Understanding
the epidemic of sugar addiction
& why you might want to work with this
program...
Sugar...
The Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It
We
are a nation of people in deep trouble. Our
lifestyle behaviors are taking us swiftly down the road towards the killer
diseases with many people arriving long before they should.
Stress related problems fill the doctor’s office while emptying the
business office of healthy and creative employees.
Everyone pays the piper for this from employer to employee and the family
unit as well. Stress-related
disease could be called the no-name disease, for rarely does it have a specific
diagnosis. Most patients are simply
told to change their lifestyle behaviors or they will become sicker.
But here is the irony. The
behaviors that need to be changed are often those utilized to manage stress such
as sugar, food, alcohol, smoking and drugs.
So how does the patient change the behavior, manage the stress, and keep
these changes in place permanently, or at least long enough to have it become a
solidified habit.
The
number of people addicted to some substance is beyond belief.
However, it is only the top of the iceberg.
What’s below is even more frightening as few people pay attention to
their lifestyle behaviors until a crisis presents itself.
Addictions are dangerous outside of themselves as they lead to killer
diseases. Lives are changed and
lost simply because of lack of self-responsibility and self-care.
The question is how to help people wake up and change before it’s too
late and the cost too great.
The
large majority of people spend the day sleep-walking. They are simply not awake to observe their lifestyle habits
and corresponding emotions that build killer stress in the body.
The things we are addressing here can and will only be found through a
very special type of inner-looking and self-appraisal.
We
have to help our readers to get on the merry-go-round of life somewhere and
focusing on the nutritional intake is one of the best.
Truth be known, we are a nation lost in a wide variety of eating
disorders, and not even aware of the seriousness of our individual situations.
Even people who think they eat well are often making very serious
mistakes that are taking them down some very dangerous roads, simply because
they don’t understand the needs of their body as dictated by their family and
personal medical history.
Sugar
addiction and the multi-syndromes of poor nutrition are true illnesses and
accelerate the killer disease diagnoses. They
are also responsible for many other
problems, physical symptoms, stress including sleep disorder, anxiety and
depression, decreased cognitive function, lack of productivity and creativity.
These problems actually keep people from eating correctly and they can be
found under every addiction. They
rob the quality of life. To make
matters worse poor nutritional choices and behaviors are
everywhere and like wallpaper, blend into the scenery of life.
Sugar and food addiction is simply accepted as the American way of eating
and drinking. Our people are
plagued by poor choices, huge portions, and even the fear of eating.
People binge and starve. They
purge. They want to thin and perfect. Few
talk about being healthy. Heads
are buried in the sand, secretly hoping that the body will forgive and forget
all the indiscretions. Unfortunately
that is fantasy living and the statistics below highlight this outrageous human
error.
Here
we will be looking at sugar and the multi-syndromes of poor eating, but perhaps
even more important, how
the individual body responds to the behavior.
Most readers will be familiar with how their body feels when they eat
sugar or follow a less than healthy eating plan.
Unfortunately, seeing the
problem usually isn’t enough because most people are fearful of change for
many reasons. Sugar is often a
stress-releaser food, and the reader may have tried and failed in the past,
becoming more stressed in the process. Managing
the fears around stress is paramount to success of any eating disorder, be it
mild or major.
Keep
in mind that minor eating disorders can have very negative outcomes as well.
Those who never tame them will pay the price in the future because the
body remembers and is keeping score..
Even in an educated society, few understand the depth of the problem, nor
how to manage without it. There are
some people who question whether or not there is a need to manage it, preferring
to see it as just a small problem sitting in a sea of bigger and more important
health problems. This book
will open their eyes to what they are doing to their mind and body each and
every day. They will find new ways
to release the fears surrounding the management of their stress.
Throughout
our research we have interviewed a
few thousand people and less than 2% have any knowledge of how their family and
personal medical history play a role in the way they make food choices and
manage stress.
It
is clear that sugar and certain carbohydrate foods react differently in each
individual. The reaction also has a
tendency to change at different times of life, depending on the lifestyle
behaviors of the individual and where they are “hormone-wise.”
