How Quitting Alcohol Could Change Your Eating by Joan Kent, PhD

How Quitting Alcohol Could Change Your Eating
By Joan Kent, PhD

Recently, I heard a conversation in a fitness club locker room between a woman and her husband’s personal trainer. No, I wasn’t eavesdropping: they were standing right next to me and conversing at ordinary volume.

The trainer explained to the wife that her husband’s weight problem was probably due to his alcohol consumption. She had checked his food logs and said, “He doesn’t seem to be attached to sugar or other carbs,” and summed it up by repeating that alcohol consumption was the most likely factor in his weight issue.

Is a Little Information Enough?

Obviously, the trainer had some knowledge of the addictive properties of sugar and other carbs, which is great. My opinion of her advice, however, derives from the probable scenario if the husband were to quit alcohol.

My first thought was that, if the husband was consuming quite a bit of alcohol (or even a moderate amount frequently), it might be more difficult for him to quit than the trainer realized.

Next, I thought of what was likely to happen if he did stop drinking.

One noticeable consequence would probably be cravings. The cravings might be for alcohol, or possibly for sugar – which stimulates a substantially similar brain chemical cascade.

Sugar substitution for alcohol can be seen at AA meetings everywhere. Back-of-room treats are typically cookies, pastries, donuts, brownies, and the like. Sugar is generally regarded as the lesser of the two evils.

The problem with eating sugar is that it’s a psychoactive drug that affects brain chemistry. The effect could be just like having a small amount of wine or other alcoholic beverage – a little could make someone want more. So a little sugar could lead to a lot of sugar.

Even worse, if that someone is going through withdrawal from alcohol, a small amount of sugar could trigger just enough of the neurochemical effect sugar shares with alcohol to “prime” the desire for alcohol. No one trying to quit alcohol needs or wants that.

Okay, You Ignore Sugar. What Happens Then?

Let’s say the husband doesn’t give in to either his alcohol or his sugar cravings. What might he crave instead?

Other carbs, specifically starches (bread, pasta, potatoes, rice and more), could become the go-to sugar substitutes – especially if they’re paired with saturated fats like butter.

The combination of, say, bread and butter or potatoes and butter could put someone in a “serotonin coma” just as well as sugar could. That serotonin coma is often what someone is subconsciously seeking when driven to a comfort food or junk food binge.

Between sugar and carbs, starches may seem like the lesser of the two evils. But some people (called carbohydrate sensitive) release extra insulin when they eat starches.

Also, combining starch with saturated fat raises insulin secretion extremely high. High insulin can increase hormones like prostaglandins (series 2) and chemicals that trigger inflammation. Inflammation is considered the root cause of most – if not all – disease.

What’s the Best Food Solution?

Please don’t get the wrong impression. I’m NOT suggesting that you keep drinking alcohol to avoid food cravings. And yes, I had a client at one time who wanted to keep drinking to prevent sugar cravings. Yikes.

Quitting alcohol is extremely beneficial, especially in the long run. It brings many health benefits and can also help decrease appetite.

If you’ve been drinking a lot of alcohol, seek outside help. Stopping abruptly without professional supervision can cause a variety of problems.

Add protein. Make sure you eat protein prior to anything else you consume, food or beverage.

Eat healthful fats, such as raw nuts, coconut oil, avocados, avocado or macadamia oil, hemp oil. Have some with each meal or snack.

For handling cravings on a short-term basis, use liquid B-complex (complete B-complex). Be sure to check with your doctor first. Also, be aware that high doses of certain B vitamins are not recommended on a continued basis.

To handle cravings – for alcohol or sugar – in the long run, you might look into changing your diet. The right food changes can help you eliminate cravings altogether.

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If you’d like help with eliminating your cravings, please visit Coaching on the home page and request a free Food Breakthrough Session.