Make better choices by starting with a plan

Halloween is the beginning of the so-called “holiday season.” Millions of people of all ages gobble down pounds of sweets for days and weeks after Halloween, finishing just in time for the next feeding frenzy: Thanksgiving. By the end of a span of a few fast weeks including Christmas, New Year’s, and other holidays leading up to the Super Bowl, many have gained weight, lost fitness, and had to visit their doctor for help. Now is the time to decide which road to take through the season, the one that leads to health, or the other one.

The dependency on sugar is an addiction, and weaning oneself off of it isn’t easy. For many years, studies have demonstrated that sugar triggers the brain’s pleasure and reward centers—areas in the emotional centers of the brain responsible for the release of “feel good” neurotransmitters called dopamine. These are the same brain areas stimulated by cocaine, nicotine, opiates (such as heroin and morphine), and alcohol. This addiction is not an imaginary thing in the minds of millions of sugar junkies—it’s associated with real physiological changes in the brain. And, perhaps because the brain’s pleasure areas are also very close to the pain centers, withdrawal from sugar has been described by many patients as being painful—like romantic pain or eliminating nicotine or caffeine.

It’s easy to avoid unhealthy high glycemic-index treats; there are healthy alternatives.

Psychoactive compounds present in cocoa and chocolate, salsolinol being the main one, might contribute to chocolate’s addictive nature. But the high level of added sugar contained in most chocolate products is probably more addictive than the chocolate alone.

Many people have trouble accepting the notion that sugar is addicting. “More scientific studies are needed” is the mantra often voiced by the media, the sugar industry and its lobbyists, and sugar addicts. This denial is a convenient cop-out—of those addicted and especially by those who reap monetary benefits from sugar and sugar-containing products. (To this day, the tobacco industry also claims that, “more studies are needed” to determine whether cigarette smoking or second-hand smoke is harmful.)

Is sugar addictive? Just ask the millions who are, and those who have been able to escape it. And by spring, just in time for Easter, many will be asking why they keep gaining body fat each winter.

Does this mean we have to go without delicious desserts and chocolate treats? Certainly not—I don’t. It’s easy to avoid unhealthy high glycemic-index treats because there are healthy alternatives. And if you think they’re not as tasty or easy to make, you’ve never tried my recipes for fudge, Phil’s Bars, and chocolate cake.

Interestingly, instead of focusing on the issue of sugar addiction and the obesity epidemic, media stories often go elsewhere. Here are three examples from this year:

- The Associated Press (October 10, 2011) reported that the marijuana leaf-shaped candy that’s showing up on store shelves around the country won’t get kids high. But lollipops and other candy in the shape and color of the plant has stressed Buffalo city leaders and anti-drug activists who say the products represent a new low. The candy is distributed by Philadelphia-based Kalan LP, a novelty supply company. They also support legalization of marijuana—and state it on the wrapper with the word “Legalize.”

- Candy is “recession resistant” because most people can’t go without it, said Larry Graham of the National Confectioners Association in a Fox News interview. This year, coming into the biggest chunk of the year profits-wise beginning with Halloween, sales are beating past years. No surprise. Graham says that consumer overindulgence of candy as an “inexpensive indulgence” is not concerning. About a quarter of all candy sales occur during the holidays. But the reality should be a concern for everyone: among the problems for individuals is that about half of the sugar consumed turns to stored body fat.

- A new article by Forbes online addresses the serious problem of child labor abuses in African cocoa farms. The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture reported that there were 284,000 children working on such farms, often in dangerous conditions, and often in some form of indentured servitude. These plantations supply chocolate to major U.S. candy makers. You can avoid this issue by buying organic cocoa and making your own healthy treats.

Here are my 10 Best and Worst Holiday Habits to help keep you in check.

The Best Holiday Habits:

1. Maintain a healthy lifestyle
2. Be with those you want to be with
3. Stick with a holiday budget
4. Balance work and pleasure
5. Get enough sleep
6. Stay at home and have fun
7. Do things you’re passionate about
8. Shop locally
9. Buy and receive only healthy gifts
10. Share healthy food

The Worst Holiday Habits:

1. Spending money you don’t have
2. Visiting people you don’t like
3. Going to parties you’d rather avoid
4. Eating things you don’t want to
5. Drinking too much alcohol
6. Last minute shopping
7. Holiday travel (especially at peak periods)
8. Going on a diet January 1st
9. Gaining weight
10. Buying unhealthy gifts

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A long-time fixture in triathlon, Dr. Philip Maffetone coached many of the sport’s best—including Mark Allen, Mike Pigg, and Colleen Cannon. He’s the author of more than a dozen books on fitness and health. His latest book is “The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing” with a foreword by Mark Allen. Read his “House Calls” column here every month, or visit him on the web at www.philmaffetone.com.