Can junk food cause Alzheimer's?

Last week, I stumbled across an article on The Guardian website in which George Monbiot sheds light on the rapidly increasing body of evidence citing junk food as a cause for Alzheimer's disease. He alludes to an article featured in the latest issue of the New Scientist as well as the “dozens of papers” that he’s read on the subject, and goes on to elucidate why Alzheimer's could very well be a “catastrophic impact of the junk food industry”.

Whilst the possibility doesn’t faze me in the slightest, I’m aware that many of my assumptions about the effects of diet on cognitive performance are based primarily on intuition and gut instinct rather than any scientific findings that I’ve come across or any deep scientific understanding that I have of nutrition. Still, my own personal experience has affirmed time and time again that what you eat is what you are; food inevitably shapes you, not just physically but mentally as well, and the ever-expanding plethora of research continues to espouse this notion. 

What I appreciate most about Monbiot’s article is his readiness to discuss the psychological dimensions of obesity. Very early on, he draws attention to the fact that the excessive consumption of junk food isn’t merely a symptom of poverty, ignorance, or sheer indifference, as conventional wisdom might have us believe, but often stem from deep-rooted psychological issues such as food addiction and disordered eating, which can affect people from all backgrounds.

He likens overeating to alcoholism and drug dependency (something I discuss in my previous post on sugar), reminding us that addiction is debilitating (and possible) in all forms regardless of the substance that’s being abused. Yet, the former tends not to incite the same degree of sympathy as the latter, largely due to the misguided stigma and uncertainty that’s associated with food addiction, which Monbiot describes as a “form of snobbery”.

For some, an addiction to food is a genuinely difficult concept to fathom, since eating is such a natural and necessary part of everyday life that one might struggle to comprehend how something so primal could become an obsession. But negative and self-destructive behaviour can form in any area of our lives, surrounding any activity, and even the most positive and purposeful actions have the capacity to become detrimental if we allow them to.

Whilst I understand the reluctance to pathologise every undesirable and uncomfortable state that we find ourselves in, I do think it’s important not to automatically attribute overeating to greed or ignorance. It's easy to simplify things, and perhaps for some it does boil down to discipline, but for many, it is a deep-seated psychological or emotional issue that impedes their daily life, and it’s crucial for us to acknowledge this so as to deal with it compassionately and effectively.

When it comes to the topic of obesity and its dire health consequences, the prevalence of food addiction truly ought to be part of the conversation, not solely for the purpose of addressing a major cause for this epidemic but also to help de-stigmatise and demystify the problem so that people can deal with it candidly rather than suffer in silence under a veil of shame. 

Suffering from an eating disorder such as overeating or food addiction is devastating but is merely exacerbated by the lack of understanding and support surrounding it. I hope that we continue to dismantle the taboo nature of this disease by bringing the issue to the forefront.

Shame

Review

London riots.

An engaging article by Zoe Williams in The Guardian about the psychology behind the recent riots that have erupted in my home town this past week, as well as the social and political context behind them. 

Kicking the Sugar Habit.

“If sugar were to be put on the market for the first time today, it would probably be difficult to get it past the FDA.”

- Kathleen DesMaisons -

The plausibility of sugar addiction is often up for debate and there’s a fair amount of eye rolling when it comes to the issue, but if like me you’ve spent a considerable fraction of your life cracked out on the stuff (as revealed in my previous post) then it’s hardly a questionable idea.

Sugar addiction is not to be taken lightly. I know it all too well; the soaring and crashing; craving and bingeing. It’s a merciless cycle of highs and lows that’s hard to escape once you’re engulfed in it. 

There’s something insidious about refined sugar; the more I have, the more I want. It’s a bottomless pit of insatiable yearning. I never achieve a level of fulfilment. If it wasn’t for hypertension and nausea, I’d probably gorge on chocolate all day long. I’d go as far as likening it to cocaine, which is similarly very unsatisfying. But sugar is supposed to be “food”, not a drug.

Of course it would be naive of me to lay all the blame on the substance alone since there are a plethora of reasons why people get addicted to things - if it was purely physical then giving up wouldn’t be so hard as most physical dependencies are overcome within a matter of weeks, sometimes days. And supposedly sugar addiction takes only a couple of weeks to curb (so I’ve heard).

There’s often a psychological element to sugar addiction. I truly believe it’s based on more than just a longing for something sweet and tasty. It’s more intricate and deep-rooted than that and must be worked on over time in order to dismantle. But the physical aspect of it can be dealt with sooner, thus giving me space to understand the bigger picture and heal myself gradually.