Stress also plays a big part in how one responds to the food or beverage
choice. As you review the chapter
outlines, you will come to understand that if a family medical history is
positive for reacting to sugar, the early child eating habits do take a toll in
the present, as well as in the future of that child.
The
reader will become familiar with other known medical indicators as well.
The addictions history of the individual, as well as that of the family
will alter the body and mind reactions to sugar.
If the family medical history is positive for alcoholism, smoking, drugs,
or other substances that particular individual will have a tendency towards
over-reacting to sugar and high glycemic carbohydrates.
To wit, if the family medical history is positive for diseases that
hyper-react to sugar, the tendency towards what is called “sugar addiction”
is very high. The same holds true
for the addictions component, and if both medical indicators are present, there
is a very high tendency towards this major problem.
Few
people have high level awareness concerning their food intake, many not even
remembering what they consumed over the last twenty-four hours.
This is incredible, as food reacts as a drug in the body and mind.
Most people tend to laugh at poor eating habits as if they had no dire
outcomes. Connections to other addictions, uncontrollable moods, low
productivity, accidents and the like are missed completely as if there was no
connection at all to what was put in the mouths and how often. As a
nation, we seem blinded to the fact that we are speeding down life's highway,
giant slurpy in hand, straight into the arms of killer diseases.
Several
books have been published in recent years addressing the sugar and high glycemic
carbohydrate issue, a few even
becoming bestsellers. This tells us that millions of people
are very concerned about their health in relation to what they eat.
While many readers have gone on to experience some level of food-management
success, just as many have failed, the reason being that while the problem
appears to be about food, it is actually about the complex issue of lifestyle
change. This awareness helps us to understand why the problems still
exist in our society.
While the idea of making a lifestyle change is inviting, few are willing to effort or struggle for long. Once life's stresses begin mounting, the newly acquired lifestyle changes are quickly thrown out the window in exchange for the ever-popular immediate gratification. The new changes are then buried along with the other diet books, gym membership cards and plans for self-improvement. The failure cycle is enhanced one more time. This book is about changing this course of events!
The need to manage sugar in our society is vital. The health problems related to sugar addiction and poor lifestyle behaviors are much more complicated than they appear on the surface. The numbers are startling. Just for starters, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that obesity rates for Americans rose a staggering 57% between 1991 and 1999, triggering a 6 percent increase in the incidence of diabetes.
The Dangerous Toll of Diabetes:
There are 15.7 million or 5.9% of the population in the U.S. have diabetes.
While an estimated 10.3 million have been diagnosed, 5.4 million people are not aware that they have the disease. Many of these fall into the "sugar addicted" or reactive hypoglycemic description.
Each day approximately 2,200 people are diagnosed with diabetes. About 798,000 people will be diagnosed this year.
Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. and the sixth leading cause of death by disease. Based on death certificate data, diabetes contributed to 193,140 deaths in 1996. Many people who fall into the "sugar addicted" category are adding to these numbers in this very moment. Look around you. You can probably see some of them right now.
Health care and other costs directly related to diabetes treatment, as well as the costs of lost productivity, run $98 billion annually.
Diabetes risk factors include smoking, high blood cholesterol, obesity and CVD.
Cardiovascular Disease walks hand-in-hand with adult onset diabetes. The numbers show us that:
61,800,000 Americans have one or more types of cardiovascular disease. About 1 in 5 deaths is attributable to smoking. About 37,000-40,000 non-smokers die from CVD each year as a result of exposure to environmental smoke.
Smoking costs Americans an estimated $130 billion annually in medical care.
50,000,000 Americans age 6 and over have high blood pressure.
CVD was listed as a primary or contributing cause on about 1,391,000 death certificates.
Almost 150,000 Americans killed by CVD each year are under age 65. In 1999, 33% of deaths from CVD occurred prematurely.
There are higher CVD risk factors among blacks and Hispanics.
CVD risk factors include hypertension, smoking, high blood cholesterol, obesity and diabetes.
