Overcoming Addiction :: Emotional and Mental Health

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Overcoming Addiction
by author Hyla Cass, MD

The trick to overcoming addiction is to restore and regulate normal neurotransmitter balance and create balance in our bodies-maybe, even, for the first time. In this article we look at some common addictions-sugar, caffeine, and alcohol-and how to break free from them.

Handling Cravings

Tip the powder from a 500 mg capsule of L-glutamine under the tongue, where it is absorbed quickly. L-glutamine gives a pick-me-up similar to that of the longed for stimulant, including alcohol. This can be done whenever a craving strikes.

Sugar Cravings

Although we are born with an affinity for sweet things, sugar is an acquired taste. Children who are fed sweet foods (cakes, pies, cookies, chocolate, candy, sweetened soft drinks) prefer higher levels of sweetness as adults. So as we gradually cut down the level of sweetness in our food, we soon grow accustomed to the new taste. Sweeten cereals and desserts with fruit, and in an emergency eat a sugarless fruit and nut bar from your local health food store. Don’t use sugar substitutes, as they are as bad as sugar and will not help you kick the addiction. Check labels for the many forms of sugar (fructose or corn syrup, as examples) and purchase those items with the lowest amounts or, better yet, with none at all. To help reduce cravings, try these supplements: a high potency multivitamin and mineral formula, one to three grams of vitamin C, an antioxidant formula, and essential fatty acids such as fish oil or flax seed oil.

Chocolate Cravings

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Hyla Cass, MD is a noted speaker, consultant, and educator in the field of nutritional medicine and psychiatry. She is also Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA School of Medicine, and author of several books, including Natural Highs: Diet, Supplements and Mind-Body Techniques to Help You Feel Good All the Time. (Penguin Putnam Avery 2002). Visit her Web site at www.cassmd.com

Source: alive #253, November 2003

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