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Sugar and Addiction Are Connected

/23 January 2024/ All MFN blog/

There has been a proven link between sugar and dopamine. Sugar consumption has been proven to produce dopamine in the body, causing feelings of happiness and euphoria. This explains why people with depression tend to eat more processed and sugary foods — because the sugar in those foods produces the dopamine that their body is lacking. Dopamine is the same chemical that is released in the body during the use of illicit drugs such as cocaine and heroin. For individuals addicted to illicit drugs, attempting sobriety often leads to extreme cravings of sugary substances due to the absence of the dopamine that is no longer being introduced into the body. For alcoholics, there is a similar issue because many alcoholic drinks contain sugar, which also produces high levels of dopamine. These cravings of sugar could obviously then trigger weight gain, self-esteem issues, and increase the risk of diabetes, as if the battle that comes along with giving up an addiction isn’t hard enough.

The Neural Response of Dopamine

Our brains produce dopamine in response to things our body thinks we need to survive, like sex, for example, as evolution has hardwired humans for procreation, causing the brain to deem sex a necessity for our species to survive. Once dopamine produces feelings of happiness and pleasure, we then obviously want to engage in the actions that produce those feelings again and again. Studies have shown that the consumption of sugar causes the same high rise in dopamine levels in the brain that hard drugs cause. Thus why addicts struggle with sobriety as their brain continues to crave the dopamine that was produced by their substance/s of choice. Substance use, as well as severe depression, can cause the brain to lose its ability to produce dopamine naturally, causing it to become even harder to give up sugar the longer one uses the substance or is clinically depressed.

Evolutionary Eating Habits

Throughout history, humans have needed to consume many calories to survive, which is no longer the case due to advancements in food technology and the way that food is produced now. Although we humans no longer need to consume high amounts of calories, evolution simply has not caught up yet, forcing us to have to rewire our brains consciously with the information we now know to be true about healthy eating choices. This evolutionary hardwiring in combination with long-term use of sugary food and drinks cause the body to develop a high sugar tolerance, which again, can lead to the aforementioned issues listed above. 

Reducing Sugar Is A Process

When a client is struggling with addiction, they often express feelings of guilt and shame about craving sugary substances in excess. Often, they feel as if they’re switching addictions, which in and of itself makes one feel bad, but they also feel that they should be living a wholistically healthy lifestyle. Don’t get me wrong, this is a great long-term goal, however, one needs to start slowly, taking one step at a time to ensure long-term success.

“Baby steps. There’s no need to punish yourself for getting sober. This is supposed to be fun, not a chore, remember?” I’ll say with a chuckle. Starting an exercise regimen already puts physical stress on one’s body that they are unaccustomed to, which, even though it is fun, causes the body to need to adapt. That, in addition to having to abstain from the substance of one’s choice, is already enough for anybody to have to cope with. This is why people always have to be told not to beat themselves up over food cravings.

Reducing sugar intake is something that should be done gradually, over time. We’ll get there eventually, after we tackle all the other obstacles. As the adage goes, “You gotta learn to walk before you learn to run.”

Tambryn Crimson-Dahn is a certified personal trainer, fitness coach, nutritionist, and addiction recovery specialist with years of experience. After having worked in the gym industry, she now owns and operates her own company, Crimson Wholistic Fitness. She specializes in addiction recovery, depression, anxiety, and overall mental health and wellness, and enjoys psychology as continuing education.

References

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Exercise For Sobriety

/1 November 2023/ All MFN blog/

The crucial element that I always recommend to people when they say they have been experiencing anxiety, depression, addiction/s of some sort, or even sleeplessness, is exercise. Almost every time, I get a response like, “Does that help you?” Then I get to explain to them why I am so incredibly passionate about fitness. I discuss the fact that I never used to enjoy working out, and, as a matter of fact, still don’t enjoy it, but rather enjoy the feeling it gives me afterwards. This then opens the gateway for me to plead my case as to my passion and explain the many benefits that fitness provides. Exercise has helped people in many ways, but especially in terms of boosting mood and keeping mental illnesses at bay, both of which have a direct impact on addiction. 

Types of Sobriety

The reason I live, eat, drink, and breathe all things fitness is because of how beneficial it has been on my own personal wellness journey. Rather than get into my whole life story, I will instead discuss how crucial fitness is to achieve sobriety. When people hear the term “sobriety” they tend to think of only substance abuse — mainly alcohol, opioids, or hard drugs. Not only can sobriety refer to the latter, it can also include medications that an individual was prescribed that their body happened to develop an addiction to, or could even refer to an undesirable behavior or reaction. For example, I had a client who would unconsciously binge eat after an unpleasant encounter with her then-husband, now ex-husband. Eventually, we realized that she was using food, and unhealthy foods at that, to make her feel better after arguments. In essence, she was supplementing her body with sugary foods that would help her body produce the dopamine her body was craving in order to produce the emotional high that would make her feel better. Here’s a different example: a different client would unconsciously lash out at her mother after having been insulted by her critical father. Once we realized why this was happening, I had her incorporate fitness into her daily schedule, right before she went home from school to her parents. Going to the gym every time she got angry with her father resulted in much less conflict between her and her mother, and, in conjunction with therapy, opened up a new line of communication between the two of them.

