Your Questions About Carbohydrate Addicts {food addicts}

Monday 13 February, 2012 11:17 am | carbohydrates foods | Kirsten Plotkin

Lizzie Your Questions About Carbohydrate Addicts {food addicts}

Lizzie asks…

Do you have any advise for food addicts besides the usual calorie counting and exercise?

When food becomes more important to food addicts, than enjoying their life, how do you tell a friend what to do to gain their life back? It is such a touchy situation.

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kbp-admin answers:

You say to your friend, exactly what you’d say if they were addicted to drugs, or alcohol or tobacco. You would do all you could to help them cure their addiction. It is not possible to have a meaningful life when you are ruled by an addiction. No matter what the addiction, it will include cravings, binges, hunger pains, withdrawals, fatigue, depression, headaches and other pains.

Donna Your Questions About Carbohydrate Addicts {food addicts}

Donna asks…

Are drug, coffee, tobacco, sex, and food addicts, all the same?

Perhaps these people are addicted to feeling a rush. All of these activities stimulate the brain and give it a high. Some highs are better than others, but in the end it seems that most people do these activities to get the feeling it provides. In fact all human behavior is performed to receive pleasure or relief.

How do certain feelings relate to the stress response system and early childhood abuse? Can this lead to the constant life long need to bring order to the stress response system if it never formed properly during childhood?

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kbp-admin answers:

I agree there is little, if anything, that separates the symptoms associated with addiction. I’m not sure the addiction is naturally motivated by a need for ‘the rush’. I see it more as an overwhelming need for the addict to fill a hollow space deep inside.

People who begin to smoke, drink, or overeat, rarely expect to become addicted. It is not likely to be their motivation. They often deny their addiction and genuinely believe they are in control. The one thing all addictions have in common is that they do not disappear until the body is purged of all connection with the addictive substance. As to stress responses from child hood. Since most food addicts don’t expect to become addicted I don’t see a connection. Not every bad thing in life is associated with our childhood.

Paul Your Questions About Carbohydrate Addicts {food addicts}

Paul asks…

why does it seem the only people at the health food store are drug addicts or ex hippies?

okay maybe a few are health freaks, but why do drug addicts destroy their body and then go to the health food store to try and live healthy?

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kbp-admin answers:

I think that’s very stereotypical and not necessarily accurate. However, there are people who seek alternative lifestyles and may also be addicted to substance abuse. The hippie subculture in the 1960s and 70s saw the rejection of science and the “establishment”. That era also brought about a lot of nonconformism and saw the establishment of health food stores throughout the country.

It is also normal for reformed addicts to strive to live healthier lives. There is a certain logic in the fallacy that any ‘natural’ food is always safer and better for the body. This ignores the fact that many natural herbs and foods are poisonous. For example, arsenic, and several varieties of mushrooms.

James Your Questions About Carbohydrate Addicts {food addicts}

James asks…

Should Drug Addicts Get Disability And Food Stamps?

My GF’s mom is a former drug addict. When she was on drugs she was skinny. Now that she is off drugs she gained so much weight she can barely walk. She gets Disability Benefits as well as Food Stamps. Should people who have destroyed their lives because of drugs and obesity be receiving these benefits?

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kbp-admin answers:

I don’t think it’s a moral judgment. If a person has an addiction problem that prevents them from working, they should be assisted while encouraged to cure their addiction. Once cured of the addiction, whether for drugs or food, they should be expected to find useful employment. Clearly your GF’s mom has an addictive personality. She went from drug addiction to food addiction. An addict cannot be expected to perform like a healthy person. But they CAN be expected to cooperate in regard to proper treatment for their addiction.

Donald Your Questions About Carbohydrate Addicts {food addicts}

Donald asks…

Are people who often eat at fast food places considered to be food addicts?

I used to be a fast food addict too, until I did the math and found out how much money I was wasting.

kirsten1 cropped Your Questions About Carbohydrate Addicts {food addicts}

kbp-admin answers:

Fast food outlets are not the most common place for people to become food addicts. There are no doubts fast food is a huge contributor to food addiction. But in most households, the biggest villain, when it comes to food addiction is the pantry. A pantry is a paradise of processed carbohydrate foods. These are the foods that are most likely to cause people to become food addicts. They usually house our daily breakfast, our snacks and our supplements.