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Are Carbs More Addictive Than Cocaine?
Details ^ | March 2011 | Paul John Scott

Posted on 05/18/2011 6:16:22 AM PDT by Jemian

I'm sitting in a comfortable chair, in a tastefully lit, cheerfully decorated drug den, watching a steady line of people approach their dealer. After scoring, they shuffle off to their tables to quietly indulge in what for some could become (if it hasn't already) an addiction that screws up their lives. It's likely you have friends and family members who are suffering from this dependence—and you may be on the same path yourself. But this addiction is not usually apparent to the casual observer. It has no use for the drama and the carnage you associate with cocaine and alcohol. It's slower to show its hand, more socially acceptable—and way more insidious.

I'm in a Panera Bread outlet.

(Excerpt) Read more at details.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Food; Health/Medicine; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: atkins; carbohydrates; carbs; diabetes; diet; starch; starches
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I had noted in the '70s that my eating starches set up a craving for more starches. It is now being borne out by research that Dr. Atkins was right! It is very hard to resist and I find it much easier to say no to all, than to try to portion out and eat "just a little" rice, bread, or whatever. I had a friend who has been very adament about my low starch diet. Will this research change her mind? Probably not. But I'm feeling vindicated.

FWIW, I've only been in a Panera bread twice.

1 posted on 05/18/2011 6:16:25 AM PDT by Jemian
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To: Jemian

Yes.


2 posted on 05/18/2011 6:18:48 AM PDT by mad_as_he$$ (Ladies and Gentlemen the _resident of the untied States!!)
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To: Jemian; Big Giant Head

A metabolic parasite, I like that. I cut out sugars and starches a few years ago and dropped 50 lbs. Let those blasted things back into my diet and can’t manage to lose the rest. And it doesn’t help that nearly everybody is an enabler. LOL!


3 posted on 05/18/2011 6:22:28 AM PDT by Marie Antoinette (Proud Clinton-hater since 1998.)
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To: Jemian

Don’t ever go to the Swiss Bakery in Burke VA or the Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe in Arlington because if you do, you will never escape the evil clutches of the crack/heroin sold in those dens of inequity. Your life will become a living hell of carbs or carb cravings. Be very afraid.


4 posted on 05/18/2011 6:23:45 AM PDT by La Lydia ("California: When the parasites outnumber the hosts, it's all over.")
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To: Marie Antoinette

I, unfortunately, don’t drop pounds like a rock. But it keeps me from gaining as I would if I ate starches. And yes, everybody is an enabler. Even my husband, bless his heart, was willing to share a bite of his cheesecake with me. It was less than a tablespoon. But it is poison!


5 posted on 05/18/2011 6:24:24 AM PDT by Jemian (Obamas approval ratings are so low, Kenyans are accusing him of being born in the USA)
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To: Jemian
"FWIW, I've only been in a Panera bread twice."

I've only been in Paneras a few times, but I ended up staying there for a really long time!

6 posted on 05/18/2011 6:26:25 AM PDT by Joe 6-pack (Que me amat, amet et canem meum)
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To: La Lydia

Actually, I don’t even enter the door. The stuff sticks to my fingers. No joke! I went to my mother-in-laws birthday party last year. I didn’t go near her cake. I didn’t even pass a plate of cake on to someone else. But afterward, as I was brushing hair out of my mouth and face, I noticed my fingers tasted sweet. That is totally unfair!

The best way to avoid temptation is not to go near it altogether.


7 posted on 05/18/2011 6:26:42 AM PDT by Jemian (Obamas approval ratings are so low, Kenyans are accusing him of being born in the USA)
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To: Marie Antoinette

I hear ya!! I started out slow by first eliminating table sugar from coffee, tea, etc. Now I am weaning myself off of anything essentially white. It is HARD! Try reading the labels in the grocery store - enriched this and that, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, etc. And don’t get me started on soy. I cannot have a lot of it because it mimics estrogen in the body and IT IS EVERYWHERE. I am trying to eat clean when I can but it is so hard!!


8 posted on 05/18/2011 6:27:18 AM PDT by nurees (Oh...there is a NEW Mexico (Homer Simpson))
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To: Jemian
Our government's recommendations were established in the 1970s and have since been accompanied by an explosion of obesity and diabetes.
Yeah, blame it on the carbs and Uncle Sam. No mention of what a sedentary, lazy and irresponsible country we've become.
9 posted on 05/18/2011 6:31:36 AM PDT by oh8eleven (RVN '67-'68)
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To: Joe 6-pack
"I've only been in Paneras a few times, but I ended up staying there for a really long time!"

Everything bagel with cream cheese ...
bottomless cup of GOOD coffee in a real mug
classical music...

What's not to love.

10 posted on 05/18/2011 6:32:28 AM PDT by Artemis Webb (artemis_webb@yahoo.com --Lord knows how long before I'm banned so please say hello sometime.)
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To: Jemian
I doubt that anyone has ever turn tricks for a plate of ziti. Come to think of it, if Giada were the dealer, I could become a pasta whore.


11 posted on 05/18/2011 6:32:57 AM PDT by Jack of all Trades (Hold your face to the light, even though for the moment you do not see.)
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To: Artemis Webb

They got me with the hollowed-out sourdough bread filled with French onion or cheddar-broccoli. Mmmmmmmmmmmm!!!


12 posted on 05/18/2011 6:38:49 AM PDT by Joe 6-pack (Que me amat, amet et canem meum)
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To: Jack of all Trades

I’d eat that.


13 posted on 05/18/2011 6:39:10 AM PDT by EvasiveManuever (Shakespeare got it wrong. Not the lawyers... journalists.)
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To: Jemian

Yea, and so are air and water. What’s your point?


14 posted on 05/18/2011 6:39:29 AM PDT by Minn
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To: oh8eleven

I don’t believe I blamed it on Uncle Sam. And, overeating carbs (my responsibility) seems to be what leads to obesity. The author wasn’t disclaiming a personal responsibility at all. He was identifying the correct (apparently) causal factor.


15 posted on 05/18/2011 6:43:33 AM PDT by Jemian (Obamas approval ratings are so low, Kenyans are accusing him of being born in the USA)
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To: Jemian

I really hate it that carbs are described as having the same level or more of addiction as cocaine. I mean do you really get the shakes, start vomiting etc... when you forgo a plate of spaghetti. That being said, I think carbs do mess up your system (I think for some more than others).


16 posted on 05/18/2011 6:43:37 AM PDT by momtothree
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To: Minn

My point is that, in my case and perhaps for many others, we need to avoid simple carbohydrates and a few more complex carbohydrates in order to reduce the development of diabetes and other obesity related problems. It is an indentification of the problem, not a call for a requirement. Sheesh! Eat pasta if you want.


17 posted on 05/18/2011 6:47:00 AM PDT by Jemian (Obamas approval ratings are so low, Kenyans are accusing him of being born in the USA)
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To: Jemian

What about the research that shows that Italians can eat bread and pasta galore as long as they wash it down with good, red wine? That’s the diet we’re on. Alternating with the Twinkie diet.


18 posted on 05/18/2011 6:47:42 AM PDT by bboop (Stealth Tutor)
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To: momtothree

You are right. The author indulged in hyperbole.


19 posted on 05/18/2011 6:48:13 AM PDT by Jemian (Obamas approval ratings are so low, Kenyans are accusing him of being born in the USA)
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To: bboop

Congratulations. I can’t do that and avoid diabetes.


20 posted on 05/18/2011 6:50:11 AM PDT by Jemian (Obamas approval ratings are so low, Kenyans are accusing him of being born in the USA)
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