Hi Everyone!! I am addicted to SUGAR. When I was a kid [I'm 42 years old now] I would often eat spoonfuls of sugar. One of my favourite 'treats' was to eat marshmellow mix and sprinkle sugar on top of it. I would crunch on sugar cubes like others might munch on a carrot. And just as I did back then - I often pass out whenever I've had lots of sugar. So why don't I just stop? Well.. I suppose I could ask many of you the same question when it comes to what YOU are addicted to. Did you know that it's quite common for children who had [or have] alcoholic parents to become sugar addicts? [my dad was an alcoholic] Interesting - don't you think? My problem with sugar really took hold when I was about 12 years old. I was one of those kids who wet the bed. That problem humiliated me. I decided to do something about it. I figured that IF I forced myself to stay awake until I had to pee - THEN I'd be ok and not wet the bed. It worked. Unfortunately - I would often have to stay awake until 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning. That meant that I only got about 3 to 4 hours sleep each school night. After a couple of weeks - I just couldn't do it anymore. I just couldn't stay awake. I soon discovered that sugar would help. If I ate sugar before going to bed - I'd could ride the sugar high [so to speak] long enough to have that last pee. It was a great plan. Unfortunately - there were a few negative side effects to eating all of the sugar I ate. I became even fatter. I was already a 'big kid' [because I was already addicted to sugar before my stop-wetting-the-bed plan came into effect] which meant that the bullying got worse. [which is another topic] The sugar also effected my teeth. More often than not - a dental check-up would reveal anywhere from 20 to 30 cavities. Sometimes - EVERY tooth would have a cavity. The sugar also effected my personality. I would often become VERY upset and angry whenever my blood-sugar level would drop. Although my dependency on sugar is not nearly as strong as it once was - I still occasionally fall of the wagon [so to speak] and the old cycle begins again. I kid you not. Sugar can indeed become an addiction. We ALL have to be very careful about how much sugar we are consuming. As far as I am concerned - sugar is 'Kiddie Kocaine'. It's a 'drug' that parents give to their kids as an award. If a kid chokes down all of his or her vegetables - they will be rewarded with SUGAR. Isn't that horrible? If you make me happy [son or daughter or mine] I will screw up your blood sugar levels!! Take care of yourselves. And take care of your insides. GREAT BIG HUGCraig!!
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SUGAR
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Have you been tested for diabetes, Craig?
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Wow you REALLY like sugar, I kinda wanna go eat sugar until I pass out now... hmmmmmm. It sounds like a laugh. Can you die from a sugar overdose?
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Have you been tested for diabetes, Craig?That's exactly what I was thinking. You've described some wild blood sugar swings. The test is just a simple finger poke and sqeezing a bit of blood onto a test strip. It's also done as part of a routine blood test when you get a checkup.I don't believe in the idea of sugar "addiciton". If you're blood sugar runs low, you crave sugary things, just as you get thirsty when you're dehydrated. You also get habituated to eating a certain way.
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Hi Ineligible!! It's nice to 'see' you again!! I hope you're OK. Yes I have been tested. Apparently I'm fine. [so far] No doubt - however - if I keep pushing my luck - I will end up with diabetes. [and that wouldn't be good]GREAT BIG HUGCraig!!
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I'm not sure that consuming large amounts of sugar will lead to type 2 diabetes, although there is some recent evidence that it might (if you increase your sugar intake from its baseline; having a high baseline is not the issue). However, being overweight is a risk factor, and eating a lot of sugar is obviously will not keep you thin. It also makes you less likely to have a healthy, balanced diet.
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Hi SteveA!! A lot of people would agree with you. [and a lot of people wouldn't] According to Alcoholics Anonymous - alcoholism is defined by the following. Craving: A strong need, or compulsion, to drink.Loss of control: The frequent inability to stop drinking once a person has begun.Physical dependence: The occurrence of withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety, when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking. These symptoms are usually relieved by drinking alcohol or by taking another sedative drug. All of the above can be applied to those with a sugar addiction. It's interesting - when you think about it. Inspite of the overwhelming pressure to be beautiful [defined in the U.S. as 'thin'] 30% or so of American children are clinically obese. Why is that? Some may say, "it's just a matter of not knowing how to eat properly." Sure - that has something to do with it. But I believe it's more than that. Just as one might ask why an alcoholic would continue to drink at the risk of losing respectability within society - why would a person risk becoming [or staying] obese at the risk ridicule and being considered an outcast? The compulsion to consume sugar is far greater for a lot of people [and far more powerful] than many of us would believe. The trouble with sugar is that for many of us we equate sugar with love. It is - therefore - difficult to think of it as being something bad. Sugar makes us feel good. Not only physically but emotionally as well. We don't stick candles in a rudabega and sing happy birthday. We give people sugar to celebrate their 'special day'. So how could sugar be bad? My personal struggle with sugar - which has lasted more than 30 years - tells me that sugar can indeed be bad. Sugar IS something that a person can become addicted to. GREAT BIG HUGCraig!!
