Addictions

MCcuddles2

So I was thinking about the three (legal) addictions that characterize American culture.

Alcohol, sugar and caffeine.

I don't think I was addicted to alcohol, but I had one or two drinks every Friday with coworkers. For a few months now, I've stopped drinking.

I've also got a sweet tooth, and over the last month i started paying attention to the "added" sugar content of the things I eat. It's crazy how much sugar is in everything. I then started thinking about ice cream shops, tapioca shops, frozen yogurt and the like. I realized that these companies are basically selling sugar to addicts. Selling sugar seems to be a great business model.

This addiction has to be the root of why Americans, in general, have a size problem compared to the rest of the world (mostly).
(Fun fact: subway is no longer legally allowed to call their bread "bread" in Ireland. This is because the sugar content legally makes it cake. Excessive sugar intake is so ingrained in our culture that we don't even notice it.)

I'm still keeping the caffeine addiction though. Two cups of coffee a day. It helps me work with focus, and the work helps people, so it seems justified.

CSnMUS87

Of the three you mentioned, I would say sugar is the one that's got me and I didn't even notice it. I tend to not like most pastries, cakes, sweets, more than one small square of a chocolate bar, etc. However the few exceptions for me are ice-cream, frozen yogurt, and pies. Then there's the occasional pudding and of course everything else has added sugar. Hard for me to not drink soda, lemonade, or fruit juices. I do enjoy milkshakes and smoothies, but don't drink them that often.
I definitely did think about it while I was away in Norway, as I primarily drank water there every day. I had only one bottle of some Norwegian orange soda (which I definitely think is better than fanta. I wish I remembered the name.), and sometimes a glass of orange juice or grapefruit juice at a meal, with several glasses of water included. I don't think I've ever drank as much daily water in my life before, and it felt great.

CuddleDuncan

On a whim I looked up the Big Mac. Yep .... 9 grams of sugars. (In the bun and the sauce.)

Mike403

I want McDonald's to bring back the clown.

CharlieBear

@Mike403 I miss Grimace and the Hamburglar. Oh and Mac Tonight 🌛 Also those transformer toys. Man, McDonalds had got their talons in me good…

Sugar is the only one on that list I am addicted to. I am curious how much of my life is affected by it. I am honestly scared to know the answer to that…

gnomddet

I’ve never had a cup of coffee in my life and I almost never drink tea or anything else with caffeine. It is very disturbing to me to see how reliant everyone is on their morning coffee rituals. It is like they are unable to be a human being without a dose of caffeine in the morning.

I’m helplessly addicted to donuts though, so I can’t judge anyone.

Mike403

@gnomddet - Caffeine is one of the most addicting substances known to man, so is sugar. Alcohol can be for some people, but I can function just fine without a beer even though I drank beer before.

Cuddle_RN

You can pry my caffeine out of my cold, dead hands 😂

JohnR1972

I’ve never had an alcohol addiction, never took my first drink until I turned 40 and my doctor recommended I start drinking a glass of wine a few times per week but I even gave that up about a year ago. I used to consume a LOT of sugar but I went Keto over a year ago and it only took me a about 1-2 weeks to give it up, not just added sugar but nearly all sugar (bread, condiments, chips, etc.)

But like @Cuddle_RN I have no intention of giving up my 2-3 cups of coffee per day. 😊

MCcuddles2

I've honestly started to think of excessive sugar as like a slow poison, constantly lingering in our bodies causing short term and long term damage.

Human beings, like all living things, are holistic creatures. Our physical health, thoughts and emotions are connected. The physical damage from the sugar poison affects everything else too.

Makes it easier to resist it.

I don't think I can give up Naan bread, which is a staple of Pakistani food. If I can't eat that why am I even alive?

CSnMUS87

I personally don't drink alcohol at all. Never liked any that I tasted a sip of, so I figured no big loss. Coffee only a few rare times a year if I'm in the mood, but caffeine never seems to give me any boost of energy, even with expresso, so I don't have it often. I will say I probably have it most often if I'm drinking cola or dr. pepper, but if I can find the caffeine free version, I'll drink that. Tea only enters my mouth if I'm feeling sick and need to soothe my stomach or throat. Or once in a great while I'll have the (I think Jasmine?) tea at a Chinese restaurant.
Sugar's the hard one for me.

