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wheat=body, sugar=mind?


kirkor

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One of the issues with wheat (as I understand it) is the modified strains we use these days ... that's why the older generation can't understand all these gluten sensitivities that are cropping up ... "my grama never did need no gluten free diet!!" ... well, right, wheat has changed, it didn't used to mess people up as it does now.

With inflammation and leaky guy and all that good stuff, wheat clearly jacks with your body.

 

But sugar is still sugar, right?  It seems to me that sugar has always been a negative thing.  What's changed I suppose in modern times is the concentration of it (HFCS) and the food science combinations with sweet + salt and all that "hyperpalatability" stuff and then also the artificial sweeteners ---- they give our MIND the hit of sweetness (yay dopamine) but trick the BODY into not storing calories.

 

People can get psychplogically attached to bread-based goods, but (if you don't consider the calorie or carb hit) the gluten-free substitutes can satisfy those cravings for a lot of people without causing a lot of damage. (Witness overweight celiacs).

 

Sugar seems to be about the mind more than the body.  The substitutes (even fruit) still feed the addiction, and there's nothing really to be done except get your mind right.

 

I wonder if one day we'll have a "sugar patch" similar to the "nicotine patch"?

 

They say marijuana isn't physically addictive, but people still can end up smoking too much.  Gambling and porn aren't physically addictive either but the psychological addiction can be quite real.

 

I guess my point in all this musing is perhaps we need to look for tools to deal with sugar outside the normal framework of a nutrition-focused perspective.

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Perhaps - but keep in mind that we are fed sugar in ways our grandparents weren't. Everything has sugar in it! (And soy, different rant.) We develop a sweet tooth and an addiction to the sugar high because we're fed sugar when we don't believe we are being fed sugar.

 

The best approach would be to not put sugar in everything; and at the same time, not present sugary baked goods as an everyday indulgence anymore. That used to be Sunday dinner stuff, not three times a day stuff.

 

I understand your point, but I think it's important to state (rant?) that we get addicted because we're supposed to. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, promise. It's just a reality of life in this day and age.

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Kirkor,  I do enjoy your thinkity brain.    You wrote something noteworthy awhile back.

 

Paleo man had pinecones and dirt, twigs and berries and whatever he could catch...(I said).

 
"True, but recall Andrew Badenoch's line: "Paleo is a logical framework applied to modern humans, not a historical reenactment."
I think it's important not to lose the forest for the trees."
 
Kirkor,  I can tell you from family history..  it wasn't that long ago when Native American tribes were introduced to sugars in the form of alcohol and refined foods.   I don't believe it was optimum for any of them to become addicted to sugars.  The diabetes rates among Native Americans are some of the highest in the nation.   I won't lose sight of the fact that the introduction of  sugars is a 'logical' framework.  I hope we do find more tools to deal with the epidemic of obesity and diabetes in young children and adults.    I won't lose sight of the forest for the trees. 
 
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Obesity and Native Americans: 

According to the National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the "thrifty gene" theory proposes that African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Asian Americans and Native Americans inherited a gene from their ancestors which enabled them to use food more efficiently during "feast and famine" cycles. Today there are fewer such cycles; this causes certain populations to be more susceptible to obesity and to developing type 2 diabetes. 

Native Americans and Diabetic Complications: 

The serious complications of diabetes are increasing in frequency among Native Americans. Of major concern are increasing rates of kidney failure, amputations and blindness. 

Ten to twenty-one percent of all people with diabetes develop kidney disease. In 1995, 27,900 people initiated treatment for end stage renal disease (kidney failure) because of diabetes. Among people with diabetes, the rate of diabetic end stage renal disease is six times higher among Native Americans. 

Diabetes is the most frequent cause of non-traumatic lower limb amputations. The risk of a leg amputation is 15 to 40 times greater for a person with diabetes. Each year 54,000 people lose their foot or leg to diabetes. Amputation rates among Native Americans are 3-4 times higher than the general population. 

Diabetic retinopathy is a term used for all abnormalities of the small blood vessels of the retina caused by diabetes, such as weakening of blood vessel walls or leakage from blood vessels. Diabetic retinopathy occurs in 18% of Pima Indians and 24.4% of Oklahoma Indians. 

What is Needed? 

In ideal circumstances, Native Americans with diabetes will have their disease under good control and be monitored frequently by a health care team knowledgeable in the care of diabetes. 

Patient education is critical. People with diabetes can reduce their risk for complications if they are educated about their disease, learn and practice the skills necessary to better control their blood glucose levels, and receive regular checkups from their health care team. 

People with diabetes, with the help of their health care providers, should set goals for better control of blood glucose levels, as close to the normal range as is possible for them. Health care team education is vital. Because people with diabetes have a multi-system chronic disease, they are best monitored and managed by highly skilled health care professionals trained with the latest information on diabetes to help ensure early detection and appropriate treatment of the serious complications of the disease. A team approach to treating and monitoring this disease serves the best interests of the patient. 

