As Whitney Houston’s remains are flown to Newark, New Jersey, we discover details that are starting to trickle out. Some friends and family say that prescription drugs (Xanax) and alcohol may have contributed to her untimely passing. That information won’t come out for several weeks until the toxicology report is released, but I’d bet money that that was what did her in.
When I heard they found Xanax, a powerful prescription drug to treat anxiety disorders, sleeplessness and panic attacks, I paused, because I’ve been on the stuff. While it was a low dose, and I honestly didn’t feel “high” when I took it, it definitely had an effect.
I’ve since stopped taking it, not for any specific reason but that I simply ran out and didn’t renew it. Unfortunately, my anxiety and irritability symptoms persisted.
Until I gave up sugar and caffeine.
Yep–seriously. And it was a fluke side effect of me cutting sugar and simple carbohydrates to trim my belly fat. Since I’ve reduced my sugar intake to less than 20 grams per day, I sleep the entire night without sleep meds, which is HUGE, because I’ve taken some type of sleep meds, from Tylenol PM to Ambien, for years. I thought that would just be my life. A pill to go to sleep, coffee with tons of sugar to kick-start my day.
So what’s wrong with sugar?
Extensive research on rats has provided scientific evidence that there is indeed potential for sugar to be addictive. Similar to recreational drug use, sugar has been shown to increase brain concentrations of dopamine and opiates which have a significant influence on mood. In addition, when sugar is consistently consumed in excess, it has been shown to delay the release of acetylcholine which can prolong appetite and encourage binge eating. Frequent sugar consumption has also been shown to reduce sensitivity to dopamine and opiates and produce withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety and depression, all of which is consistent with the characteristics of drug addiction.42,43,44,128,129,130 In fact, one study has shown sugar to be even more addictive than cocaine.45
From Natural Bias: “How Sugar Can Ruin Your Life.”
The results of cutting sugars have been nothing short of miraculous. The ball of tension I would feel when I would get overwhelmed with work and family life are virtually gone. No more snapping. No more muscle tension. No more aches in my knees and back. So this got me to wondering–how much does sugar play into all the new diagnoses of anxiety disorder? Don’t get me wrong–I know for sure I have this disorder, and I’ll probably have to take a mild dosage of antidepressants for the rest of my life (and I’m totally OK with that), but I can’t help but be totally stoked that I don’t need narcotics like Xanax to mask the symptoms of consuming way too much sugar.
The side effect to no sugar? Well, I’m tired and need a nap during the day. Boo hoo. I can so deal with that.
Lots of celebs are popping the pills, and with enough dough you can get the monkey off you back, probably for the price for an exotic pet monkey:
Wonder if cutting out sugar is part of that doc’s plan…
Maybe you should add a regular mental health contributor? Some sort of MD or PhD type, preferably female and holistically oriented without a lot of la-la land stuff? Extra points for young and haawwt, LOL.
Thanks for having the courage to come out about your own issues. The BC and other groups, like some of the southeast Asian cultures, are very resistant to mental health care. There is a lot of untreated mental illness in the USA and I hope what you've done in this column today.
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