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I think you're abusing the word "addiction", and AA is far from the ultimate authority on anything. An obsession or compulsion is not the same thing as a physical addiction.The question is, why are there so many obese American kids (and adults)? Might it have something to do with the maketing and availability of sugary and fatty high-calorie snacks and junk food? Or are you saying that American kids have more psychological issues? Why are there so many overweight poor people?
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Hi SteveA!! You're right - an obsession or compulsion is not the same thing as a physical addiction. I am saying that sugar CAN become a physical addiction. And as for AA not being the the 'ultimate authority' insofar as how one might define the word 'addiction' - who IS? No matter who you might suggest - I promise you - there will be another so-called 'expert' who would disagree. You asked, "....why are there so many obese American kids (and adults)? Might it have something to do with the marketing and availability of sugary and fatty high-calorie snacks and junk food?" You mean like how alcohol and cigarettes have been advertised all these years? I think American kids are extremely confused. They are bombarded with one conflicting message after another. More so than kids from other countries? Yes - I think one could argue that. American kids are told what it takes to be loved and accepted and then given 'things' [like sugar and junk food] in order to 'drown' [so to speak] the disappointment that many feel because they are unable to live up the 'American-Ideal'. As for poor people - I think it's more likely for a poor child to develop an addiction to sugar because they are more likely to be given sugar as a substitute. A poor parent is unable to buy their kid the 'in' sneaker or the latest video game - so the buy them sugary treats. GREAT BIG HUGCraig!!
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I think it's more likely for a poor child to develop an addiction to sugar There you go with that word again. If poor kids are habituated to eating a certain way (i.e., frying everything), then that's what the learn, and that's what they do. You keep conflating this with the idea of a chemical addiction. But I agree with you that the word "addiction" is not well-defined.If I were you, I'd look into ways to address an obsessive-compulsive disorder rather than a chemical dependency. But either way, I'd try something. If treating it as an addiction works for you, than fine. But so far it sounds like you're still downing lots of sugar, as you have for most of your life. If you can't kick the sugar "habit", than you need to get professional help. Gaining a lot of weight can have pretty serious consequences.In some cases, people who are depressed "self-medicate" with various substances, including food. Large quantities of sugar can have a stimulative effect, as you found when you were younger. Other people cut themselves. It's a different facet of the same problem.
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Certainly not trying to start a debate but I've heard of sugar ADDICTION before. I think it is very much an addiction. Craig's case was very similar to a lady that was on Dr.Phil who would eat over 5 lbs a pure sugar a week and if she didn't get her sugar she turned into a total bitch(lack of better word).
I'm no where as severe as Craig but I love my candy. I have cravings several days a week where I need something sweet and sugary. I have been this way since I was a child. Now I never knew the whole thing about alcoholic parents but my father was an alcoholic (one of the reason my mother left him). SO maybe there is a connection.
But anyways I think there is a point where anything can turn into an addiction.
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Certainly not trying to start a debateCongratulations, you've started a debate.> I've heard of sugar ADDICTION...I've heard that girls have cooties. I'm sure we've all heard a lot of things.OK, when does a compulsion turn into an ADDICTION?> I think there is a point where anything can turn into an addiction.I see. Are you talking about a clinical chemical addiction, like a cocaine or heroin addiction? Is habitually biting one's fingernails also an addiction? Are people who consume too many calories addicted to food? I assume you take the idea of a "sex addiction" literally.
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Hi NtroducingMyself!! I appreciate your response. Alcohol IS a sugar - so it stands to reason that a child of an alcoholic might become addicted TO sugar. [if not alcohol]GREAT BIG HUGCraig!!
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Hi SteveA!! You already admitted that the definition of the word 'addiction' is not well defined - so why are you so sure of what a person can or can NOT become addicted to? I think we are dealing with semantics more than anything else. My definition of 'addiction' differs from your definition. I think I'm right and you think your right. As to the question of whether or not a person can become a SEX addict - I think they can. If a habit gets to the point whereas a person has withdrawal symptoms - they have demonstrated not only an emotional dependency on whatever it was they have been doing but also a chemical dependency. Our emotions effects our brain chemistry. Therefore - even if one were to define an 'addiction' as something that has a chemical effect on the body - something like SEX could become an addiction. Sugar is even more obvious insofar as how it effects the body chemistry. GREAT BIG HUGCraig!!
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>Congratulations, you've started a debate
If you want to be technical you just started the debate.
>I've heard that girls have cooties. I'm sure we've all heard a lot of things.
Pointless reference.
>OK, when does a compulsion turn into an ADDICTION?
When someone cannot fuction in daily life without something it becomes an addicton. You mentioned sex, there are people that are addicted to sex, they are called Nymphomaniacs. It's a true addiction and some even classify it as a disease. These people cannot live a daily life without having sex. Most don't even care how they get sex, they just need it.
