Ice cream like drugs, gives the user an immediate sense of pleasure and gratification.
Also like drugs, recent research done at the Oregon Research Institute found that the pleasure level achieved from consuming ice cream starts to diminish with continuous use and more and more ice cream needs to be consumed to achieve the same level of pleasure. The body responds by increasing our cravings for the dessert, leading to weight gain and possible obesity.
This is similar to a mechanism known in drug metabolism called “tachyphylaxis”. This is a phenomenon whereby the sensitivity of receptor on cells that respond to an ingredient or drug start to desensitize with use over time and more and more of the drug is necessary for it to work.
The good news, on the other hand is, I have seen, countless times, how people, who thought they were addicted to sugar, saw their “addiction” significantly decrease as they cut sugar from their daily diets. The less sugar they ate, the less they craved it.
The fact is, if you can just manage to say “NO” to sugary foods for just a week, you will in fact, start to notice your cravings for sugar are diminishing and it becomes easier and easier to just say “NO” the next time.
Curt Hendrix, M.S., C.C.N., C.N.S.
Related Article: THE DANGERS OF SUGAR