So, after years of sugar abuse (as exaggerated as that might sound) I’ve decided to take action and cut sugar out of my life for good – or at least until I can establish a better attitude and healthier pattern of behaviour. Like the nicotine addict who flushes her cigarettes down the toilet, I’m putting my foot down and making a decision to quit cold turkey and free myself from this self-imposed entrapment. The white stuff and I are finally parting ways, and though I know it’ll be tough to begin with, I’m not sad to say goodbye.

I’m sure that a lot of people would regard my sugar abstinence as slightly too stringent and unnecessary, and I admit that tapering off slowly is probably a more reasonable route to take, but I know myself well enough to know that it wouldn’t work for me. A small piece of chocolate or slice of cake every now and then isn’t going to hurt but for people with addictive personality traits like me, moderation is simply unfathomable. “Just one slice” usually leads to “just one more” to “just to another” to “well, I might as well finish the entire cake”, so it’s better to steer clear all together. I’m an all-or-nothing kinda girl, which is something I intend to work on no doubt, but until things change I intend to remain on my no-sugar wagon and simply enjoy being clean and healthy, which will help eliminate the physical cravings at least.  

Once you’ve made the commitment, sugar-sobriety is achievable. Having done a fair bit of research, here are some of the best tips I've come across to make the journey a smoother, more tolerable experience.

1 – Try to keep your blood sugar stable by eating breakfast and eating regularly throughout the day. Sometimes we crave sugar when we’re hungry. This isn’t always the case - there have been times when I’ve craved a double-decker mud cake right after a three-course meal - but it’s worth staving off hunger just to be safe.

2 - Keep alternative, non-sugary “sweets” that you can snack on if cravings get particularly bad, such as nuts and dried fruits like raisins, dates, and figs. Often cravings will subsist (I’m just being honest) but sometimes you can trick your body into thinking its desire for sweetness has been satisfied.

2 – Try to avoid alcohol as much as possible during the first few weeks of your sugar detox. Not only is it likely to weaken your resolve but it’s also high in sugar and can lead to further cravings.

3 – I know this is one of those irritatingly obvious ones, but drink water. It really does help!

4 – Eat sufficient protein during meals. Protein keeps blood glucose levels steady and aides in the production of serotonin, which helps you stay calm and happy (thus more likely to say no to the chocolate biscuits being passed around the office). I find that the more protein I implement into my diet, the less intense my cravings are.

5 – Avoid coffee. I used to think it helped suppress my appetite but it can actually trigger sugar cravings.

6 –Okay, I know this isn’t for everyone, particularly not you trypanophobes out there, but I’m a big advocate of acupuncture. It’s important to find a good practitioner, though. Word of mouth is often the best way to go. It’s worth asking around. 

7 – Get lots of exercise. Exercise has been shown to powerfully curb cravings.

Confessions of a Sugar Junkie

"All I ever really want is sugar."

- Andy Warhol -

johnryansolis.com

I’m a sugar junkie, bona fide. I love sweets in all its shapes and forms; cookies, cakes, brownies, doughnuts. Tempt me with anything sweet and delectably artificial and I’ll destroy the entire thing within a matter of minutes. A large packet of chocolate digestives? A whole tub of Ben & Jerry’s Fish Food? Size is no barrier. In fact, I’m usually at my sugar-fuelled worst when “king-sized” is thrown into the equation.

But there’s something about sugar dependency that doesn’t quite evoke the same attention and concern as other addictions. It’s hard to imagine a sugar junkie receiving the same kind of sympathy as an alcoholic or smoker. Perhaps it’s due to the lack of recognition that sugar addiction gets by the medical community or the commonly held notion that sugar is harmless and non-addictive. Either way, there’s such a widespread disdain for sugar addiction that it’s almost embarrassing to identify with. But it shouldn't be disregarded.

I think it’s possible to get addicted to anything. An addiction isn’t always purely physiological but can be psychological as well. A person might get emotionally attached to a particular feeling that an object or activity induces in them, and when that feeling is absent they’ll crave it, but it’s when the compulsion to satisfy this craving becomes uncontrollable that a person is considered an addict. Dr. Nicola Avena who studies aberrant eating behaviours claims that addiction is "characterized by a pattern of compulsive, uncontrollable behaviours that occur at the expense of most other activities and intensify with repeated cycles”.

According to recent research, moreover, refined sugar has a physically addictive property similar to many drugs; in fact it’s allegedly more addictive than cocaine. In the scientific paper Intense Sweetness Surpasses Cocaine Reward, Magalie Lenoir and her colleagues report that rats given a choice between sugary water and cocaine overwhelmingly favoured the former. Even rats that were previously addicted to cocaine switched to the sweetened water once it became an option. In her book, Potatoes not Prozac, Dr. Kathleen DesMaisons also likens sugar addiction to drug addiction, explaining that sugar causes our brains to release natural chemicals called "opioids" which produce a feeling of intense pleasure.It's no wonder we keep longing for more.

