Eating away at addictions
How many of us are hooked on sugar, nicotine, caffeine and worse? Patrick Holford tells Joy Orpen how he believes the right diet can assist in beating addictions and can also boost our natural energies
Ireland's prosperity in recent years has improved the lot of many, and for that we should be grateful. Increased affluence has meant that living standards have been transformed throughout the country. People have bigger homes, they are better dressed, and they have more than enough to eat and drink.
The downside to this -- and isn't there always one -- is the sad fact that many of us over-indulge when it comes to food, alcohol, cigarettes, prescription medication, illegal drugs, or any combination of the above.
In essence, some of us have become addicted and we don't know how to become un-addicted.
However, the latest thinking is that good nutrition, used hand-in-hand with the resolution of emotional issues and past traumas, can lead us back to optimum health.
The man who put me straight on this topic was Patrick Holford, author of the Optimum Nutrition Bible and the Low GL Diet, among many others. I met him at the Merrion Hotel, where he looked relaxed and far younger than his 50 years. Patrick began by explaining exactly why junk food and other unhealthy substances can make us feel wide awake one moment, and pretty rotten the next.
"A bottle of cola has the equivalent of 45 teaspoons of sugar, plus a good few espressos of caffeine. What it does is raise your blood sugar rapidly. Then the body releases insulin to take the sugar out of the blood as quickly as possible. Now you have a rebound sugar-low, which makes you feel exhausted and craving a stimulant again. And where does the sugar go when it is dumped? The liver converts it into fat -- so now you end up tired, fat and hungry," Patrick explains.
Patrick, who is married with a daughter and a son, lives in London. He began researching the effects of food in the Eighties. Since then, he has written more than 30 books covering a range of topics. With an initial degree in psychology, he has long been interested in mental health issues, particularly in relation to children, and to addictions. He heads up the charitable Food for the Brain Foundation.
Patrick's most recent publication, How To Quit Without Feeling S**t, was written in conjunction with two addiction and nutrition specialists in the US. They probe the relationship between addictions, brain function and nutrition.
Patrick says we all have the capacity for happiness. We feel good when we pass an exam or do well at work. That feel-good sensation happens when our brain, responding to events, releases dopamine, which is a hormone and a neurotransmitter. However, a double whiskey or a shot of cocaine can also induce a sense of well-being -- but then, the experience is both transitory and potentially dangerous.
"All chemical addictions are rooted in the brain," says Patrick. "The addictive substance mimics, and effectively replaces, your brain's own natural feel-good chemicals. The more you use the substance, the more deficient you become [in producing the chemical naturally]. Just quitting doesn't reset your brain."
So, while someone addicted to sugary foods, cigarettes, alcohol, prescription or illegal drugs may make heroic efforts to dump the habit, unfortunately the brain doesn't get it at all, and goes into panic mode, scrabbling to sabotage the individual's efforts. Consequently, we may be overwhelmed by unpleasant withdrawal experiences -- or, in Holford-speak, "abstinence symptoms".
These typically include cravings, shakiness, mood swings, hypersensitivity and so on.
Patrick says that while some therapies use an alternative drug to help the patient through abstinence symptoms, that route could prove problematic.
"Some treatments for addiction are really about training you to cope with feeling lousy. Our approach is through diet, and through substance-specific nutrients that help you make your own feel-good chemicals that make your cravings go away."
Patrick's goal is to help the body and the brain revert to their original natural healthy state as painlessly as possible.
He says: "To restore balance in the brain you need to supply it with building blocks from which your brain can make its own natural chemicals -- the ones your drug of choice has been mimicking. These building blocks are nutrients; the chemicals that are part of our brain's evolutionary design. We have found that certain combinations of safe nutrients including amino acids, vitamins, minerals and essential fats work better than drugs -- and without side effects."
While Patrick would urge anyone with a serious addiction to seek professional guidance, his book is a valuable tool that could help many people back to good health whether food, cigarettes or other substances is their poison.
The book explains how you became addicted, and outlines the 12 critical components for un-addicting your brain; strategies for dealing with specific addictions, and finally a summary of your quitting action plan.
Patrick sums up the book's message: "By eating healthy foods and taking the optimum amount of key nutrients, you reprogramme your brain and body chemistry so that you quickly start to experience a state of natural energy, clarity and steady moods; in effect a natural high. Because of that you will find the need to use an addictive substance far less strong." However, while Patrick is convinced good nutrition plays a major role in healing, he points out that many addictions are triggered by emotional problems.
"Painful issues that were avoided by addictions won't go away because you take amino acids, or eat oily fish to heal your brain, or eat fruit and vegetables to support your liver. But having a healthy body and brain will make it easier for you to confront the pain of the past. Find a professional person to help you -- someone who will lead you gently through this emotional healing process."
Patrick offers a whole range of ideas that may contribute to healing the whole person; these include counselling, mindful breathing, exercise, laughter, self-protective behaviour, and also spiritual wellness.
And yes, Patrick does have his critics, but what he says makes a lot of sense. I am already addicted to his book.
- Joy Orpen