Knowledge is power. Learn what you can, talk to your health care provider and use what you learn to help yourself beat this horrible disease.

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You know what, Kirkor?   This is where I was headed.   You know what turned this nightmare around?  The Whole 30.  

I do it for me and I do it for them.   The ones I've lost, most recently my young cousin this year.  I think of them every single day.

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I got this from one of my senators today..

 

"Thanks very much for getting in touch with me and letting me know what’s on your mind regarding diabetes issues. 

 
Diabetes is a serious and deadly disease that affects approximately 26 million people in the United States.  One in three children who are born will develop the disease, which is one of the top five leading causes of death in Tennessee.  According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, non-traumatic lower-limb amputations and new cases of blindness among adults in America.
 
The American Diabetes Association and CDC estimate the total cost of diagnosed diabetes in the United States to be more than $174 billion a year.  Unfortunately we are seeing more and more new cases of this disease each year.  Each year, I have supported the highest appropriation to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that I believe our federal budget constraints will allow. The NIH is the foremost authority on medical research in the United States, and it is important to help them achieve their mission of curing and advancing treatments for diseases like diabetes. 
 
It’s important to me that we find ways to help the millions of Americans who are afflicted with this disease.  There are a number of diabetes-related measures that may be discussed in the coming months.  I appreciate your letting me know which issues are important to you and where you stand on them.  I’ll be sure to keep your comments in mind as diabetes care and treatment is discussed and debated in Washington and in Tennessee. "
 
Answers are right in front of them and they can't see it. >.>    I was prediabetic they were debating claiming I was diabetic, I asked them to wait and next visit, wow not even close... what did I change?  Soda.. and steering clear of anything with HFCS that I could.  
 
And Meadowlily I never thought about sugar in alcohol being a factor in the introduction of sugar to Native Americans
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  • 2 weeks later...

I absolutely know that sugar will not harm me, physically, IF and only IF I understand implicitly what sugar CAN do to me if I do not have that discipline. Sugar is a sneaky snake of a food stuff! I really believe when eating non paleo foods, that if you bring conscious awareness to every note that you take then and only then have you control over the brain.

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One of the issues with wheat (as I understand it) is the modified strains we use these days ... that's why the older generation can't understand all these gluten sensitivities that are cropping up ... "my grama never did need no gluten free diet!!" ... well, right, wheat has changed, it didn't used to mess people up as it does now.

With inflammation and leaky guy and all that good stuff, wheat clearly jacks with your body.

 

But sugar is still sugar, right?  It seems to me that sugar has always been a negative thing.  What's changed I suppose in modern times is the concentration of it (HFCS) and the food science combinations with sweet + salt and all that "hyperpalatability" stuff and then also the artificial sweeteners ---- they give our MIND the hit of sweetness (yay dopamine) but trick the BODY into not storing calories.

 

People can get psychplogically attached to bread-based goods, but (if you don't consider the calorie or carb hit) the gluten-free substitutes can satisfy those cravings for a lot of people without causing a lot of damage. (Witness overweight celiacs).

 

Sugar seems to be about the mind more than the body.  The substitutes (even fruit) still feed the addiction, and there's nothing really to be done except get your mind right.

 

I wonder if one day we'll have a "sugar patch" similar to the "nicotine patch"?

 

They say marijuana isn't physically addictive, but people still can end up smoking too much.  Gambling and porn aren't physically addictive either but the psychological addiction can be quite real.

 

I guess my point in all this musing is perhaps we need to look for tools to deal with sugar outside the normal framework of a nutrition-focused perspective.

I watched your movie about cereal and bread...and Type II Diabetes.   Athletes in tip top shape who were eating both, ending up  with Type II showing up at their door.      Interesting, the one athlete thought it was  80% exercise and 20% diet as being the key to health.   He completely changed his mind....80% diet and 20% exercise as the key to diabetes prevention.  Thanks for finding it.

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Well I can even go to almost 95% diet and 5% exercise.. as a key too.. I was pre-diabetic.. and while waking some I didn't not do a whole lot, but by changing my diet with Whole 30.. not even close to being diabetic anymore.

That's awesome, Tessina.  

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  • 2 months later...

Sugar seems to be about the mind more than the body. The substitutes (even fruit) still feed the addiction, and there's nothing really to be done except get your mind right.

I wonder if one day we'll have a "sugar patch" similar to the "nicotine patch"?

BOOM!!!

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-01/cp-rdb012315.php

According to Tye, it makes sense that brain circuits evolved to support binging on scarce, sugary foods whenever these valuable sources of energy become transiently available during certain seasons.

The discovery of a specific neural circuit underlying compulsive sugar consumption could pave the way for the development of targeted drug therapies to effectively treat this widespread problem."

Called it!

calvinandhobbes.jpg

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