Personally I didn’t need a study to tell me this; the addictive quality of sugar doesn’t astound me in the slightest. I’ve always had a pretty sketchy relationship with the stuff. My attitude and behaviour at times has been indistinguishable from that of a drug addict, and by that I'm not implying that sugar addiction is homogeneous to all other addictions, some are undoubtedly more physically overwhelming than others. One thing's for sure, a lack of sugar doesn't cause prolonged periods of vomiting and shivering in bed all night as a lack of heroin would do to a heroin addict. What I do mean, on the other hand, is that my desire for sugar has at times become so overpowering that it defies all logic and rational thought. I keep going back for more even when I want to stop; eating sugar becomes default behaviour rather than a pleasurable choice, and in that sense I could possibly compare myself to a heroin addict.

Let me sum up the inanity that addiction bestows on an otherwise reasonable and intelligent person. I can spend hours anxiously craving for something sweet; a tub of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream or a box of Oreo cookies. My use of the word hours is no exaggeration, I’ve gone for days intermittently fantasising about cream-filled doughnuts before until eventually I had I have one (or five). I’ll think meticulously about how I’m going to get my next fix, and the possibility of going without sugar will turn me into a nervous wreck - not merely irritable but downright miserable. 

Then after a period of deprivation the withdrawal pangs begin to emerge: shaking, twitching, headaches, nausea, lethargy, the list goes on. Regardless of whether they’re psychological or genuine physical symptoms, this is the point at which I cave in and start to ravage cupboards and fridges looking for something loaded with sugar: cakes, biscuits, muffins, soda, cream; white sugar granules straight from the bag will suffice if need be. When I finally get my hands on something, I’ll binge until I’m on the verge of throwing up. Just as an alcoholic isn’t capable of having a few drinks, a sugar addict can’t just have “a few” slices of cake without devouring the entire thing.

And then there’s the secretive behaviour. Unlike most drugs sugar is a socially acceptable indulgence, so you can pretty much pump your blood full of it all day and no one will bat an eyelid, but in spite of this, a sugar junkie will start to act as if they’re doing something bad, perhaps out of shame. It’s embarrassing to confess but I’ve done some pretty shady things over the years to conceal my sugar dependence: hidden biscuits in my pockets, eaten under tables, lied about where I was going so that I could sneak off and binge on chocolate, you name it.

I'm not saying that everyone who eats cakes and biscuits will inexorably become addicted. Just as some people can experiment with or recreationally use drugs without forming an addiction, there are many who seem able to include sugar in their diets and even indulge occasionally without problems. I do know, though, that I’m not alone in my plight. In being open and honest about my issues over the past few months, quite a few people have admitted to me that they've also struggled to maintain a healthy relationship with sugar.

As with most addictions, the first step to dealing with the issue is to recognise that there’s a problem, but many people downplay their addictions. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve heard someone claim they’re able to enjoy a sugary treat every now and then without becoming addicted yet they can’t seem to finish a meal without eating "something sweet" afterwards. Or you’ll see them wolfing down a doughnut and sipping a Pepsi for lunch every day, a bit like the "social smoker" who insists they're not addicted to nicotine but can’t seem to avoid having that "one cigarette" each night after dinner.

I think that the overconsumption of sugar is passive for a lot of us, which is probably why it’s seldom regarded as habit forming. It’s not just in confectionary but a great amount of what we eat contains sugar - salad dressing, peanut butter, jam, ketchup, bread, yogurt, canned fruits and vegetables. We don't realise just how much and how often we're putting it into our bodies, and I guess even when it is brought to our attention most of us tend to be fairly nonchalant about it since the general assumption is that it's innocuous.

Over time, though, I’ve come to think of my volatile relationship with sugar as equivalent to drug addiction. In his book, Drugs & the human body: With implications for society, Ken Liska defines a drug as “any absorbed substance that changes or enhances any physical or psychological function in the body”. There’s no denying the sudden burst of energy that I get when I devour a chocolate sundae and my blood sugar level skyrockets, and then there's the "comedown" from the high as it plummets just as quickly. I repeatedly endure these highs and crashes, along with the plethora of withdrawal symptoms, despite how often I vow never to go near the stuff again. If that isn’t indicative of an addict, then I don’t know what is. 

