Drug addiction, alcoholism, food cravings and sensitivities all have one thing in common. The half life. The half life of a substance is the period of time it takes for the body to eliminate all traces of it. Organs of elimination are liver, kidneys, lungs, intestines and skin.
Drugs with a short half life, that is when the residue will recede rapidly result in the most cravings and are counted as the most addictive. Physical cravings for the substance are believed to stop when the body eliminates the item, though psychological dependence is more complicated. Drugs with a long half life are not thought to be highly addictive. An example with regard to prescription drugs is the thought to be highly addictive tranquilizer Lorazepam, which is believed to have a short half life, compared to the believed to be less addictive, longer half life of Valium/diazepam.
As food sensitivities and associated cravings are believed to be linked to half lifes, a procedure to identify food sensitivities using electronic equipment is available in some health shops and chemists. Apparatus measures the presence of foods, chemicals and some viruses in an individual’s body. A high level of a food or a chemical indicates problems. Chemicals that may be present includes those used in cleaning products, sprays such as roundup and insecticides.
Procedure to treat a food sensitivity is avoidance of the substance for a minimum of two weeks. Though some experts believe reintroduction is ok, after a break from the problem food, many do not want to reintroduce it. Food and alcohol sensitivities may have physical and psychological factors, for instance avoidance overeating, neglecting real needs etc. Especially true in dysfunction.
A sensitivity to sugar may be linked to problems with alcohol in later life, but not always the case. Alcohol is made from fermented sugars. Resilience to both alcohol and sugar is believed to vary from person to person, some individuals being more well than others. May be genetic factors at work.
White sugar is not believed to be a natural food being a concentrated extract. Symptoms of a sensitivity to sugar may be loss of concentration and/or hyperactivity. Sugar is also essential food for bacteria.
Sucrose extracted from sugarcane may have originated in New Guinea, Australasia and was said to have become a crop in Persia and perhaps elsewhere during the 6th Century BC. Sugar crops are said to have developed in the west Indies and South America during the reign of Christopher Columbus.
In response to a documented sugar blockade by the English in the early 19th Century, Napolean is said to have ordered sugar beet to be grown as an alternative source. Sugar was extracted from beetroot and other root vegetables in Saxony, Poland and perhaps elsewhere. The much cheaper crops made sugar widely available and may have contributed to numerous diseases.
Along with tea and coffee, sugar remains a gold mine for colonial resources.