Caffeine, Alcohol and Candy

Caffeine, Alcohol and candy are three things that Americans love. As a matter of fact, I believe people around the world love these things. It is rare to meet someone who doesn’t like at least one of these things. As I sit here writing this, I am eating gummy bears and waiting for the water to boil for my afternoon cup of tea. Yesterday while I was on my trip to Trader Joe’s, I bought a bottle of wine. I cannot remember the last time I did that, but as I strolled up the aisle, the title of this one caught my eye: Layer Cake. All over the news last week was the story that some colleges were banning drinks with a combo of caffeine and alcohol claiming that they are a particularly bad mixture for college-age people. It seems to me that all the people I know who are overindulgers in caffeine and alcohol are well past their college years and they are all proudly addicted to both these substances. I am not one to say that you should not have any of these things. I just say it should be in moderate amounts which means amounts in which you do not have any of the negative effects. There happens to be medicinal properties to both alcohol and caffeine, including medical research witch shows rates of decreased heart disease and blood pressure in users of some caffeine and alcohol users. Candy, on the other hand, is just for pure pleasure of the sweetness. All humans naturally have an area on their tongue which likes sweet. If you believe that kids who are not given candy will not develop the taste for it, guess again. If you give babies plain water or sugar water, they will prefer the sugar water. So this is why we all love Halloween and we are dealing with the consequences today and for one of us , it’s a daily battle. Caffeine, alcohol and candy are thins we almost all attracted to. Why? These three things trigger pleasure centers in our brain to one extent or another.Pleasure is well….very pleasurable. Like sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. We humans are wired for these things. We have been made to enjoy many things in life. The problem comes with those in the population who develop addictions to caffeine, alcohol, sweets, food in general, sex, cigarettes, spending, whatever. Right now in this country two-thirds of the population is overweight. Something I noticed in the overweight is that it is not a matter of greediness. It is a matter of emotional issues leading to an addiction to feed. Many times obese people also over indulge in other behaviors that are not good for their health or life in one or more of the above addictions. In addition, the overindulger feel that their behavior and body size is normal, when it is anything but that. Now here is why I am saying this: One must admit there is a problem before one can be healed of it.  Last week on the new show “The Talk” Sharon Osbourne lambasted the Marie Clairejournalist Maura Kelly who wrote an article stating basically that she did not want to watch the show”Mike & Molly” about two fat people. (The article appears to have been removed as of my writing of this piece).  Sharon was outraged that someone would say write that they felt this way and felt very righteous in being nasty about that writer. Given the studies that show that we drift to the size of our friends, I will not be watching that show either. In addition, I feel that if I do watch “Mike & Molly” I am supporting and enabling an addiction. College students indulging in caffeine and alcohol drinks is a small problem compared to the addiction to food. Making the drinks taboo makes them that much more desirable. As soon as it was suggested they should be banned, I had the urge to go out and try some to see what all the rage was about. The reality is that very few people will become addicted to alcohol. Many people are addicted to food. Both Maura Kelly and Sharon Osbourne may have valid points however neither of their arguments helps the real issue: addiction to food. Maura doesn’t want to see it and Sharon admits to having been through it but offers no tools to help people overcome the addiction. Does Maura and Sharon believe we should all just ignore the people and the issue? Seems they are both advocating that but in very different ways. So I ask again, how do we help alleviate this major issue of addiction to food (and alcohol and smoking and caffeine and sex and overspending)? Now I can drink my tea and finish my gummy bears. Dr. Veronica-Wellness for the REAL World