Improved Physiology and Psychology

Another common comment I encounter is after discussing the fact that I generally hit the gym for an hour and a half each day. Almost every single time, I get the exact same response, “I wish I had your energy!” For me, it’s not energy, it’s anxiety. I have discovered that I cannot eliminate it any other way than, as I say, “working out until I pass out,” or at least, until I’m thoroughly exhausted. I have found many other individuals who share my same sentiment, most of whom have also endured several instances of trauma, with the later group showing the most benefit and overall improvement from fitness. There have been numerous studies about the positive impacts that physical activity has on an individual’s mood and overall state-of-being. Exercise has been proven to reduce anxiety by promoting positive adaptations of several physiological processes within the body, such as improving dysregulations of the HPA axis of the brain, restoring abnormalities in monoamine function, producing endogenous opioids in the brain, and increasing BDNF (brain-derived neurotropic factors). There have been studies that suggest that fitness may increase neurogenesis, as well. Exercise has also proven to reduce the psychological effects of anxiety as well, such as reducing anxiety sensitivity, improving one’s sense of self-efficacy, and providing “time out” from one’s daily activities and stressors.

Work Out to Work It Out

In short, work out to “work it out.” All of the above are reasons why I always suggest to anyone struggling with their mental health that they start some sort of exercise regimen. Whether a person is addicted to a substance or even an undesirable or destructive behavior, fitness will improve the problem and provide results.

Tambryn Crimson-Dahn is a certified personal trainer, fitness coach, nutritionist, and addiction recovery specialist with 4 years of experience. After having worked in the gym industry, she founded and now operates her own company, Crimson Wholistic Fitness. She specializes in overall mental health and wellness, addiction, and relationships and how they can affect mental health.

References

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Wholistic Wellness Defined

/19 December 2022/ All MFN blog/

What is wholistic wellness? While both words hold different meanings for different people, wholistic wellness is generally perceived as the state of being well as a whole, in every aspect of life. The word wholistic is generally defined as the belief that everything is interconnected and contributes to the whole. In terms of medicine, it is defined as treating every aspect of an illness, not just the main issue caused by said illness. That being the case, one would have to address and analyze every aspect of life to truly achieve good health.

Aspects of Life

There are several factors encompassing all human beings on a daily basis, whether we are aware of it or not, that I have found in my experience as a wellness coach to affect us, either positively or negatively.

We as humans are regularly exposed to several physical, nutritional, social, mental, emotional, and spiritual stimuli. If not within one’s scope of awareness, any one of these aspects could lead to less than desirable outcomes. For example, a client who had an argument with their domestic partner showed up to a session unhappy because, as a result of the argument, she gave into her craving and binged on junk food the night prior, thus wrecking her weight goal for the week.

Therefore, in order to become wholistically fit, each one of these life aspects must be analyzed and carefully monitored in order to promote a completely healthy lifestyle.

What This Means

Taking inventory of each of those aspects of life can be a daunting and difficult task, as one’s wellness in each would differ for each individual based on their likes, dislikes, quirks, daily routine, etc.

For instance, an individual with a sedentary job will most likely need to exercise more to get their desired results than an individual with an active job. Also, one’s physical wellness doesn’t necessarily mean being in the peak of physical condition and performance. For example, an athlete comprised of 18% body fat with an abundance of lean muscle may be more concerned with physical fitness, performance, and endurance than someone who isn’t an athlete but wishes to lose 25 lbs of excess body fat.

As far as nutrition goes, it is much easier and often quicker to grab some food at the nearest drive thru, especially for the working single mom of three. Taking time to make something healthy means more time in the kitchen and being late getting the kids to daycare.

Socialization may mean everything for the high school teenager who doesn’t make friends easily, but may be taken for granted by the classmates who have never experienced that. Mental and emotional health can be affected by all of the previous three aspects listed.

And as far as spirituality goes, that will be different for everyone. For some, it holds no significance, but for others, it is the most important thing to them. Some may not believe in a God, but believe that a higher power exists. They may not pray, but may still hold some stock in whatever higher power they believe. Others may not believe in a God or a higher power at all, but may have the mentality of wanting or trying to be their own God in some way. Those are just some examples of differences within individuals.

Being Our Best Selves

It has been my belief that there is not enough emphasis on wholistic health and wellness. What happens when one of these aspects creates a stressor that negatively affects them? If that stressor isn’t addressed and remedied, it may affect other aspects of their life. How can a person be 100% healthy if they do not focus on 100% of themselves? Not to say that one should put themselves before others, but if one isn’t emotionally healthy, they cannot be mentally healthy without first addressing their emotional health. Diet and exercise alone will not suffice.

Without reviewing ourselves as a whole, how can we operate in optimal condition? In conclusion, in order for we as human beings to be at our most prime selves, it is imperative that we make wholistic health and wellness a priority.

Tambryn Crimson-Dahn is a certified personal trainer, nutritionist, and fitness and wellness coach with 4 years of experience. After having worked in the gym industry, she now owns and operates her own company, Crimson Wholistic Fitness. She specializes in depression, anxiety, and overall mental health and wellness.