What is particularly alarming about these statistics is the growing number of children who are overweight and out of shape -- 5.3 million, or 12.5 percent, of Americans between 6 and 17 -- and the frightening health implications behind these numbers. Obesity in childhood can lead to the development of a host of medical problems, including atherosclerosis ( elevated cholesterol), hypertension, respiratory infections and sleep apnea. Researchers report that impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance, conditions that are precursors to type 2 diabetes, are highly prevalent in children and adolescents who are obese. As a result, Type-2 Diabetes once considered an "adults-only" disease, is appearing in children and teens in epidemic proportions. It's important to note here that only those who were obese were tested and studies need to done that include all children with poor nutritional intake.
While the above information is compelling, it is important to look further into the ramifications of sugar addiction. Although many sugar-addicted people are over-weight, just as many are not and unfortunately this group tends ignore the issue more frequently. The statistics prove this out. Only recently has reactive hypoglycemia or low blood sugar been recognized as "the shadow" behind many common problems and diagnoses. Today's research has found that:
11 million alcoholics,
36 million depressed persons,
over 100 million suffering with headaches and
50 million with sleep problems are often suffering with a body chemistry problem that can be improved and even corrected by taking in the proper foods and caring for the self, the tools for which are presented in this book.
But, again, this is only the tip of the iceberg and a very small tip at that.
As previously noted, sugar is well known as the underlying addiction to all addictions . It is usually a part of any compulsive behavior and is well-connected to anxiety, panic disorder, phobia, depression and a host of other emotional imbalances. On the physical side it plays havoc with many chronic disease states including pre-diabetes, diabetes, heart and circulatory disorders, certain cancers, gastro-intestinal disturbances including irritable bowel syndrome, GURD, as well as PMS and menopause.
We can also uncover sugar addicted people in the CDC reports on the substantial rise of prescription medications, cancer diagnosis, smoking and alcoholism to name a few. For example:
· In 2000, almost 7 million persons aged 12 to 20 (under the legal drinking age) was a binge drinker.
· The rate of binge drinking among underage persons (19 percent) was almost as high as among adults aged 21 or older (21 percent).
· Underage persons who reported binge drinking were and times more likely to report illicit drugs during the past month than underage persons who did not binge drink.
· Most binge drinkers have genetic links to alcohol abuse and it is widely known that reactive hypoglycemia, or sugar addiction is part of the genetic picture.
The potential readers of this book are also found in the following stress statistics. One of the most unappreciated stressors is food stress , usually seen as sugar addiction and poor nutritional intake. It is a major player, both in and out of the workplace and cost is extremely high to both employer and employee. Stress is both additive and cumulative in its negative effects on individuals, organizations and societies. Workplace stress continues to grow. In the U.S., experts at the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health are dedicated to studying stress. They’ve found:
Stress is linked to physical and mental health, as well as decreased willingness to take on new and creative endeavors.
Job burnout experienced by 25% to 40% of U.S. workers is blamed on stress.
More than ever before, employee stress is being recognized as a major drain on corporate productivity and competitiveness.
Depression, only one type of stress reaction, is predicted to be the leading occupational disease of the 21st century, responsible for more days lost than any other single factor.
$300 billion, or $7,500 per employee, is spent annually in the U.S. on stress-related compensation claims, reduced productivity, absenteeism, health insurance costs, direct medical expenses (nearly 50% higher for workers who report stress), and employee turnover.
It’s
a worldwide phenomenon.
Statistics from a recent global stress research study show that increased stress
is felt worldwide, and stress affects women differently than men:
A recent Roper Starch Worldwide survey of 30,000 people between the ages of 13
and 65 in 30 countries showed:
women who work full-time and have children under the age of 13 report the greatest stress worldwide.
nearly one in four mothers who work full-time and have children under 13 feel stress almost every day.
globally, 23% of women executives and professionals, and 19% of their male peers, say they feel "super-stressed".
