Showing posts with label Obesity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Obesity. Show all posts

Obesity And Sugar Addiction

By Joshua B. White


Understanding the concept of sugar addiction symptoms,A possible definition may be: the impossibility for a person to resist to the sweet foods or beverages temptation. People suffering from this condition find impossible to stay without sugar for too long: usually a day, a meal sometimes even an hour. Many times people don't realize they are suffering from it as the symptoms can be mistaken for seasonal affect disorder, general tiredness, dieting "issues," or depression. Controlling addiction can be difficult when you don't know it affects you. When you became aware of the existence of the sugar addiction symptoms you can easily manage the health risks and overcome the problem.[]

What is 'addiction' anyway? Addiction is a condition in which an individual has a dysfunctional relationship with a substance. For example, in the case of sugar addiction, sugar may be used to reward and/or relax a person. That is a dysfunctional relationship because reward and relaxation are not the intended purposes of a food item. With an addiction of any kind, the individual is unable to stop the behavior, regardless of consequences, and in fact seeks the target substance out on an ever-increasing basis.

Energy depleted body: when sweet foods become a habit you start to rely more on these than on your natural energy resources of your body. Hence you feel weak, lethargic and depressed.sugar habits: this is when you eat sugar or sugar food at about the same time each morning, afternoon, evening or even night. When you skip the "sugar" hour you find yourself very anxious or depressed.sugar snacks when you are bored: when you are in a boring situation you grab a high-sugar snack to keep you occupied. This is one of the most important sugar addiction symptoms.

Why should you take sugar addiction seriously? Well, you already know you have a weight problem, right? Addiction to sugar may be at the very core of your problem. Obesity alone should be enough motivation to "lose the sugar habit" but if it's not, how about diabetes? Cardiovascular disease? Possibly cancer? Hyperactivity? Depression? Tooth decay?

Sugar consumption has been linked to challenges such as depression, CFS, ADD and ADHD, PMS, as well as overall poorer cognitive functioning. Most of us know about sugar's link to diabetes, but have you considered its possible connection to cancer as well? What if excessive sugar consumption was indirectly causing something as frightening as cancer? If it were possible, would you take the risk?It's not surprising that we have such a terrible rise in obesity over the past twenty years when we have manufactured sugars like high fructose corn syrup being put into so much of our food. HFCS is literally manufactured in a laboratory to be much sweeter than natural sugar.

Firstly you aren't alone; sugar addiction is probably more common than alcoholism, drug addiction and gambling. Why? Simple, sugar is everywhere, not just in your cup of tea, cake, biscuit or can of coke. Sugar has sneaked its way into the most unlikely of foods such as soups, bread and even ketchup.Secondly sugar acts in the same way as certain illegal drugs. At least if we are as closely related to our cousin the rat as scientists seem to believe. Researchers showed that a whopping 94% of rats preferred the taste of sugar and sweeteners to cocaine. Food addiction is plausible because brain pathways respond to sugar in the same way as addictive drugs act.

Thirdly sugar is toxic; by now you are probably beginning to see the bigger picture. Sugar is addictive and like any addictive substance it is toxic. The reaction mightn't be as obvious as what comes with a cocaine overdose, but don't be lulled into a false sense of "it's only sugar", overtime excess sugar consumption is deadly. Teeth decay, diabetes, bad skin, nutrient deficiencies, obesity all come hand in hand with sugar addiction.

The truth is that most of us avoid thinking about the harm sugar or similarly damaging high-carbohydrate diets are causing to our bodies. We do this because of the pleasure it gives us. It's even more pronounced when we use it as a reward or as a release from our busy, stressed-out lives. Sugar does make us feel better for a brief while, perhaps. But nearly all of us have at one time or another experienced the downside that comes with the crash, even if we didn't know what was going on exactly inside of us to make us crash. The ultimate tragedy is that while we might acknowledge that we have a sugar challenge-some of us might even be self-proclaimed addicts-we also tend to feel powerless to do anything about it.

But we're not entirely powerless. If more people looked at sugar's opiate triggering power and treated it like an addiction, doesn't it stand to reason that they'd have a better chance at overcoming their sugar habit? Yes, ignorance is bliss. But this kind of ignorance is literally destroying our health and the health of our children.Commit to yourself now that you will continue to educate yourself on both the problem and the solution. Books on sugar abound, so the good news is that there is an in-depth solution you can read up on further if you're serious about overcoming sugar addiction. If you're serious about kicking the habit, consider working with a naturopath or health coach. A great way to kick off your new resolve is to embark on a low-glycemic diet, especially if you can join a group that is doing it together.

Fulfil your life. It's difficult to give up something you love without replacing it with something else. Sugar is a crutch for many people, if you give it up, focus on something else that will cheer you up whether that is exercise or watching your favourite soap.Naturally sweeten up. Berries, and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg will sweeten your foods and reduce cravings.Eat 3 meals per day. Eat little and often. For many people, if they don't eat regularly, their blood sugar levels drop, they feel hungry and are more likely to crave sweet sugary snacks.Get support. Tell your family and friends that you are off sugar, so when they call around they aren't weighed down with cakes and biscuits.