MCcuddles2

The other thing about living in an over sugared culture, I forgot that water tastes sweet!

In old literature, in Arabic, Urdu and English (languages that I know of) fresh water used to be referred to as sweet water. I think that's because water has a subtle sweetness. But, if your body constantly has sugar coursing through it, you can't recognize the subtle sweetness!

Edit: this is my theory. It may be wrong. Cursory research says that water may or may not have a sweet taste depending on what minerals were naturally dissolved in it.

WriterGF

I had Turkish coffee 38 years ago. I'm still running on the caffeine from that.

Babichev

You forgot nicotine, one of the most addictive substances known to humankind. Those who have kicked heroin and have a nicotine addition say it’s harder to kick nicotine than heroin.

In nature, sugar is not that common. We get a dopamine rush from it. The superpleasure we get from it is beyond what would normally be available in nature.

You don’t need to look to water. Mother’s milk is sweet. We’re biologically programmed to respond to sweetness. Our downfall is that it is now overabundant, to our detriment.

TNNative

Very interesting thread ... I have thought about sugar, caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol a good bit having chosen a career in an area of health care and also trying to care for myself. I have never smoked (thank goodness), and drink very little, but it is fun to have a glass of wine when I cook (cooking for one and having left overs most nights means cooking only once or twice a week). Coffee is a once in a while treat because I prefer a latte. I drink tea most mornings with a little milk and to sweeten I changed to Stevia instead of sugar. Sugar is definitely in more areas of my life than I should have, and I can make a change when I choose.

I think I would have a different relationship with sugar and pastries if I had not found acupuncture almost 20 years ago. I say that because I had a HUGE sweet tooth and cravings for breads, pastry, and cakes. I think the treatments helped change my palate and cravings. I have a much easier time now with those items. However, I still indulge, and now have to find gluten free options after learning of a gluten sensitivity. Most nights it is just a little dark chocolate after dinner.

Mike403

@Babichev - I never got addicted to nicotine. I smoke a cigar only on special occasions at a cigar bar and I never find myself craving another one. I've never done cigarettes before.

TNNative

Something I learned in my studies ... withdrawal from alcohol will kill you (delirium tremens and seizure) , while withdrawal from heroine will make you feel like you are dying, but won't actually kill you.

JohnR1972

Alcohol - Tobacco - Firearms… Someone once said that was the name of a convenience store in Texas 😂

roykent

Are we talking only about ingestable addictions? Because my phone would top my list ☹️. I’m definitely more addicted to my phone than I want to be.

I think Americans struggle with greed and consumption as well, if those can be addictions.

MCcuddles2

I made a notable omission of nicotine. It seems that my generation and the generation below no longer smoke tobacco, on average.

I can't name any coworkers or friends, top of my head, who smoke tobacco regularly. In the last year, I can't say that I've actually seen anybody smoking at work.

Some of us will get together occasionally to smoke hookah, but that's a once in a while social activity.

Vaping seems to be a thing in the much younger generation.

pmvines

I never really have had true drug or alcohol addictions, more so over use and abuse of things. I have been sober too long to even count back that far , but there is nothing I havent done . When I was a teen I was a total cocaine, alcohol, and pill freak. With a close second place going to hallucinogens of all typed. I would spend days tripping out in the spirit world lol. Tried crack, heroin, and as I said, everything else under the sun . I quit it all cold turkey , no rehab or 12 steps, because I didnt want to end up going from over use to dependence. Saw too many lives around me wrecked that way .

That being said , I was heavily addicted to smoking which I quit 26 yrs ago and recall getting pretty physically sick from . I am currently very addicted to coffee, as I get very uncomfortable without it .

