The sadness of addiction (food)

(Barbara M) #1

I have been so sad and conflicted since yesterday learning about the death of one of my older sisters high school friends.
Her obit stated she died of a brain tumor and passed while was holding her favorite ice-creams in both hands. Her family really had a nice commentary written about her life. Children, pets, accomplishments.
She was 63. I mean to explain this kindly if possible without judgement.
I guess the conflict I experience is once ‘you’ can see what sugar addiction does and can understand the health improvements possible by removing it, I wish more people understood and could change their life.
63 is just so young.

#2

I often feel the same.
And it’s not only sugar addiction. We can be addicted to various food items. Keto food without limits can harm us very much as well. But of course, sugar is one of the biggest addiction source and it’s quite bad anyway. I just know how addicted one can be to food without sugar. I have vast experiences. I don’t harm my body with it much, I think but it’s not healthy or pleasant mentally. (Lowering my carbs solves it, though. Only my coffee addiction remains.)

I have a close family member (even if not by blood, she is practically my mother) with obesity, diabetes and various health problems. She mostly follows doctor’s orders (the usual here, 150-160g carbs, the typical low-carb diet for people with diabetes, certain other restrictions about quick carbs) but that’s it. And it’s up to the one in question… At least she eats very little added sugar and lots of good food too, it’s something…
She is 70 and I really want her to live for some decades more… She doesn’t act like an old one at all and she isn’t, just sick. Still moves and helps and does things, she’s an active one, worked now and then before Covid hit this country.

#3

I may be misunderstanding the post but are you saying sugar addiction caused her brain tumor?

#4

I have to assume you are ‘just saying that posing’ with ice cream in her picture while she was ill is kinda what made you want to vent out a bit???

We all know her eating ice cream didn’t directly give her a brain tumor or did anything else she probably ate in her life…but I understand your sadness. Hoping that if a person does adopt early on a ‘more low carb healthy and non-chemical fake food’ type lifestyle maybe alot of unfortunate horrible illness could be avoided? Longer life spans for some if we change and do better? Who knows of course cause life is a crapshoot on each of us and how our bodies might betray us at any time. Plus we don’t know her environment, like access to chemical lawn pesticides or living under high tension electrical lines or anything else about her? so we can’t claim any reason for her brain tumor obviously.

I am sorry for your loss of this friend and only thing any of us can do is try to live as healthy as possible and hope for the best we all can get from the universe for us and our families. Sending hugs and healing prayers!

(Barbara M) #5

I’m just sad that as I read her obit, I saw that ice cream was mentioned to be a go to enjoyed obsession. I did not mean to imply that it caused her cancer as I struggled to say what was mentioned in the article. I hoped to only convey what I read as a sad story. I almost substitute any other word, alcohol, heroin, believing so many people don’t get the potential harm of sugar.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #6

In the case of the woman mentioned in the original post, it is sad to reflect that her high-sugar diet could well have hastened her death. The damage done to mitochondria by reactive oxygen species from too much glucose appears to be one of the mechanisms by which cells turn cancerous.

It may be a stretch to say that too much carbohydrate causes cancer, but it certainly does appear to facilitate the growth and spread of many cancers. Most cancer cells, because of their damaged mitochondria, seem to thrive in an abundance of glucose (the Warburg effect), so a high-carbohydrate diet can fuel the growth of many types of cancer (there are, however, a few cancers that thrive on a ketogenic diet; the Warburg effect doesn’t apply in all cases).

No responsible oncologist is going to tell us that we can fight off a cancer by means of a ketogenic diet alone. However, Dr. Thomas Dayspring, a cancer researcher, has a number of lectures available on YouTube that discuss his understanding of the aetiology of cancer as a metabolic disease and where high-carb and low-carb diets fit into the picture; and Dr. Dawn LeManne, an oncologist practising on the West Coast of the U.S., has a couple of lectures on the use of a ketogenic diet as an adjuvant therapy to radiation or chemotherapy.

(Karen) #7

I sent the YouTube videos of Thomas Dayspring to my friend. I asked her if her husband would look at them and she said probably not. So I said well why don’t you look through them and see if you can help him in anyway with the ketogenic diet. He died last spring I don’t know if he ever looked at the videos I don’t know if she ever altered their diet. There’s a fair amount of evidence that many cancers are fed with glucose. Although when you’re treating with a doctor for cancer you pretty much pay attention to everything they suggest, although some people to look for alternative help.