We can also find sugar addiction rearing it's head in the area of cognitive functioning, including memory, focus, concentration, mental flexibility and levels of creativity. It is not uncommon for a golfer or tennis player to have a focus issue and find it related to dietary intake. Another vivid example is a student having test anxiety with memory recall problems. Sugar addiction and under-nutrition are usually screaming out for attention.
ADD/ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed childhood behavior disorder today. Experts believe that more than two million (3 to 5 %) children have attention deficit disorder. The core symptoms of inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity, are exhibited. In addition, ADD/ADHD children also experience social and academic difficulties. Children with the disorder are handed a psychiatric label, a drug prescription and a discouraging diagnosis that travels into adulthood. According to statistics supporting the Americans with Disabilities Act, 3-10% of the U.S. population have ADHD symptoms. Dr. Mary Ann Block, a specialist in ADHD and other chronic health problems states, "I've determined that diet is one of the most significant factors behind ADHD symptoms. It's what people eat or don't eat that creates the degrees of the disorder."
While
the management of any addiction is certainly challenging, the recovery from the
sugar pest is particularly so, as it is so ingrained in our daily lives, as well
as the way we socialize. From our children’s day care center asking for
freshly baked cookies, to our office party, it is all there greeting us over and
over. We cannot sit down and watch a television program or pick up a magazine
without some sugar substance staring us in the face. But on the bright side,
just as we can be programmed to fail, we can just as easily program ourselves to
succeed. We just have to know how to do it.
Part
2 - The Solutions
A
Major Lifestyle Change To Do Book
There are certain keys to addiction management and successful people learn to actively employ all of them. It is not enough to know what to do as some books would have us believe. Specialized tools are needed to transfer all knowledge into action steps, even under high stress situations. Just like in the field of competitive sports, one works to gain skills, then works to develop them in practice, then brings them to the competitive arena. As space allows, lets review some key points about these tools.
Our population appears to be permanently locked in food stress. Overweight people, or those who think they are overweight, look for new ways to "cut back calories", thereby denying their body and mind the necessary nutrients for day to day functioning. Parents stick their heads in the sand so they can't see their obese children eating fast foods, nor their skinny children junking out all day long. Refrigerators and cupboards are stocked with all the latest advertised so-called foods. Schools fill their corridors with money-making soda machines to support extra-curricular projects. Cafeterias serve less than adequate nutrition and even if they do it is presented next to the poorer nutritional choices that kids prefer.
There is little education about the daily nutritional connection to stress and disease, nor how it connects to family and personal medical history. Few seem to know how their bodies work in this regard and certainly few know how to stay out of physiological trouble on a day to day basis . Even fewer seem to understand how their mind works in relation to food and beverage intake. They wonder how to enhance focus, concentration, memory storage, retrieval and the all important creativity. They never look at the end of their fork. All of this connects to the big picture of physical and emotional health, as well as self-image and self-esteem.
Over the past ten years I have interviewed thousands of people about their nutritional patterns and those of their family. You will be introduced to many of them in this book. While some are overweight, just as many are not. You will meet adults, teens and children, some with almost unbelievable, quality of life-destroying problems such as the child with no hair or eyelashes clutching her ever-present bag of candy.
People seek out my websites and discussion groups for many unrelated weight reasons including problems with free floating anxiety, panic, phobias, loss of concentration, fatigue, stress, irritable bowel, migraines, emotional turmoil and general feelings of not being well and not knowing why. Many had self-image and self-esteem issues, while others couldn't understand why they couldn't focus and learn. Others were caught up in addiction patterns with families and relationships paying a hard price. The core cry is this. "I'm sinking. Please help me." This is not melodrama. I invite you to visit my discussion archives and you will see how real this is. The health, prosperity, work, relationships and the entire being of so many individuals are desperate for answers.
This is not a diet book, but a serious lifestyle change book. It's a book about the serious need to wake up. It is about covering the bases needed to live a healthy and productive life, while curtailing addiction and preventing disease. This book is about moving out of stress, finding health and staying there for life. It is about role-modeling healthy behaviors for our children and assisting them to work with their genetic history, instead of allowing it to destroy them.
