TheWellnessLiving Health Tips

Humans love the taste of sugar so much that the word “sweet” refers not only to this basic taste quality but also something that is highly desirable or pleasurable. This attraction goes so far that sugar (and sugar-rich foods) overconsumption is probably the main factor driving the current obesity epidemic.

But why are we so fond of sugar, when other animals appear to be so ’self-restrained’ when it comes to diet and nutrition? The answer seems to lie on our evolutionary history. Refined sugars (e.g., sucrose, fructose) were absent in the diet of most people until very recently in human history. Biologists speculate that the human attraction for intense sweetness results from an inborn hypersensitivity to sweet tastants (molecules that taste sweet). In most mammals, including rats and humans, sweet receptors evolved in ancestral environments poor in sugars. Being able to detect carbohydrate-rich nutrients constituted an advantage that was selected favourably as it allowed to choose foods more effective in providing energy. However, natural foods are usually sugar-poor, so our ancestors were not not adapted to the high concentrations of sweet tastants present in our present-day products that contain refined sugar or corn syrup.

Overconsumption of sugar-dense foods or beverages is initially motivated by the pleasure of sweet taste and is often compared to drug addiction. French investigators attempted to explore this relationship by using rats that were offered either sweetened water or highly addictive doses of cocaine. The results were stunning: the vast majority of the rats (94%) preferred the sweet treat over the drug, demonstrating that intense sweetness can surpass cocaine reward, even in drug-sensitized and -addicted individuals.

A plausible explanation for the addictive power of sugar is that the supranormal stimulation of the sweet receptors by sugar-rich diets, such as those now widely available in modern societies, would generate a supranormal reward signal in the brain, with the potential to override self-control mechanisms and thus to lead to addiction.

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The March issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry published a note by Dr. Jerald Block in which he argues that Internet addiction should be included in the next update of the DSM handbook, the Bible of mental health conditions.

Dr Block says that the diagnosis of Internet addiction is a type of compulsive-impulsive disorder that involves online and/or offline computer usage. He recognizes three subtypes, characterised by a) excessive gaming, b) sexual preoccupations, and c) e-mail/text messaging.

In turn, these variants have the following four components:

1) excessive use (through loss of sense of time)

2) withdrawal (characterised by feelings of anger and/or depression when the computer is not available)

3) tolerance (need for better computer equipment, more software, or more hours of use)

4) negative repercussions in social life (arguments, lying, poor achievement, social isolation, and fatigue)

Some countries are already deeply concerned about this problem, such as Korea and China, where studies have shown that large numbers of adolescents are in need of psychiatric counseling or even medication and hospitalization due to Internet and gaming addiction. Data from USA is lacking because the vast majority of Internet users access the network from home (in Asia, use of Internet cafés is more widespread) and so it is difficult to assess, but the situation seems not much different.

Inclusion into DSM-V is a critical goal for many professionals who investigate new or poorly described mental conditions. Being listed in DSM is a sort of ‘official recognition’ as a disease and thus it is more likely to get grants or other forms of financial help to carry out studies and trials, which will lead to improving the chances for treatment.

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Smoking is the most importan cause of preventable death in the developed world. In spite of this, tocacco dependence is still viewed by many just as a bad habit. Because of the strong bonds created by the dependence, most smokers wanting to quit find it difficult and many fail if not following a strict treatment.

In a recent article in the specialized journal “Annals of Internal Medicine”, Dr Steinberg and collaborators from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey discussed the importance of regarding tobacco dependence as a medical condition that requires a specific medical treatment, rather than a bad habit or a lifestyle choice. They compare smoking to diabetes. Diabetes, they say, is similar to tobacco dependence in “their potential to exacerbate other diseases, their behavioral components of treatment, and their effectiveness of medications”. In spite of this, treatments for diabetes are amply covered by health insurance plans, whereas coverage for tobacco cessation products and treatments are usually very limited.

In the article, the authors review some of the available treatments that usually have satisfactory results. Among the safest options is behavioral counseling, but there are also pharmacotherapies that are safe and effective. “Nicotine replacement therapy effectively delivers nicotine in safer doses without exposure to the toxins and chemicals in cigarette smoke”. As everybody is different, optimal duration of tobacco dependence treatment cannot be established, and some smokers may require more extended courses or treatment than others.

They conclude that limited coverage constitutes a severe downside for this important problem. For those smokers for whom normal methods don’t work, health care providers should encourage using long-term cessation treatments and insurance carriers should cover them. To achieve this, “tobacco dependence should share the status of other chronic illnesses, with effective treatments given as long as is necessary to achieve successful clinical outcomes”.

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Durg addiction and alcoholism are serious conditions that affect millions of people in the U.S. Even though some still believe that addicts are always marginals or people with emotional disturbs, the true is that nobody is risk-free when it comes to addictions. It is very difficult to realize that one has an addiction problem until it is too late. At the beginning one thinks that quitting is not a problem, but when the first symptoms such as health conditions or social problems appear, going back seems like an overwhelmingly difficult task.

A simple but clear fact is that very little people find the way out of addiction by themselves. Help from others is a prime requisite for a recovery plan. Family and friends must constitute the first line in a recovery program, and fortunately there are different options to explore when somebody we know need help. Addiction intervention is an effective way to successfully get somebody out of an addiction problem.

An intervention works by bringing together the addict with his/her loved ones with the support and guidance of an interventionist. They work with the goal of helping the addict realize where they are and what can be done to help get rid of substance addiction. Properly conducted, an intervention is exceptionally effective in leading someone to accept entering a treatment program and greatly improve the chances of definitive recovery after the rehabilitation process.

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Nowadays, smokers feel more and more compelled to quit. Health problems such as hypertension, heart disease, lung and other cancers are well-known and constitute one of the main reasons for quitting smoking. In addition, in some countries there is an increasing social pressure against smokers. In Canada, for example, smoking is totally banned from almost every public space except the streets. Today, all public buildings and rooms such as bars, pubs, discos and restaurants are completely smoke-free. Most rentals properties are also a no smoking place, so tenants cannot smoke even in their own home. Other developed countries and many developing countries are following this path, so the pressure to quit is going to be stronger than ever.
However, quitting smoking is not an easy task. Nicotine is highly addictive and the habit of smoking is hard to leave. There are many ways to help. Nicotine patches, gums, prescription drugs, hypnosis and so on, but many people find these methods are either ineffective, expensive or unsafe. Using nicotine (gums or patches) may seem the right thing for some people, but others find it contradictory. After all, you are not really fighting your nicotine addiction.
A new generation of herbal-based treatments constitutes a satisfactory solution for everyone. Cigarrest is one of the most reputed natural programs to quit smoking, starting back in 1986 and remaining the leading homeopathic stop smoking program. Cigarrest is all natural, non-addictive, contains no nicotine and provides the most powerful non-prescription deterrent available. Remarkably, this program has helped well over 1,000,000 customers to quit smoking. Cigarrest’s secret of success is breaking both the physical and psychological addictions at once, without withdrawal or weight gain. Cigarrest formula includes natural components that relieve irritability and nervous tension, leading to a significan reduction of the cravings for cigarettes.
Now it is a great moment to stop smoking!. Cigarrest is offering a 30-day free trial of the program. In addition, you get a 30-day money back guarantee. This will give you a full 60 days to try the product and decide if you are happy with it. So, if you have already taken the decision, just jump into it. Visit Cigarrest and go smoke-free once and for all!

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