Scientific based evidence shows that millions of people in this country may be physically addicted to carbohydrates. Based on their research, Drs. Richard and Rachael Heller, two of the foremost experts on carbohydrate addiction, believe that 75% of overweight and as much as 40% of the normal-weight population is carbohydrate addicted. This type of addiction, not like alcohol or drug addictions, often goes unrecognized, undiagnosed, and as a result, untreated.
Those who often crave sweets, breads or other foods high in carbohydrates and haven’t been able to lose weight or have had a hard time controlling the amount of food they eat, even once full, may be carbohydrate addicts. The following is the carbohydrate quiz Drs. Heller has put together:
Carbohydrate Quiz � After a full breakfast, do you get hungry before it's time for lunch? � Do you have a difficult time stopping, once you start to eat starches, snack foods, junk food, or sweets? � Do you sometimes feel unsatisfied even though you have just finished a meal? � Does the sight, smell, or even the thought of food, sometimes stimulate you to eat? � Do you sometimes eat even though you are not really hungry? � Are you sometimes unable to keep from snacking at night? � After a large meal, do you feel very sluggish, almost drugged? � Do you get tired and/or hungry in the afternoon? � Have you at times continued eating even though you felt uncomfortably full? � Have you been on diet after diet, only to lose weight then regain it again?Total Questions Answered Yes: ______0 - 2 You do not appear to be carbohydrate addicted. 3 -4 You appear to have a mild carbohydrate addiction, and you may be able to control it, perhaps not always and with some difficulty. At times, you may be able to control your eating, and you may find that stress, premenstrual changes,tiredness, boredom, or unexpressed anger or pressure may increase your carbohydrate cravings. 8 - 10 You have scored in the severe carbohydrate addiction range. Youmay be struggling to control your eating without realizing that your body has been fighting you, literally driving you to eat and then storing the excess food energy as fat.
If your score indicates that you are a carbohydrate addict,whether mild, moderate, or severe, you are not alone. Most carbohydrate addicts have a strong or recurring desire for breads and other starches, for junk food and snack foods, or for sweets. Carbohydrate addicts have a tendency to put on weight easily and, when they do lose weight, they usually regain it fairly quickly. Most carbohydrate addicts do not know that they have a physical disorder – an excess of insulin – and wrongly blame themselves for their lack of control and their weight struggles.
Carbohydrate addiction needs to be treated like any other addiction, with gradual withdrawal, starting with trigger foods, such as bread or potato chips. The person should substitute healthier forms of energy, like fruits and vegetables that do not set off binge eating.
