Thank you, Kathleen DesMaisons!

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. Okay, maybe more like obsessing over finding the answer to why I, a reasonably sane person, would pack up my children and drive to a store solely to buy a pack of cream horns to devour. It was the first time I recognized myself behaving like an out-of-control addict. When I look back at it, it really frightens me.

I know my body and mind feel more at peace when I’m eating the South Beach/Low Glycemic Index way (complex carbs, lean meats, and low-fat dairy). I understand that insulin sensitivity (the body releasing more insulin than it should) probably plays a large part of it, but there had to be more that caused this crazy addict behavior.

So I went to the library in search of answers. I came across the book Little Sugar Addicts by Kathleen DesMaisons. Kathleen worked in an alcohol recovery program. She noticed there was a link between sugar and alcohol addiction. When her clients got their sugar under control first, their alcohol recovery rate jumped from 20 to 92 percent. The relationship between sugar and alcohol addiction intrigued her so much that she sold her house and went back to school to search for the scientific link.

After researching, she concluded that certain people “are born with an imbalance in three parts of their brain and body chemistry: they have low serotonin (the chemical that quiets the brain and helps with saying no), low beta-endorphin (the brain’s own “painkiller”), and volatile blood sugar.”

Finally, MY ANSWER!!!! In some people sugar affects the brain in the same way that morphine and heroin do. I would bet my life that I am one of these people. I don’t emotionally eat, eat because I’m bored, or keep eating after I feel full. I eat when I’m hungry and that’s it. However, because of these chemical imbalances sugar makes me feel hungry nearly all the time. THANK YOU, KATHLEEN!!!

It feels good to know there’s a scientific reason for my behavior. That I really am biochemically different from all the skinny-mini people pushing carts full of sugary snacks around in the grocery store.

Even though there isn’t an easy solution, I am happy to finally have my answer to “Why?” And now my focus switches to managing the condition. I’ll share more about that soon.

Kathleen DesMaisons has also written Potatoes Not Prozac, The Sugar Addict’s Total Recovery Program, and Your Last Diet. Her website: www.radiantrecovery.com