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Topic: Addiction
Well, we?re about half way into the New Year. How are your resolutions coming along? Are some of those habits a little bit harder to break than you might have thought? Perhaps they?re more than just habits. You might be addicted to chemicals, some of them in your own brain!
Sexual Addiction
Think about it?.
Synthetic drugs, artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives in genetically modified and processed foods, chemicals in our hair color all the way down to the polish on our little toes. There are chemicals in our water and air?it?s pretty hard to avoid.
Alcohol is a legal, socially acceptable drug which is addicting to 7.4% of the adult population, adversely affecting the lives of 1 in 4 children under the age of 18 years old in the U.S.
Of course we all know that nicotine is addicting. Smoking is a very hard ?habit? to kick. Many other ?bad habits? are also more than a matter of willpower. There is a physical component that?s not so easy to break.
Caffeine is an addictive drug. Had your cup of morning coffee?
What about sugar? The way that it?s processed renders it addictive, as well. Don?t you think it?s odd, that in most hospitals, babies are given sugar water almost first thing? Our taste buds don?t get a chance!
Candy, pop, cereals with fruit flavors and colors but none or not very much fruit?no nutrients except the artificial or inorganic ones which have been added back in. From synthetic infant formula instead of breast milk, to hot dogs with nitrates, milk devoid of enzymes and loaded with drugs in the form of hormones and antibiotics, and potatoes deep fried in grease. What are we feeding ourselves? What are we feeding our KIDS?
There is growing scientific evidence that much of the food we eat is addicting. This is due to the fact that once you change a substance...a food...and our food should be our medicine, so that includes drugs...you change it so that the body somewhat recognizes it as something it needs, but it doesn?t quite do the trick, and so the body keeps wanting more. What we need is the whole complete form, not some mutation of life.
I would like to suggest that all of these addictions can be alleviated to a large degree by not denying the body, but rather by supplying its needs. Crash diets don?t work. Instead of starving yourself any more when you?re already malnourished, try feeding the weight off instead! The trick is to feed it real food! Recovery from addiction of any kind is incomplete without a nutritional component.
Other components to recovery must accompany the physical efforts, such as mental determination, emotional healing, and spiritual readiness, but the physical component cannot be denied, or all the positive thinking in the world won?t be enough?You know what they say about good intentions! And as for prayer?Faith without works is dead. What good does it do to pray if we don?t make use of what God gave us to nurture our physical form? God has no hands but ours, and we must put the food to our lips for it to nourish our cells and provide us our sustenance.
Food Addiction, chemical dependency, co-dependency, addiction to perscription drugs, alcoholism, caffeine addiction, even gambling, internet, and sex addictions all have physical roots.
Roots. There?s a good word! Consider the effects of nutrients on the physical brain.
We need to nourish ourselves with nutrients from the soil, brought up through the roots of the plants.
We need to feed our body with foods that were processed by sunshine instead of chemicals; food which was allowed to become ripe before picking, fully packed with what we need to live healthy, fulfilled, and satisfied lives. We shouldn?t be left to search for what?s missing from food, turning to medications instead, be they in drugs or in a box of cookies or in our first cup of java each day.
We have become a society full of self-medicators. We?re trying to medicate away the effects of being undernourished and over-medicated, and it?s a vicious cycle. We use chemical substances?(or produce them in our own brain, as in the case of addictions like sex and gambling)?and this, in turn, depletes the body of nutrients in the body?s attempt to compensate, further adding to the deficiency problem that was there in the first place.
In the case of gambling addiction, for instance, there is evidence that the body is trying to compensate for decreased levels of dopamine and epinephrine in the brain by engaging in compulsive behaviors which will stimulate the production of these hormones. A better approach would be to nourish the endocrine system so that the body is better able to produce these hormones naturally. This can be better achieved through supplementation. Glyconutritional supplementation can be extremely beneficial in this process, as glycoproteins make up the receptors that neurotransmitters such as serotonin bind to on nerve-cell surfaces.
Essential fatty acids, glyconutrients, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, enzymes?.these all play a role. We need to give our brains what they need to conquer addiction, and not just make empty promises on New Year?s Eve every year!
Happy New Year One Day at a Time!
Mary Jo Eshelman, ND, CTN, CNHP
allnatureworks@aol.com
Addiction can be overcome with proper nutrition, an honest, willing and open mind?and with a little help from our friends we?ll get by!
12 STEP PROGRAMS
Adrenaline Addicts Anonymous
Al-Anon
Alcoholics Anonymous
Co-Dependents Anonymous
Food Addicts Anonymous
Gamblers Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous
Nicotine Anonymous
Overeaters Anonymous
Sex Addicts Anonymous
Note: We have been unable to find a serious 12-Step Recovery Group for Internet Addicts. The ones we have found are meant to be funny, but Internet Addiction is no laughing matter. For more information, click here.
I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends!
The information presented is the author's personal and professional opinion, and is intended for educational purposes only. Nothing printed here is designed to take the place of a physician's advice. If you are experiencing problems with your health, it is recommended that you consult with a licensed health care professional. All Natural HealthWorks! is not responsible for any damages or ill-effects resulting from the information presented herein, nor do we make any recommendations regarding your health. We are simply here as a resource for you in making your own choices for your health yourself.
Updated: Saturday, 20 May 2006 9:45 AM EDT
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