Sugar Withdrawal is Like Opioid Withdrawal

Sugar withdrawal is like opioid withdrawal. Sugar withdrawal is real. Sugar withdrawal symptoms include headaches, muscle cramps, bloating, but the mental effect can include feeling depressed or anxious. Excessive sugar intake produces an increase in the endorphins that your body makes. Sugar also activates dopamine, which is the reward system in your brain.

You'll need to pay close attention to the hidden sugars in processed foods to be able to stop eating sugar.

References
Daily bingeing on sugar repeatedly releases dopamine in the accumbens shell.
Rada P, Avena NM, Hoebel BG. Neuroscience. 2005; 134(3):737-44.

Sugar addiction: the state of the science.
Westwater ML, Fletcher PC, Ziauddeen H. Eur J Nutr. 2016 Nov; 55(Suppl 2):55-69. Epub 2016 Jul 2.

Brown RJ, De Banate MA, Rother KI. Artificial Sweeteners: A systematic review of metabolic effects in youth. International journal of pediatric obesity : IJPO : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity. 2010;5(4):305-312.

Shearer J, Swithers SE. Artificial sweeteners and metabolic dysregulation: Lessons learned from agriculture and the laboratory. Rev Endocr Metab Disord. 2016 Jun; 17(2):179-86.

[sarahhalawa]

replacing a yummy cupcake with boiled egg made me wanna cry

[carrie]

I ate a entire birthday icecream cake from dairy queen it said 16 servings but I ate it in less than a hour. The next day I quit eating sugar entirely. Been "clean" since April 13th this year! Still no sugar for over a year now! Yay

[thatguymichaelhtx]

Anxiety, sweating, brain fog, dizziness, no energy, fatigued, feeling depressed, just for starters.. sugar withdrawal is no joke

[anitabrown]

This addiction is also psychological. I did it for 6 weeks because I wanted to drop some weight . I lost 23 pounds. I felt light and slim. My cellulite started to disappear. It was amazing.

[djosephine]

It’s crazy how sugar is literally in everything.

[sc]

I was a sugar addict for years . It was my stress buster & mood elevator . At my worst i ate 4 chocolate bars daily (ugh ). I quit it overnight cold turkey . Withdrawal was horrid with fatigue / blinding headaches / mood swings / exhaustion . Lasted 3 months . After that zero cravings . I’m sugar free 781 days & counting . Will never eat sugar again . Ever !!!

[rogerzhang]

I had actual withdrawal when I was quitting sugar.

I’ve quit drugs, smoking, and I can definitely say quitting sugar is exactly like quitting any other addiction.

The addiction does break quickly though… but it does get bad those first few days.

[naturenut]

Many experts say we have to go cold turkey on sugar and carbs for a few days for cravings to be gone. It’s true. I tried it. If I keep doing things gradually, I still crave it. It was like torture until it was eliminated completely. Hard part is sticking to it.

[ernestopalos]

I lost 20 lbs cutting out sugar I'm proud of myself and drinking plenty of water

[chellejack]

When you try to eat sugar after you've cut it out, it is so incredibly sweet. Just awful.

[jayonnaj]

I had a sugar addiction and my glucose level was off the chain! I was also obese, but simply went to my Heavenly Father in Jesus Name, and, since God is so powerful, HE GAVE ME THE STRENTH to abstain from eating these foods, so I lost nearly 40 pounds like a breeze, and my hyperglycemia just disappeared! Thank you kindly, Dr. Tracey Marks, for telling it like it is!

[EthanE]

I felt particularly bad one day. Bloated, tired, sick. I decided to spend 24hrs without eating because something i ate was doing it to me. It was easy to fast because i felt sick. When i starrted food again i decided i might as well start an elimination diet. I ate some meat. Then some more meat. Then i remembered keto amd how i did not want to do it because it was restrictive. Well, i gave it a go. 5 months later i was down 50 pounds and never got bloated, tired, or sick again. Miraculous

[brianclark]

It's a pain in the whole body! Sugar withdrawal is no joke, but after a few days you start to feel so much better. After a week or so, you will be extremely happy you broke away from sugar!

[painetdldy]

I quit sugar and lost 50 lbs in a year without doing anything else. It's been about 5 years and I notice it creeping back in again. It's just SO addictive.

[leslieshari]

3:12 Check these ingredients to avoid sugar filled foods:

Agave nectar
Brow rice syrup
High fructose corn syrup
Dextrose
Evaporated cane juice
Lactose
Milk syrup
Molasses
Sucrose

5:29 You don't want to use sugar substitute either because they increase the addiction and cause metabolic syndrome. Substitutes like:

Stevia
Aspartame
Agave

[kickerpunter]

I've had ADHD my entire life, & have educated myself on it to help me survive. And I have to say, this lady is GREAT! I've seen about 10 of her videos & she is good (very succinct, to the point & so informative). Thank you Dr. Marks.

[JunkTheGreat]

Very informative but that back ground music was killing me

[lucashouse]

As someone who's been through both I can definitely say sugar is nothing compared to opiod withdrawals.

[celebratingilluzion]

Once a sugar addict myself, can say proudly I've reached a place where things just taste too sugary to me :-)

[k.l.hollister]

Crazy! About a week and a half ago I stopped eating sugar because I felt like my joint pain was a lot higher when I ate sugar. So a couple days after stopping sugar, my inflammation and joint pain was markedly better, but, I feel horrible, like I have the flu. It didn’t occur to me it could be sugar withdrawal until I had a bowl of ice cream at my mom’s house for dessert. Suddenly my headache and nausea was gone, I felt happy and energetic. That’s when it occurred to me and I looked up videos like this. It all makes sense now. Thanks!