November 28, 2012 | 8:45 am

Holidays and Eating Mindfully

Posted by Rebecca Cooper

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As the holidays are well upon us, you man be looking for that perfect diet. You want to look your best for the family and friends you may not have seen since last holiday season. You have to lose those ten pounds you gained since last year. So you diet and restrict as the holidays approach.

Then you eat more than you intended. You think, “well I’ve already blown it so I may as well eat some more.”  You will get back on your diet tomorrow. You promise yourself that the New Year will be different, and it is for a few weeks. And so it continues year after year after year.

So how can this season be different? I would like to offer you a recipe for sensible eating to try this holiday season:

1. Recognize that the holidays are a time when most people overeat. If you do overeat just wait until you are physically hungry before you eat again. You will be surprised how stable your weight will remain just by eating intuitively.
    
2. There is scientific evidence that sugar affects some of us differently. You may have a dessert, and then you crave more food and eat uncontrollably. It is important to know how different foods react with your own body, mind, and emotions.
    
3. Watch for emotional overeating. Make sure you are centered when you are going to be with difficult people. Keep your side of the street clean. If not, holidays can foster using food for emotional relief.
    
4. Don’t deprive yourself! If you feel deprived you will make up for it later. How many times have you chosen the tasteless diet food, only to end up eating what you really wanted to eat later?
    
5. Don’t skip meals. You will overeat when you do eat. Remember, the first meal of the day starts your metabolism.
    
6. During the holidays many of us compare our insides to other people’s outsides. They have the perfect life, with the perfect family, celebrating their perfect holiday. You focus on what you are lacking. Negative thinking can lead to using food to feel better.

Keep a positive attitude and invest time making authentic connections with loved ones. This is much more important than obsessing about food, weight, diet, or how you look on the outside. The results will be that you will enjoy the holiday season and not gain weight!

If you a friend or loved one that needs treatment for an eating disorder, go to rebeccashouse.org or call 1.866.931.1666.

November 1, 2012 | 10:04 am

National Diabetes Awareness Month: Sugar isn’t such a sweet Deal!

Posted by Rebecca Cooper

As we enter November's National Diabetes Awareness Month , a closer look at Sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup may help to explain America's rise in obesity, diabetes and the new focus on food addiction.

Ironically, when the government ordered cocaine removed from all Coca-Cola beverages no one would have guessed that an even more consequential substance would take its place. High Fructose Corn Syrup hit the markets in the 1950s as a wonder product. Cheaper than sugar cane while still packing all the intense sweetness we associate with confectionery delights, High Fructose Corn Syrup is now used to sweeten tons of candies, juices, colas, cookies, cakes, and creams and has even found its way into less palatable tempting items including bread, soups, and other pre-packaged foods.

Shadowing the same receptor pathways of other ingested addictive chemicals, including cocaine and opiates, High Fructose Corn Syrup alters the transmission of certain brain chemicals including endorphins, dopamine and serotonin, which, in turn, trigger the pleasure center of our brains, leaving us wanting more. It is important to note that with the incorporation of HFCS into food products have raised more than 1000% since 1970.

A 2007 study (Lenoir M, Serre F, Cantin L, Ahmed SH ), found that intense sweetness surpasses cocaine reward even in addicted and drug-sensitized individuals leading to increased aggression upon withdrawal and a disruption of the dopamine/acetylcholine reward balance in the brain. As the alterations on brain function brought on by HFCS produce many of these hallmarks of addiction - including intense craving, the inability to control or stop use, a pre-occupation with the substance, and withdrawal symptoms - the idea of dessert becomes elevated to a whole new level.
It's so hard today to promote the fact that sugar - and particularly high fructose corn syrup so overused in foods today - is an addictive substance, leaving one wanting more and more. Unfortunately, there are still many nutritionists, dietitians, and professionals who don't believe sugar can be addictive to SOME people. In all my years of work with eating disorder sufferers and emotional overeaters - as well as the new scientific studies - prove otherwise. It is just like alcohol. Some people have no problem having a few drinks, but others cannot stop after that first drink.

We are in the midst of an obesity crisis in this country and I'm convinced high fructose corn syrup is a major culprit. I've known this from working with disordered eating victims for decades and now with this new scientific back-up maybe we can educate the general public that for some sugar or HFCS can be the gateway drug to a life of obesity, diabetes, and/or addiction. Nothing less than the health of our nation is at stake.

If you a friend or loved one that needs treatment for an eating disorder, go to rebeccashouse.org or call 1.866.931.1666.

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