RainsCuddle

I've stop drinking alcohol about 14 years ago. I stop pretty young because i've notice how it impacted my mood and my relationships. They say alcoholism is our Dna and I've seem family members ruining their life and health to feed their addiction.

So yeah I stop and and it's still hard to stay sober years later. Not that I crave it much, but in our society drinking is being social and if you say no and try to avoid alcohol some people see it as been anti-social...
kinda sad 😔

@pmvines Coffee stimulates colon activity, which explains your propensity for pooping.
You're welcome.

pmvines

@RainsCuddle I hear you. There are a couple bars I go to and I dont drink. I just bring my laptop in to do work etc , order wings and ice water, play pool, darts, watch the band and karaoke etc . It was awkward at first but they all know me as I'm a regular. Plus there is something really funny about being the lone.sober person in a room full of drunken idiots 😅

pmvines

@Btown oh yeah and I have a Keurig in my bedroom just next to the potty

@pmvines LOL. You are a crazed man.

DaringSprinter

Well, one upside to being raised by religious fanatics, I guess: I've never been addicted to anything.

Our whole family even went "sugar-free" (refined sugars, natural ones were still okay) for a few months—I still remember how disgusting that first bite of maple syruped pancake tasted when we finally broke the "fast." Turns out if you're not used to it, refined sugar tastes revolting.

You get used to it real fast, though.

That said, to this day I can't handle things that're too sweet. Give me chocolate with higher than 90% cocoa content and I'll be happy, to give you some idea....

I did smoke a cigarette once. I promptly wanted another one, which resulted in me never smoking a single cigarette ever again. I have a thing about being controlled: I don't like it. It's probably a neurosis or something.

RainsCuddle

@pmvines I might tried that, I haven't play pool in so long and I miss it! 😊🎱!

GreatHornedOwl

I think that I'm an oddball when it comes to addictions. For starters, I'm not into sugar much at all. I really prefer bitter or hot to most anything sweet. There are only two types of candy that I enjoy. The first, would be Ginger Chews. They may have a tinge of sweetness, but mostly, they're just hot. Then, there is my favorite chocolate bar, that I discovered about 15 years ago. It's a dark chocolate made by Lindt, and it has chili pepper mixed in. The dark chocolate itself, is rather bitter, and the chili pepper makes it hot.

Since I retired, I tend to have o ne large mug of coffee with breakfast. My brew of choice, is a dark roasted Sumatra blend, and I brew it strong. Even the slightest trace of sugar in my coffee, makes it absolutely undrinkable. Needless to say, it's quite bitter. I used to drink a lot more coffee when I was working, but I never noticed feeling any different.

I love corn bread, and I bake my own, two or three times per week. I start with one of the Famous Dave's mixes. One of their mixes is seasoned with jalapenos, and I bake it straight. Their other mix is seasoned with cinnamon and nutmeg. It's okay, but a little sweet for my taste. When I start with that one, I add some ginger, some clove, and some orange peel. I's on the bitter side, so it's fabulous. Both of the two mixes probably have some sugar in them, but since I can't taste it, I've never bothered to look.

My alcohol consumption consists of one bottle of IPA (India Pale Ale) each night with dinner. For those not familiar with IPA, it has 2x to 5x the amount of hops, compared to a typical beer. The high hops content tends to make it quite bitter.

Finally, I get to nicotine. I know for a fact, that it's easy to quit smoking. I did it it at least a dozen times. The problem is not quitting, but staying quit. I tried the nicotine patches, which didn't help a bit. Finally, I tried the nicotine gum. When I needed a nicotine buzz, I would pop another piece of gum, or even just chew harder. It was like a miracle. After my first piece of gum, about 20 years ago, I never had another smoke. I should mention that the gum does have a downside. It took me just over three years to quit chewing the stuff.

JohnR1972

@DaringSprinter - I am with you on the 90+% cocoa chocolate. I gave up sugar last year (for health reasons not anything religious) and today my only “sweets” are small portions of berries or Lily’s extreme dark chocolate which is plenty sweet to me since my taste buds recalibrated after giving up sugar.

Adorkabledoll

I think sodium would fall under this category also.