As any type 2 diabetic knows, our basic problem is that too much glucose (sugar) is floating around in our bloodstream instead of going to muscle cells because the receptors in those cells are blocked by fat. This excess sugar will eventually damage the vital organs of our body... the heart, kidneys, brain, legs, and eyes... if you can't get rid of it.
The addictive nature of sugar
There is no doubt that sugar is addictive.
Doctors administer naloxone when a person overdoses on heroin. This drug prevents heroin from binding to receptors in the brain, and the patient usually recovers.
In controlled studies, researchers offered volunteers sweet foods and recorded how much they ate. Later, under the same conditions, they gave the same volunteers intravenous naloxone and then offered them the same sweet foods.
The researchers noted that naloxone caused a significant decrease in cravings for sweet foods. This suggests that sugar affects the brain in much the same way as heroin and other opiates, although not to the same degree.
Sugar appears to stimulate the release of opiates in the brain, and these opiates in turn trigger the release of dopamine, which produces feelings of pleasure.
So, what is the solution?
The preferred solution is to follow an ultra-low-fat diet for 4 to 6 weeks until the fat clears from the receptors in your muscle cells, allowing glucose to enter and supply them with energy. At the same time, you need to suppress your sweet tooth and stop eating sweet things.
But if the latter is too difficult (because, say, you don't have the willpower required), you can try to find a substitute for that sugar you're eating... something that calms the sugar cravings.
Sugar alcohols
Sugar alcohols are carbohydrates with a chemical structure that resembles sugar, but also have components that make them alcohol. They are 25-100% sweeter than sugar and have a similar taste.
Sugar alcohols include sorbitol, xylitol, lactitol, mannitol, erythritol, and maltitol, and are often found in toothpaste, chewing gum, and some "sugar-free" foods. Unfortunately, they are not without calories.
Most sugar alcohols have between 1.5 and 2 calories per gram, which is about half the calories of sucrose (sugar), which has 4 calories per gram. So it will raise your blood glucose levels, especially if you eat too much.
But, the sugar rush won't be as bad as you might expect. This means that sugar alcohols take much longer to digest and cause a slower and lower rise in blood glucose after a meal.
The glycemic index indicates how food is broken down and absorbed in the stomach. The higher the number, the faster the food is broken down and the faster glucose is released into the bloodstream.
But, because sugar alcohols are harder for the body to break down,
Another problem with sugar alcohols is that they are often packed with more fat or salt to make up for the reduced sugar content... seems like you can't win.
High-intensity sweeteners
Two newer artificial sweeteners - stevia and SGFE - are derived from plants and are sometimes referred to as natural sugar substitutes.
Of course, the use of high-intensity sweeteners can reduce carbohydrate and calorie intake. But if you replace the missing calories with calories from other food sources, you will lose the necessary benefits.
Researchers have seen this in some studies on high-intensity sweeteners. Some of the tests showed no difference or even possible weight gain when using these sweeteners.
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