« $5 grocery bags in Seattle? | Main | Have you heard of the jukari (aka Cirque du Soleil) workout? » 
10 ways to tell if you are addicted to sugar
June 15, 2009
Feature by our Editorial Assistant Colleen
Would you know if you were actually addicted to sugar? Would you be able to tell? What if you were asked to cut out sugar from your diet for an entire week, would you be able to do it?
I’ll admit it, I’m guilty. While I haven’t had a soft drink in several months, I do like my dose of candies and chocolates once every couple of weeks or so.
Unfortunately there are some nasty side effects to massive sugar consumption. It’s surprising how much food contains sugar. Just think of your processed foods. You might not be aware of it, but the vast majority of those foods have hidden sugar AND you might actually be more addicted to sugar than you realize.
Here are 10 signs to tell if you addicted to sugar:
1) Like other addictions, withdrawal symptoms are likely to occur such as headaches when you have not had any sugar yet. Believe it or not, you do actually develop a physical dependency to sugar.
2) You are unable to stop eating processed foods or products that have glucose, glucose syrup, corn syrup, golden syrup, dextrose, treacle, invert sugar or maltose.
3) It’s subtle but you tend to look more aged, especially your skin, if you eat massive amounts of sugar in your daily diet. Basically, large amounts of sugar will contribute to the deterioration of your skin AND you can start noticing this as young as 25.
4) Being tired or suffering from chronic fatigue after meals to the point of falling asleep is another possible sign of sugar addiction.
5) Gaining weight or being overweight is another possibility that you might be addicted to sugar.
6) Constipation and diarrhea may also point to an addiction to sugar.
7) Pain in your joints is another possible sign.
#8) High blood pressure may also point to an addiction to sugar.
9) Having excessive gas and feeling bloated may also be a sign of sugar addiction.
10) And the most obvious sign is craving sweet foods both psychologically and physically.
Deli.cious
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Digg This
June 16th, 2009 at 6:15
Well, yes, but what to do about it? Go cold turkey? Complete abstention? Will one cough drop make me fall off the wagon?
June 18th, 2009 at 13:20
It seems so many take eating junk food for granted, as if a few generations of heavily processing food and consuming concentrated sugars will magically overcome 100s of 1,000s of years of evolution.
Perhaps a 12 step program would be as helpful for sugar addicts as it has proven to be for other addictions.
June 18th, 2009 at 15:06
I’m amazed at the amount of sugar my colleagues eat on a daily basis. I guess I wouldn’t notice if I hadn’t quite on the whole ’sugar thing’ a while ago, but man, sometimes I have to bite my lip when I see them eating chocolate bars and soft drink cans, day after day!
June 19th, 2009 at 10:12
Shirls,
Gosh, no way. No one is saying to stop eating sugar all together … life would be boring.
You might want to be more selective of the types of sugar you do eat.
You can buy chips that don’t contain sugar, you can buy raw sugar instead of white sugar, you can reduce how much sugar you add to your coffee or tea, you can switch cereal brand for one that contains less sugar.
You can take baby steps to reducing how much sugar you consume and allow you taste buds to get used to tasting less sugar.
One cough drop will not have you falling off the wagon, but if you are a regular candy eater … you might want to find another type of snack to munch on!
June 19th, 2009 at 10:14
Jay,
You bring up a good point. A lot of people are hook to sugar and so many people don’t even realize it.
I think people needing a sugar fix may need to work on the mental aspect of that addiction and also work on the physical dependency.
Perhaps you are right and many a 12 step program for sugar addicts could be a solution.
Thanks for dropping by!
June 19th, 2009 at 10:17
Elliot,
I’ve had to bite my lips on numerous occasions when I see how much sugar people eat.
The worst for me is when I see people adding 3,4,5,6,7,8 teaspoons of sugar in their tea or coffee or when I see people walkin around with a permanent can of pop glued to their hands.
All that sugar adds up in your day and sugar converts into fat in your body … I just don’t think people understands this fully.
Thanks for dropping by!
September 12th, 2009 at 22:35
The picture looks yummy!
I have this weakness for sweets and I know that’s not a good thing.
I know I need to cut out my sweet-addiction!
Thanks for this great article.