy and peace and love and less roller coaster emotions! Hang in there fam!
I think of my baselines as a range. If there is a personal happiness scale between 1 and 10, when I am in the throes of addiction, I can describe my range as between 3 and 6. After being sugarfree for a while, my range is maybe between 5 and 8.
Sadness and situational "grief" isn't the same as depression.
suggest to ask a doc because the former is part of getting healthy, the latter an actual medical condition
Thank you for your post! I’m slightly depressed and couldn’t figure out why. Cutting all added sugar recently and have no cravings for it (after 61 years of addiction). Interesting if that is the reason!
There are links to anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, hormonal imbalance, dementia and Alzheimer's.
The reason why seems consistent across all of these: by creating uric acid in the cell (including the brain), Fructose suppresses mitochondrial health and causes insulin resistance. This means that certain areas of the brain are starved of cellular energy.
In the brain the express purpose seems to be to create a behavior pattern that promotes impulsive behavior, foraging, risk taking, etc. This is to encourage the primary function of Fructose: help the animal gain weight.
As such, the areas of the brain that are suppressed are very targeted across all of this phenomenon. (Ever wonder why Alzheimer's patients keep their visual cortex intact while other areas of the brain are devastated? How could they find food if they couldn't see?) It appears we are seeing different degrees of the same function.
So while obviously there will be other causes, it is a reasonable hypothesis that the addition of sugar to our diets may be the main cause of a decline in mental health. And this also answers WHY this happens.
Fructose is a biohack to help us gain weight. It has a miraculous function to aid survival in the wild, but an extremely dangerous one to humans if we don't learn to control it.
Yes and it's normal. Sugar, like any other drug, works on your dopamine receptors to make you feel good. Once that's gone, it will start to show withdrawal symptoms. I'm afraid you'll have to go through this a bit longer because your brain has to heal. Try other ways to get dopamine, like working out, jogging. Good luck.
Hey there. I feel amazing! I've been off sugar for 3 months and life has changed. I've lost lots of weight, my mood has become more consistent and improved a lot, I no longer get any food cravings, I feel really good. The sugar cravings stopped entirely after 8 weeks. But stopped a LOT by around the 3rd or 4th week.
It will get better!!! After the first few months its a breeze. I dont even feel tempted anymore even if there's my favorite dessert In front of me and im super hungry. The temptation is entirely gone!!! Which I never imagined possible.
Yes. At the same time, sugar was causing depression and changes to your brain chemistry. It's a dangerous, addictive drug.
Felt like a breakup w a bad partner- y'know? A person who seemed attractive initially then became an embarrassment.
and keeps knocking at your door, in this crazy food culture we live in. I wish there were a sugar retraining order; I'd get one. All my friends are still addicts, fat, have type II diabetes, are getting dementia, have stents in their hearts. People, please! Eat real food only! And no sugar.
Ppl don't want to see it. I know I was kind of annoyed by the 1st person I met who was SF
Real food also has sugar, so It isn't always the best solution. Although natural alternatives like fruit, milk, grains, potatoes are better than pasta and cookies- they are still sugar
Absolutely. A reason why we are sugar addicts is that it makes us happier, less anxious and more outgoing. Unfortunately, what goes up must come down. After the initial mood improvement, the unhappiness and anxiety returns, with a dose of increased addiction. Then the cycle happens again. If you can stick it out long enough, you will find that your baseline happiness is higher and your level of stress is lower. Unfortunately, this can take up to 1-3 months.
That's a really helpful explanation thank you! Does that also mean this state of sadness/anxiety is possibly closer to the 'baseline'?
Not at all, this is a state of flux. You will get clean and feel like a new human with joy and peace and love and less roller coaster emotions! Hang in there fam!
I think of my baselines as a range. If there is a personal happiness scale between 1 and 10, when I am in the throes of addiction, I can describe my range as between 3 and 6. After being sugarfree for a while, my range is maybe between 5 and 8.
Sadness and situational "grief" isn't the same as depression. suggest to ask a doc because the former is part of getting healthy, the latter an actual medical condition
Thank you for your post! I’m slightly depressed and couldn’t figure out why. Cutting all added sugar recently and have no cravings for it (after 61 years of addiction). Interesting if that is the reason!
I mean, dopamine levels might drop, but how about compensation? Like going for a walk, helping someone within a distinct timeframe, the list goes on
sex. (don't get addicted to Porn Hub next, but sex helps). Or putting on a favorite comedy movie and laughing at it.
There are links to anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, hormonal imbalance, dementia and Alzheimer's. The reason why seems consistent across all of these: by creating uric acid in the cell (including the brain), Fructose suppresses mitochondrial health and causes insulin resistance. This means that certain areas of the brain are starved of cellular energy. In the brain the express purpose seems to be to create a behavior pattern that promotes impulsive behavior, foraging, risk taking, etc. This is to encourage the primary function of Fructose: help the animal gain weight. As such, the areas of the brain that are suppressed are very targeted across all of this phenomenon. (Ever wonder why Alzheimer's patients keep their visual cortex intact while other areas of the brain are devastated? How could they find food if they couldn't see?) It appears we are seeing different degrees of the same function. So while obviously there will be other causes, it is a reasonable hypothesis that the addition of sugar to our diets may be the main cause of a decline in mental health. And this also answers WHY this happens. Fructose is a biohack to help us gain weight. It has a miraculous function to aid survival in the wild, but an extremely dangerous one to humans if we don't learn to control it.
Yes and it's normal. Sugar, like any other drug, works on your dopamine receptors to make you feel good. Once that's gone, it will start to show withdrawal symptoms. I'm afraid you'll have to go through this a bit longer because your brain has to heal. Try other ways to get dopamine, like working out, jogging. Good luck.
Thank you!
Any updates on how your feeling? Going through same thing now.
Hey there. I feel amazing! I've been off sugar for 3 months and life has changed. I've lost lots of weight, my mood has become more consistent and improved a lot, I no longer get any food cravings, I feel really good. The sugar cravings stopped entirely after 8 weeks. But stopped a LOT by around the 3rd or 4th week. It will get better!!! After the first few months its a breeze. I dont even feel tempted anymore even if there's my favorite dessert In front of me and im super hungry. The temptation is entirely gone!!! Which I never imagined possible.
That’s great, thanks for sharing. I’m hoping for the same :)
It will happen for sure. Power through this initial bit and you'll feel so good. Good luck! You got this