About a week ago I powered through Potatoes not Prozac by Kathleen DesMaisons, and was so inspired that I jumped back into my clean, sugar free diet.

DesMaisons' book is about 180 pages too long, so I prepared to distill the most interesting and important points in a blog entry. After completing a journal detailing the finer points, I leaned over the computer to pick up a stapler that I had knocked over. In doing so, I bumped the power cord. >Bzzt< Gone.

This version is actually a bit of an improvement over the original because it contains research from more contemporary sources… so who knows, perhaps the loss was a blessing in disguise.

The Last 6 Days
Journal loss notwithstanding, by day 2 I was going strong! I returned to eating only whole food meals. Then, out of nowhere, my wife makes oatmeal cookies.

Sigh... I caved instantly. As usual, my wife and son (who do not have a problem with sugar) ate one or two and never thought about them again. I ate about 8 cookies per night... then started working on the box of left-over dough (which I finished off on Sunday). In fairness, my wife didn't know what I was doing, and simply cannot relate to my sugar addiction. STILL… OATMEAL COOKIES!? THANKS A LOT *laugh*

So, for the past few days, I have felt wired and sick to my stomach. I've been compulsively eating a LOT of sugar (even beyond the dough)... much more than usual. The feeling is the metabolic equivalent of someone stomping on the gas and the break at the same time. My muscles are telling me that I need to do something strenuous RIGHT NOW – OR ELSE! …but I’m not sure what the “or-else” is.

My body is buzzing in a jittery, anxious sort of way. I’m bordering on depression and sometimes, when the buzzing is more intense, I feel a little drunk. (This only happens after a seriously large dose of sugar.) I’m concerned that this is a precursor to diabetes…

I haven’t found anything that speaks to the weird ‘buzzing’ feeling, but Potatoes Not Prozac helped put me in touch with what is going on inside my body right now.

Potatoes Not Prozac
Kathleen DesMaisons does a fantastic job of explaining the biochemical reasons behind addiction in a very accessible way.

The Three (Four?) Keys
(This comes nowhere close to my original summary, but…) The three keys to sugar addiction (and possibly other addictive behavior) can be found in the body’s mixture of blood sugar, serotonin and beta-endorphin. The trick is to coax your body into balanced levels of these three substances.

Blood Sugar
Blood sugar leveling is covered by many books, so I won’t spend much time on it here. In a nutshell: Eating a mixture of complex carbs, fibrous carbs and protein will ensure slow assimilation of simple carbs into the bloodstream – thus keeping blood sugar from spiking.

Serotonin
Serotonin deficiency is linked to depression and may lead to obesity and other eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia). Low serotonin levels may also be a contributing factor in insomnia. Serotonin is produced from L-Tryptophan, an amino acid found in turkey, chicken, soy products and back-eyed peas (to name a few). Tryptophan requires vitamin B6 and magnesium (and simple sugars) in order to create serotonin.

Don’t take this as license to eat sugar before you go to sleep! That is a quick way to pack on the pounds. The body works better when it can break down complex carbs in a controlled manner to get the simple sugars it needs. DesMaisons suggests eating a potato shortly before bedtime to help improve serotonin levels (this is where the book gets its name).

Beta-Endorphins
According to DesMaisons, beta-endorphins are the long overlooked third element to the equation. Beta-Endorphins are addictive, morphine-like chemicals created by the body that produce a sense of wellbeing. The ‘high’ produced by running and working out is caused by a release of beta endorphins. Sugar and white flour stimulate the release of beta-endorphins. Unlike the natural endorphin production cycle which tapers the chemical, sugar-induced endorphin highs are quick, intense and result in crashes afterward.

Interestingly enough, the ‘prescription’ for raising beta-endorphins has nothing to do with food. Exercise, meditation, and socializing with friends all trigger the release of beta endorphins. Need a boost? Relive something that made you laugh or smile.

Galanin
DesMaison’s latest edition came out prior to the discovery of the role of galanin in feeding behavior. Galanin is a neuropeptide implicated in fat cravings and a thirst for alcohol. It competes with serotonin and in addition to creating fat cravings, causes drowsiness.

-------------

When They’re Low
I wish I had DesMaisons’ book in front of me so I could reproduce the charts that show the effects of low blood sugar, low serotonin and low beta-endorphins. Obviously low serotonin and low blood sugar levels are related to sweet cravings, but the low beta-endorphin levels were what intrigued me most.

Low beta-endorphins can create feelings of anxiety, sensitivity to pain (emotional and physical) and depression. Low beta-endorphins can also cause insatiable sweet cravings.

Another eye-opening association DesMaisons made for me was the way you could “feel good, but still off” When blood sugar is high, serotonin is at optimal levels and beta-endorphins are low, you can feel very upbeat yet anxious. This explains SO MUCH!

Caffeine Connection
As a teenager, I discovered that caffeine helped me feel good about myself; but, when I took it while dieting, I entered a hyper-anxious state. I know now that the caffeine was stimulating my beta-endorphins and also resisted serotonin uptake much like MAOI inhibitors (antidepressants). If I drank an ordinary soda without being adequately fueled, my blood sugar would spike and crash. Low blood sugar made me sluggish and irritable, while the high beta and serotonin (and increased metabolism) filled me with an urge to do something physical.

As the caffeine wore off, the serotonin and beta-endorphins would drop leaving me depressed. If I managed to raise my blood sugar, that saving grace would limit the crash, but I’d have horrible sugar cravings (and a headache).

(This probably deserves its own article… but this will have to suffice for now)

Summary
The key to remember is that sugar (in sensitive people) replaces the healthy triggers for beta endorphins. DesMaisons suggests that recovering from sugar withdrawal can occur in as few as four days. Expect to be grumpy for three days, and wait for the headache on day four... but after that (with her) it was smooth sailing. Her body regulated itself and she levelled off emotionally.

That timeframe sounds short to me. It seems to take me a full week. DesMaisons recommends against going cold turkey because the shock will hinder long-term success... but in my case, a taste is all I need to relapse. I'd prefer to stay away from the sweet stuff completely.



Further Reading:
Why We Crave Sweets
(not authoritative, but a good summary)
http://createdalternatives.com/rich_text.html


Appetite Regulator Galanin Increases Craving for Alcohol
(Research from Princeton)
http://www.princeton.edu/pr/news/04/q4/1215-galanin.htm


Caffeine anaphylaxis-stage II (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_249/ai_114820684

Exploring the link between caffeine withdrawal symptoms and the neurochemical changes caused by regular caffeine consumption
http://sulcus.berkeley.edu/mcb/165_001/papers/manuscripts/_861.html