Balancing your hormones and blood sugar levels is an extremely important component to keeping weight off, moods stabilized and basically just keeping all the engines in the body functioning in concert with one another. Unfortunately in this day and age food addictions and eating disorders are at an all time high amongst American women thereby creating chaos with the hormonal system. We live in a country of increasing obesity and health problems due to issues related to food addictions. “A 1999 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 61 percent of adults in the U.S. were overweight, and that 26% were obese. A government study in October 2002 published by the Joural of the American Medical Association gives an obesity rate of 31% – nearly 1 in 3 American adults.” That was over 10 years ago and today it is so much worse.
Food cravings and compulsive overeating are complex issues, with various causes that can stem from emotional, stress, escape, or comfort. This problem is usually worse during hormonal times of the month for women or, menopause in which women take comfort in something from the refrigerator that may be making the symptoms worse, creating a cycle that is neverending. It is very important to figure out what the emotional causes are but, for our purposes here we will only address the physical so that perhaps it can help alleviate some of the triggers.
I’m sure you’ve all heard of low blood sugar or hypoglycemia but did you know that it is common among food addicts? Yes, indeed! When the body has low blood sugar it will release stress hormones or corisol. Cortisol is released to try to restore the balance, it will work to maintain blood sugar levels by converting stored glycogen and fat to glucose. Have you ever felt dizzy, weak, muscles shaking, rapid heartbeat, anxious or panicky? These are the symptoms of low blood sugar and typically people will grab something sweet to stop this however, eating sweets or refined flours actually causes a worsening of sypmtoms. Glucose rises too much and the pancreas will put out too much insulin and then the blood glucose level falls too low or too quickly thereby triggering another sugar craving and thus, the vicious cycle is maintained. Ugh!
Packaged and processed foods contain chemicals and additives that cause addictions and cravings to them as well. The manufacturers add taste emulsifiers to make the packaged foods taste better to your palate. Otherwise, you probably would not want them. As you start to cut out these foods, your cravings for them will cease as well but, you must first stop buying them and yes, that includes fast foods. These types of foods contain chemicals that affect our moods and behaviours in a very negative way and causes food cravings and addictions. If you stop buying them, the manufacturing who care nothing about your health will be out of business. It is up to you to create change.
Look at the bigger picture, it’s not just about you as the individual, we are all connected, it’s about the whole. Change come from each of us as individuals so stop worrying about what someone else is doing, wearing or saying and start paying closer attention to how you can create change to cause that rippling effect and thus, a better world.