My name is Michelle and I am a sugaholic

A recent conference on food addiction held in Dublin heard a variety of experts say there was insufficient evidence to suggest that common foods or particular ingredients had addictive qualities. One eminent professor from across the pond made the point that unlike drugs, food does not cause neuralogical changes in the brain and there was no evidence of withdrawal symptoms.

 

As a self confessed sugar junkie, I totally disagree. Having tried to give up sugar many times in the past, usually by going cold turkey, I am well aware of the appalling withdrawal symptoms. Fatigue, irritability, insane cravings, anxiety and more.

 

I write on health for a living and could write a vast tome on healthy eating. I know exactly what I should and should not be eating and am great at giving other people advice in this area. Despite this, I have the worst diet of anybody I know.

 

When I talk about being addicted to sugar, I’m not talking about the healthy sugars in fruit or other good foods. I’m talking the real deal. Pure sucrose as found in sweets, chocolate, cakes, biscuits and ice-cream. I may not be overweight but that’s only because I regularly substitute proper food ie breakfast, lunch and dinner, with sugary treats.

 

Since the birth of my first child over five years ago, sugar has gradually grown to represent a higher and higher proportion of my daily food intake. It’s handy, quick and the only food (if it even deserves to be described as a food) that will satisfy the intense cravings that usually start their attack in the afternoon and continue until late at night.

 

One psychologist I interviewed recently suggested that eating foods high in refined sugars and fats activates the pleasure and reward centres of the brain, causing an increase in the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine. This ‘feelgood’ neurotransmitter creates feelings of soothing, pleasure and satiation and overrides the sensible, logical part of our brain which is fully aware we should not be consuming this crap.

 

The only way to tackle a food addiction like mine, she advises, is to address the underlying processes behind your eating. Why are you eating? Is it out of boredom, to satisfy some unmet emotional need or to alleviate stress etc.

 

For me, it’s all of the above and more. I eat sugar when I’m happy and when I’m sad. When I’m bored and when I’m racing around the place. When I’m feeling lonely and when I’m surrounded by others. I am fully aware how bad this is for my health, both short and long-term. I hate the energy slumps and fatigue that inevitably follow the sugar highs I constantly crave.

 

There is an empty box of gourmet jelly beans beside my laptop that I obviously consumed while writing this piece. I don’t even really like gourmet jelly beans, I barely tasted them after the first few and feel a bit queasy now. My name is Michelle and I am a sugaholic!