My brother-in-law (59 thin and fit) has dementia shifting towards Alzheimer’s. I gave my sister-in-law a copy of Amy Berger’s “the Alzheimer’s antidote” . I don’t know if she read it and I know he’s beyond being able to read it.

You can lead a horse…

#8

The people that haven’t dealt with it will never understand food addiction, I’d argue it’s one of the more dangerous addictions since everything you do it with is typically socially acceptable. At least a heroin addict has to hide and can’t inject himself all day long at work (usually). What makes it worse is most of these people that kill themselves with food usually don’t even realize that’s what they’re doing. I know I sure as hell didn’t take it serious even though I was getting rounder year after year.

(Barbara M) #9

Further confounded that we all react differently to food and have different hormone responses. My sugar response may be very different than any other. So this and the varying experts or researchers giving conflicting diet advice. All I know is that the world population health and girth seems to have changed not in a good way.
Food being used as comfort, friendship, happiness, sadness, boredom, etc.
I agree life is a crap shoot and try to stay as healthy as possible sustains me to continue with this woe.

(Vic) #10

I did, without hesitations.

High blood pressure, high hartrate, joint pain, overweight and a few more symptoms was enough to studie and work my way out of the metabolic hell.

#11

I felt quite healthy on high-carb too (I do feel better on low-carb but I had no idea before I tried) but I overate like crazy due to hunger (and desires) and that’s not nice at all. Some people thinks it’s fine if they don’t get obese on their diet. I know it’s not so, I feel chained up on my worse days now and free when I mostly lose the carbs and the problems they made. (But I did managed to reach borderline obesity after decades of overeating and seemingly stopped there as I couldn’t overate at that point. With worse genes/metabolism the picture would have become even less pretty, probably. Or I would have done something earlier, who knows? Maybe it’s good I became fat eventually as I had motivation to change and learn about nutrition and the preferences of my poor body that couldn’t tell me before I showed it the options…)

#12

I have a food addiction. My dad died with Alzheimer’s. Brother and mother are T2D…

Keto has helped me a lot in the past 6 years. I was pre-diabetic, but that was reversed. But we read repeatedly in posts about people closest to us will not respond to any dietary suggestions. It is terribly frustrating and an intrinsic woe in the WOE.

I was listening to Dr. Sean O’Meara on a podcast. I listen for any new snippet I can get to help against the food addiction. There are some very good food addiction therapeutic practitioners that help a bit. Dr. O’Meara was talking on the psychology of food and health. He spoke more like a motivational speaker than a healer. But he threw out something that I found I could hold on to, and add it to the WOE. He asked, "How much do you want it?" He was asking it in the context of optimum health. It can also be used when holding a chocolate.

The other thing to mention in this discussion is that people trust other people. People will trust their doctors because they like them, despite that they may have incomplete knowledge and practice skills.

This image creates an emotional reaction for me as well. I empathise Barbara. I keep telling myself that it is standard practice to feed people dying of cancer whatever they want. The fear is that the patient will lose too much weight on keto. To me, it has a waft of ‘we’re (the treatment team) giving up’ and palliative care for the patient and close contacts (do not restrict). But throw in food addiction, and the foods that are craved are ill considered as an adjunct treatment to the cancer treatment (as per Paul’s post).

My mother has diabetic complications. She has sweet pastry with her coffee daily. I’ve ranted on this elsewhere. To me food addiction, the accepted “sweet tooth”, is slow motion suicide. And I’m not allowed to scream.

(Barbara M) #13

Very powerful words here, thank you.
I do believe in the concept of find your ‘why’. What is important to heal, feel better free your mind. The body seems pretty resiliant, until it’s not. It takes a lot and may not show illness for years, (Dr Krafts t2d insulin curves) and even the things that make you feel bad you are not aware of. Joint problems, acne, eczema.
I do listen to many podcasts and the like in order to become my best self. Each day is a new opportunity. I also believe in being that role model to show others that this lifestyle is possible. Long term, yep, sustainable, yep.

I understand the frustration of having the knowledge and desire to assist other people and not want to be heard. This has been said by many people on the forums. I know keep on keeping on is my only way.