Food Addiction Link To Type 2 Diabetes

Research has shown that individuals with food addiction are more than 5 times as likely to develop type 2 diabetes, even if they are not overweight. Food addiction usually refers to carbohydrate addiction. Consuming more carbohydrate than your body can process raises the risk of insulin resistance. Eventually insulin resistance can progress to type 2 diabetes. This is more likely to happen in overweight people but slim people are at risk too.

This finding is from a  large Danish population-based study, on people who scored positively on the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0. It could be expected that food addiction can lead to overeating and weight gain, which in turn raises the risk for type 2 diabetes. Interestingly, these results suggest that BMI is not the only risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Sugar and seed oils raise inflammation, and inflammation can cause insulin resistance regardless of your body weight.

Food addiction is a controversial topic. Some researchers believe it doesn’t exist, but a lot of people feel like they are addicted to food. Processed foods high in carbohydrate can be very addictive for some people. It’s not really possible to be addicted to steak, lamb shops or salmon. Foods high in protein that are unprocessed are so extremely satiating that it’s not possible to over eat them. On the other hand, sugar and high carb foods can calm, soothe and tranquilize. If there is a lot of stress in your life, sugar can become a habitual coping mechanism. If you are living with chronic exhaustion, sugar can give you a quick burst of energy when you need it. You may feel physically dependent on eating sugar, every time your blood sugar level crashes.

If you have an overgrowth of Candida or bad bacteria in your intestines, they require sugar for their survival. If you haven’t eaten sugar for some time, they can release chemicals that travel to your brain, causing intense cravings. When you do eat sugar, the microbes release endorphins that make you feel happy and calm. The microbes release waste products that travel to your liver, compromising its health and function. Once you develop a sluggish liver, weight gain and fatigue are typical consequences. You may feel the need to eat sugar or high carbohydrate foods to get you through the day and cope with stress.

Strategies to beat food addiction

• Try to minimize stress in your life. If you are chronically stressed, it’s almost impossible to look after yourself and eat well. When you are stressed, your adrenal glands release the hormone cortisol. This causes you to lose more magnesium via your urine. Many people are already magnesium deficient because it’s difficult to get enough of this vital mineral through diet. If stress has depleted your body of magnesium, you will be prone to anxiety, may have trouble sleeping and your ability to handle stress will be diminished. This can become a vicious cycle and then sugar is used as a coping mechanism. Taking a magnesium supplement with your evening meal should help you feel more relaxed and sleep more deeply.
• Consider seeing a psychologist or counsellor. Sometimes food is used as a distraction from other problems in your life you feel unable to confront. Seeing a professional may help you develop better coping mechanisms for challenges in your life.
• Addiction to sugar and carbohydrate rich foods are often associated with intestinal dysbiosis, where some species of bacteria or yeasts, demand an almost constant supply of these foods. If you have a Candida overgrowth, I recommend you take BactoClear capsules to rid the digestive tract of these organisms and Ultimate Gut Health Powder to restore your gut to its best possible health.
• Try to ensure your liver is healthy. If your liver is not functioning well, you can experience fatigue, low mood, low motivation and excess weight. Those factors make it extremely difficult to eat well long term and take good care of yourself. Livatone liver tonic helps make the liver more efficient, working to improve those symptoms.
• Try to cook most of your own food. You don’t need to count calories, weigh, or measure your foods. Just eat natural, unprocessed foods and trust your appetite. No animal in the wild has the ability to count calories; they just eat when they are hungry and stop when they’re satisfied, and are able to maintain a healthy weight. Factory foods such as corn chips, pretzels, cookies and candy are specifically engineered to make you eat in an out of control manner, feeling like you can’t stop once you’ve started. If you are prone to binge eating or have a food addiction, it’s critical to stay away from those foods. Whereas if you cook your own meals from healthy basic ingredients, you are far more likely to achieve natural appetite control without the struggle.

If you really struggle with sugar and carb cravings, the ingredients in Glicemic Balance capsules help to keep your blood sugar stable and balanced. Avoiding a crash in your blood sugar can help prevent a food binge.

Getting adequate sleep is critical. This is actually the most important strategy in getting hunger and cravings under control. If you don’t sleep well or get adequate sleep, you are far more prone to make emotional rather than rational decisions when it comes to eating. Lack of sleep also raises the hunger hormones in your body, so you will genuinely feel hungrier. So rather than getting out of bed at 5 am to exercise, you are better off staying in bed and getting more sleep. Exercise is important, but not at the expense of good quality sleep. If your sleep quality is not good enough; you may want to try a magnesium supplement. It can help you achieve a deeper sleep.

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.

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