I love french fries. I used to be well addicted to them.
On my drive home from work after a stressful day?
$2 and a drive through McDonald's got me a few minutes of peace - a small french fry and small diet soda. After all, I "deserved" it and "the calories aren't THAT bad if I get the smallest size", right?
What I didn't realize was that I wasn't comforting myself. I was actually making any stress or depressed funk I was in WORSE, though I swear I didn't feel that way in the moment.
Processed foods contain lots of sodium (bad for the heart), sometimes lots of fat (bad for the heart again), and lots of sugar. Yes, even french fries have refined sugars (especially McD's).
So what do we know about refined sugars? Let's glimpse at the science behind it -
"Processed sugars and carbohydrates, which turn into sugar, cause a rise in the insulin level of the blood. This also raises the endorphins level, a natural mood upper in the brain. These sugars causes the body to have a chemical high, mentally, which results in a lift in mood. Continuous large doses of sugar and/or carbohydrates, overtime, usually cause the brain's endorphins sites to slow production or close sites to regulate the amount of endorphins in the brain. When the body cuts back on endorphin production it reduces the amount of endorphins available in the body at any given time. The lack of enough endorphin in the brain causes slight to deep depression. " - Annette Nay, PhD (Source)
Basically - it many of our processed "comfort foods" give us a "fix" - a short term high that will cause a long term crash as we continue the behavior. Eventually, we'll need more and more of the processed sugar/food to get the SAME 'high' as that first french fry.
But have you ever tried to go off crap food (french fries) cold turkey?! If you're anything like me, you find yourself a bit cranky and moody for a while! Why? Well, as Dr. Nay explains -
"...when processed sugar is stopped there are two chemical related reasons for the resulting depression. There is the glut of insulin depressing the system and the lack of endorphins in the brain. "
So you're CHEMICALLY depressed! Now isn't that a nasty thing? You went out for some french fries to make you feel better after a long hard day, and low and behold, you walk out needing ANOTHER DRUG (anti-depressants) to fix the "fix" from the sugar!
I don't crave french fries anymore. I broke my addiction by realizing that a small order of French Fries is just the first step down a dangerous path for me.
Now - that's just because I can't stop at 1 french fry. Moderation is key in all things in life. But since this is an Emotional Wellness blog - here are a few thoughts.
I'm still a stress eater. When I'm stressed out, I want to just eat and eat and eat. I don't keep stuff that will throw completely sabotage my weight around the house, so if I do reach for food when I'm stressed, it's an apple (same sugar addiction at work, only this is a healthy way to get a mood boost - "The difference between fructose, that is the natural sugar in fruit, and processed sugars is that fructose still has its chemical bonds intact. This causes the body to take a longer period of time to break down the different chemical bonds. As the body dissolves each type of sugar it is releases a moderate amount of sugar over time. This gives a continuous energy boost to the body and a slightly elevates mood (Whitney, Cataldo, & Rolfes, 1991)." )
I thought the information was interesting just to throw out there. If you're looking to control your anxiety or depression, it might be worth looking at just what you're literally feeding the inner dog. If it's processed foods and sugars, you might just be compounding the problem.
No one is cheerful all the time. That would be as unnatural as the processed foods we scarf down from drive-thru windows. It IS completely naturally to sit with our feelings and feel them whatever they are - sad, happy, stressed, etc. Stuffing emotions (with food or just by clamming up) only makes them harder to cope with.
So here's to "unstuffing" ourselves.
Comment activity for readers:
What do you "stuff" your stress or negative emotions with?
On my drive home from work after a stressful day?
$2 and a drive through McDonald's got me a few minutes of peace - a small french fry and small diet soda. After all, I "deserved" it and "the calories aren't THAT bad if I get the smallest size", right?
What I didn't realize was that I wasn't comforting myself. I was actually making any stress or depressed funk I was in WORSE, though I swear I didn't feel that way in the moment.
Processed foods contain lots of sodium (bad for the heart), sometimes lots of fat (bad for the heart again), and lots of sugar. Yes, even french fries have refined sugars (especially McD's).
So what do we know about refined sugars? Let's glimpse at the science behind it -
"Processed sugars and carbohydrates, which turn into sugar, cause a rise in the insulin level of the blood. This also raises the endorphins level, a natural mood upper in the brain. These sugars causes the body to have a chemical high, mentally, which results in a lift in mood. Continuous large doses of sugar and/or carbohydrates, overtime, usually cause the brain's endorphins sites to slow production or close sites to regulate the amount of endorphins in the brain. When the body cuts back on endorphin production it reduces the amount of endorphins available in the body at any given time. The lack of enough endorphin in the brain causes slight to deep depression. " - Annette Nay, PhD (Source)
Basically - it many of our processed "comfort foods" give us a "fix" - a short term high that will cause a long term crash as we continue the behavior. Eventually, we'll need more and more of the processed sugar/food to get the SAME 'high' as that first french fry.
But have you ever tried to go off crap food (french fries) cold turkey?! If you're anything like me, you find yourself a bit cranky and moody for a while! Why? Well, as Dr. Nay explains -
"...when processed sugar is stopped there are two chemical related reasons for the resulting depression. There is the glut of insulin depressing the system and the lack of endorphins in the brain. "
So you're CHEMICALLY depressed! Now isn't that a nasty thing? You went out for some french fries to make you feel better after a long hard day, and low and behold, you walk out needing ANOTHER DRUG (anti-depressants) to fix the "fix" from the sugar!
I don't crave french fries anymore. I broke my addiction by realizing that a small order of French Fries is just the first step down a dangerous path for me.
Now - that's just because I can't stop at 1 french fry. Moderation is key in all things in life. But since this is an Emotional Wellness blog - here are a few thoughts.
I'm still a stress eater. When I'm stressed out, I want to just eat and eat and eat. I don't keep stuff that will throw completely sabotage my weight around the house, so if I do reach for food when I'm stressed, it's an apple (same sugar addiction at work, only this is a healthy way to get a mood boost - "The difference between fructose, that is the natural sugar in fruit, and processed sugars is that fructose still has its chemical bonds intact. This causes the body to take a longer period of time to break down the different chemical bonds. As the body dissolves each type of sugar it is releases a moderate amount of sugar over time. This gives a continuous energy boost to the body and a slightly elevates mood (Whitney, Cataldo, & Rolfes, 1991)." )
I thought the information was interesting just to throw out there. If you're looking to control your anxiety or depression, it might be worth looking at just what you're literally feeding the inner dog. If it's processed foods and sugars, you might just be compounding the problem.
No one is cheerful all the time. That would be as unnatural as the processed foods we scarf down from drive-thru windows. It IS completely naturally to sit with our feelings and feel them whatever they are - sad, happy, stressed, etc. Stuffing emotions (with food or just by clamming up) only makes them harder to cope with.
So here's to "unstuffing" ourselves.
Comment activity for readers:
What do you "stuff" your stress or negative emotions with?
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