Craig I 100% agree with your last post. ANYTHING can become an addiction. And yes the definition of addiction is very hazy. But I'll give you a helpful tip to you about SteveA, he needs scientific proof for him to believe nything (and even than that's iffy) even if what he is trying to defend has no scientific proof to back up HIS opinion.
*hugs back to Craig* I hope thigns work out for ya =-).
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I see. If you disagree with me, that's not a debate. If I disagree with you, then that's a debate. Now I get it.The point of the cooties reference is that you've done what you habitually do, which is to throw something out something that's not generally agreed upon or necessarily accepted, as if it's a well-known fact, because it's something you heard, or your gut told you so, or God did.> ANYTHING can become an addiction. And yes the definition of addiction is very hazy.OK, then the word "addiction" can mean whater you want it to. So there's no point even using the word unless you first define the term. But then the next guy will define it differently. It is not a useful term.> (and even than that's iffy) even if what he is trying to defend has no scientific proof to back up HIS opinion.You idiot. You goddam idiot. In discussions with you on what most would consider scientific topics or prinicipals, I've posted all kinds of explanations and references, and your response is to mock Google. Go reread your utter nonsense on herpes versus canker sores for a fine example. Take most any kid who's passed high school chemistry, biology, and physics, and he or she will wipe the floor with your ass in any scientific discussion. I can understand ignorance of scientific knowledge and principals, but you seem to be actively hostile to them. You're opinions in those areas, so far, is virtually worthless. I'd stick with handing out hugs if I were you.
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Craig, we agree that the common definition of "addiction" is hazy (as opposed to a biological addiction, which is a little less hazy...but still hazy). There's no point obsessing over it.The question is, why do you have this compusion to eat sugar? Is the idea of sugary things a comforting thing from your childhood? Are you hypoglycemic? (By the way, you can't get a definitive idea of your body's abililty to regulate blood glucose from one test taken at an arbitrary time, but a fasting test is pretty useful). Are you depressed? If it's an addiction/habit/whatever, and you can't overcome it, then you would probably benefit from counseling.From what I've read (partly based on AA's own data), 12-step programs don't appear to be very useful a year after they're started (versus not doing anything at all). But who knows, it may work for you. Compared to doing nothing, it's worth a try. But I think a discussion with a psychologist (or equivalent) might be more useful.If you're eating so much sugar that it's causing you to gain weight, you know that's a bad thing. There's evidence that, once you reach a certain age, ramping up your sugar intake is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes.
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That was n-o-t logical. Alcohol is not sugar! They are different substances and are metabolized in different ways. Grain alcohol itself is physically addicting in a specific way. It's also toxic.
glucose: C6H12O6
hooch: CH3CH2OHThey have some atoms in common, but they're not the same thing. That hypothesis of yours needs some rethinking.
In any case, I'm not sure what any of that has to do with you getting your sugar consumption under control.
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And there you go with the name calling again showing you true immature nature.
First off You are talking about one topic about canker sores. Otherwise there were discussions about postive and negative energies, Reiki massages, and personal opinins on circumcision etc etc inwhich you called me ignorant and childish for believing in because I could not give scientific info to back it up BUT at the same time you could not back up your statement either with scientific information. Even a few moderators came in telling you to stop judging people for the own beliefs. So don't sit there all high and mighty on a Pedestal that you have no right to sit on.
As for me needing to stick to giving hugs.. sorry bub I have gotten plenty of PM's from people telling me how they appreciate the info I have given on the boards. So just because you don't like it doesn't mean others follow suit. Get a grip on your macho-better-than-thou attitude, because you don't wear it well.
> Take most any kid who's passed high school chemistry, biology, and physics, and he or she will wipe the floor with your ass in any scientific discussion
Not that I care what you THINK.. but if you must be ignorant let me state I did VERY well in science. But the issues you and I mostly disagree on are topics that can go both ways (other than the canker sore thing but whatever).Again just because YOU don't believe in something does NOT make it true.
Back on topic, Addictions can be more than just drugs. There are known cases of people addicted to many different things. From Sex, to alcohol and even sugar. Even if it's an emotional addiction it is an addiction.
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In reply to:
I have gotten plenty of PM's telling me how the appreciate the info I give on the boards.
If you're giving a hug, that's fine. If anyone here is offering technical information, people need to take it with a grain of salt. If you are offering techncal information, people need to take it with a big grain of salt.
In reply to:
There are known cases of people addicted to many different things. From Sex, to alcohol and even sugar. Even if it's an emotional addiction it is an addiction.
"Known cases", huh? Just like your "known cases" of hauntings?
Fine, you've defined "addiction" to mean habit or dependency, chemical or otherwise. Now do you have anything useful to offer the OP, who would like to kick his "addiction"?