About the Author:



Health Hazards Of Obesity


Obesity, a worldwide phenomenon, today has surged to become one of the most deadly enemies of mankind, afflicting mostly the rich and the affluent. Obese in simple terms means excess body weight, usually in the absence of an underlying disease, except in a small number of cases where the condition originates from hormonal disturbances.

The terms overweight and obese are used synonymously by the commoner; however, there is some difference at the clinical level. A person can be considered overweight if his body weight is 10-19 per cent more than the normal or ideal body weight. However, when the body weight of a person is 20 per cent or more than his ideal body weight, he is considered obese. As we have seen previously, the ideal body weight for a person depends on his height, sex, age and body frame.

Thus, obesity is a condition of excess body weight and is usually the result of excess accumulation of fat in the body. When energy intake is persistently greater than energy expenditure, the result is gradual accumulation of fat deposits in the adipose tissue depots. Obesity does not happen in a day or a week. It is a gradual process taking place at snails pace when the individual constantly maintains a positive energy balance. A positive energy balance is usually the result of excessive energy intake.

High calorie and high fat foods pamper our taste buds to an extent that most individuals find it difficult to refrain from them in spite of being aware of their nutrient composition. The ignorant certainly cannot be blamed.

The other major culprit is modern urban life mechanisation and dependence on different tools has made life easy and increasingly sedentary. This has lead to the lowering of activity levels, of daily energy expenditure and thus of our total daily caloric needs. Increased calorie intake due to consumption of processed foods and decreased activity levels have together taken a toll, increasing the prevalence of obesity. Sometimes, of course obesity may also be the result of an interplay of hormones.

Obesity jeopardizes an individuals health in more ways than one. It imperils both body and mind of an obese individual. An obese individuals distorted body shape and appearance can be a source both of humiliation and discomfort. Many obese people complain of pain in the joints and may develop arthritis (osteoarthritis) because they have overburdened their knees and joints with their excess body weight. This is the most obvious health hazard that obesity invokes.

Obesity has been associated with a wide range of health problems. It contributes to increasing levels of lipids (fat) and cholesterol in the blood (hyperlipidemia and hypercholesterolemia respectively), leading to narrowing of blood vessels due to deposition of fatty materials in coronary arteries (atherosclerosis). This in turn causes the blood pressure levels to soar (hypertension) and increases the risk of heart attack (myocardial infarction) and strokes.

Obesity increases the risk of diabetes because it increases insulin resistance leading to glucose intolerance. Weight reduction helps many diabetic patients in controlling their diabetes. Obesity can also lead to pregnancy related and surgical complications. 

Obese individuals are also more likely to develop cancer. Certain cancers such as cancers of the gall bladder, endometrium, ovary, breasts and cervix in women, and cancers of the colon and prostate in men have been associated with excess body weight.

Extreme obesity can also cause respiratory insufficiency (hypoventilation) and may even result in sudden death during sleep. Thus, because of its association with several diseases, obesity decreases life
expectancy.EzineArticles.com by : Kevin_Pederson


Organic Food - Can It Help Relieve Obesity?Try Detox Diet Plan

What is not so commonly known is that organic food can actually help   relieve obesity as part of your weight loss regime. Eating organic food  also means you will be giving your body a greater quantity of essential nutrients, especially if you steam your vegetables.Conventional food contains many chemicals and your body
has to deal with these and dispose of them in order to avoid poisoning your system. Most of this work is undertaken by your liver, a very key organ that can make or break your weight loss attempts.The liver is the powerhouse of your body and is also the largest burner of fat too. 

However to be at its most efficient your need to make sure you feed it properly. By this I mean that you need to make sure you are eating enough fibre and limit the intake of toxic chemicals both in the form of food and alcohol.As you probably know fibre helps your digestive system in that it consists of indigestible matter that passes out of your body. This essential function carries with it many of the toxins and waste products from your body that you need to get rid of daily.Fibre helps ensure a speedy exit of these waste products - think of it as cleaning out your pipework!

Fibre also helps to ensure that your liver efficiently rids itself of toxins and gives it less opportunity to store them as fatty deposits. If you load your body with too much fat, additives and poisonous chemicals then what usually happens is that the parts your body cannot dispose of are stored as fat until and when, your body can get round to dealing with them and clearing them out.

This can lead to fat deposits all around your body but most worryingly can lead to a condition called fatty liver.A tired, toxic liver is the number one reason why many people's weight-loss attempts are floored.You have to make sure your essential organs are operating at peak efficiency to make the most gain in your weight loss attempts and this means eating good quality food, preferably raw and free of added chemicals, which makes organic food a good choice.

Remember that conventional manufacturers deliberately add synthetic chemicals to processed foods to increase their shelf life and pesticides and hormones to farm produce to boost their crop volumes.

You don't want to be eating too much of that type of produce as the chemicals they contain will definitely affect your liver and digestive system performance, probably making you actually put on weight in the form of the stored fatty deposits I mentioned earlier.

Organic food can help in that you reduce the number of toxic chemicals entering your body which in turn reduces the stress on your digestive system and its fat production.
This should help make for a leaner thinner you. by : Virginia_Louise frome EzineArticles.com

Green Smoothie 7 Day Detox Diet Plan: Lose Weight And Feel Better

Very Popular Filling Green Smoothie Weight Loss Plan That Works! Proven And Tested For Weight Loss And Improved Health With Simple Easy To Find Ingredients.