This book provides the needed tools, as well as the awareness of why each of us is different and with separate needs. As an R.N. Educator and Medical Hypnotist my work is to teach complicated concepts through easy metaphors, or mind stories. These tools for change are introduced in highly original ways that make learning fun and successful. I have taught these tools in and out of the workplace for over two decades and they work. I've sold hundreds of audio programs teaching these tools and the feedback has been highly positive. This book brings this work out of my office, off the audio and onto the book shelves.
Generally speaking, lifestyle change is perceived as difficult, but it can just as easily be perceived as easy and enjoyable. Perception programs are best changed subconsciously. Dietary change is seen as one of the more difficult lifestyle changes as food is interwoven with just about every waking moment. Most people have difficulty persisting with this dietary change for very long. High expectation and immediate gratification seem to get in the way rather quickly setting the individual up for failure. The Hidden Eating Disorder provides the reader with specialized tools, allowing the utilization of the powerful subconscious mind as the Inner Coach and mentor.
There are four areas of focus for lifestyle change:
Personal Assessment - Basics! Readers learn to take a good look in their subconscious mind knapsack. Find out what's there and what's needed to get to where they need to go. This is always the first order of business when planning a self-development program and usually the most ignored area. The past and present hold many clues and gifts for programming future health and success. There is always room for improvement and advancement no matter how bad it looks on the surface. This book walks the reader into and around his own inner mind where the gifts are located.
High Level Nutritional Awareness and Compliance - Fundamentals! The equipment must be in top order. Food Stress is a major component of all addictions, stress-related disease, performance issues and directs the running of the entire mind and body. This book provides spoonfuls of change ... the easiest way to get through the whole plate.
Ongoing Mindbody Communication - Inner Listening! Answering and responding to body cell phone messages on subtle levels is key to winning all battles. Most people pay no attention whatsoever to their body and then wonder why they were shot down. Thoughts enter the mind and become goals without being checked at the gate. People spend their days in publishing negative mind states, not even noticing the effect on their body and performance. This book introduces the body as the friend it is, while teaching techniques for optimum self-care.
Interactive Self-Hypnotic Techniques - The Ultimate Tool Belt!. These powerful techniques are utilized by less than 2% of the population, not because they are difficult, but simply because they are not. We've not been taught how to work with our subconscious mind in this way. When we know how to work our inner computer center, we can change direction in any moment we choose, keeping us the road towards our goals. Most people program their minds for what they do not want and then wonder why they continue down that negative path. These tools are also responsible for actually changing body physiology and helping the body to heal. This book introduces the reader to new concepts in small spoonfuls for accelerated learning.
Our goal is to show the readers how to become exceptional strategists in the battle of life, empowering them to take responsibility for their own health, well being and level of performance. This book is a unique road map leading the reader into a world of optimum health, positive expectation and gently paced action, the true beginning of a permanent lifestyle change.
We do certainly acknowledges the importance of nutrition, exercise and stress management as important components of a healthy lifestyle, but our decades of experience have shown us that it is simply not enough for an individual to have this information. What is needed are the actual skills to pull it all together, to persevere and persist. Lifestyle changes are just that... knowing what to do, then doing it over and over. When you hit a stone in the path and fall off the bicycle, you must get back on and pedal forward. After awhile you will pick up speed again.
Unlike other books on diet and stress management, this book does not suggest the same strict diet and exercise program for everyone. Instead it takes a individualized approach, urging readers to create their own unique self-development plan by employing psycho-biological practices in combination with a nutritional plan based on their own unique physiological needs.
The message of this book is simple. You can do much more for your mind and body than you think you can. This is true whether or not you have an ongoing disease process, or you are looking to prevent one. Your mind state and level of performance is closely related to how you care for yourself in the small moments of your day, as well as what you pop in your mouth. As you become aware and wake up to more of these valuable moments, you will see improvement in all areas of your life.
©
2003 Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN
President & Program Designer
Sarasota Medical & Sports Hypnosis Institute
May not be copied or reproduced in any media form without permission of the
author.