There’s a rapidly increasing weight of evidence to support the existence of sugar addiction, though it’s continuously being debated by scientists. Still, I try not to get too caught up in the scientific verdict on the issue. The only evidence that I can reliably allude to is my own experience, and this unquestionably affirms that sugar addiction is real.

Meditation: An Eye-Opening Experience.

 "Only in quiet waters things mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world."

- Hans Margolius -

In Neil Burger’s recent film Limitless, the protagonist Eddie Morra discovers a blackmarket drug known as NZT, which enables him to access 100 percent of his brain capacity as opposed to the mere 20 percent that is normally available to human beings. Eddie transforms from a hapless, dishevelled writer to a suave, super-intelligent businessman; essentially becoming a “perfect version” of himself. As he pops his first pill and its effects kick in, he describes his drug-induced shift in consciousness in one simple sentence: “I was blind, but now I see”.

This line resonates pretty deeply with me. I, too, have felt this kind of awakening. I know what it’s like to experience a newfound sense of clarity, as though a veil of fog has been lifted and I’m able to see clearly for the first time. I’ve never dabbled with a real-life equivalent of NZT (at least not that I know of) but rather the source of my heightened awareness has been meditation; "a practice of self-transformation through observing the breath and bodily sensations".

Meditation has always been a challenge for me to delineate, as it’s such a personal and subjective experience that I never really know how to define it. Still, when you discover something that's had an incalculable impact on your life, you can’t help but want to share it with others, hence I seldom shy away from speaking (or writing) about meditation in spite of how inarticulate I can be on the subject.

 
Learning to meditate has been the most significant turning point in my life, as it's led to the biggest changes, not merely to my emotional or psychological wellbeing but to my physical health as well. But the most striking change (or at least the one that I like to bang on about) has been to my mental acuity. My concentration has improved, my thoughts have become less fragmented, my memory is markedly sharper, and my sensory perceptions have become more vivid. Like Eddie Morra in Limitless, I've started to see things in a clearer way, both visually and intellectually, almost as though I’d been viewing the world through murky lenses all these years, readily assenting to a distorted version of reality.

I’ve always considered myself smart. I’m no Marilyn vos Savant, but I can generally solve any problem that I set my mind to. Plus I managed to survive - and actually enjoy - a philosophy degree for three years, and I figure that intelligence must have played some part in that (I hope). Nonetheless, I spent most of my university years plowing through frustration as I felt hindered by a mental fuzziness and inability to focus. I managed to meet deadlines and complete assignments, admittedly to a high standard most of the time, but it was often such a mental struggle that I was convinced I had ADHD or some sort of learning disorder. My gripe wasn't so much about the fact that I worked so damn hard but the inexorable feeling that I wasn't living up to my full potential. 

I felt "limited", until I discovered meditation. Analogising Eddie Morra’s radical transition in Limitless to my own personal transformation might seem somewhat hyperbole, as meditation hasn't suddenly granted me with superpowers and it hasn't morphed me into a "perfect" version of myself, but there's no denying that some massive changes have come about.

I started meditating about five years ago, however I haven’t been consistent in my practice, which often this leads people to speculate. Why would you think twice about meditating, let along put it off, if it has such positive effects? It’s a no-brainer I admit, but like everything in life that’s worth having, the practice of meditation doesn’t come easy. Unlike knocking back a pill, it requires self-effort and tenacity. Sitting still and attempting to quiet the mind is harder than you might think, in fact it can be a painstaking and arduous task, since you’re stepping out of your comforting zone, and doing something that runs contrary to what your familiar with.

Meditation is about settling the mind in the here and now, and that can feel unnatural at first since the mind is accustomed lingering in the past or glaring into the future; the present moment is an unfamiliar place. Besides, unlike NZT, the benefits that come from meditating are reaped over time; there isn't an immediate shift in one's mental state but rather the mind improves gradually. Hence why NZT would probably sell like hotcakes if it actually existed whereas meditation isn’t quite as appealing to the quick-fix mentality of our culture.

I’m often asked, “What has had the most positive impact on your well being?” Different things have benefited me in different ways and I never fail to mention this, but my answer always boils down to the same thing: meditation. 

Over the years I’ve attempted to write stories, scripts, poems, and articles in an endeavour to tell the world about this wonderful discovery of mine, but I perpetually struggle to muster up a piece of writing, or a sentence even, that's good enough. Whatever I create seems to miss the nail head and either trivialise or dramatise a practice that's shaped me into the (better) person that I am today, and the last thing I want to do is contribute to the mystique.

Perhaps one day I’ll manage to find the right words that encapsulate the indelible effect that meditation has had on me. Until then, the words of a fictional film character will suffice.