Addiction is a worldwide mysterious plague that infests every level of society. It baffles and corrupts teachers, doctors, lawyers, police, and politicians. What is addiction, and why is it so powerful and pervasive?
Addiction is a rebellion against metabolism, which is the very basis of life. Metabolism requires food to satisfy hunger and create health. But addiction short-circuits metabolism by replacing food with addictive substances, hunger with euphoria, satisfaction with craving, and health with sickness. So addiction is a flight from hunger to euphoria, with a stopover in craving, and a crash landing in sickness.
Euphoria is a false heightened sense of well-being. Euphoria enables us to control our mood and avoid feelings of inadequacy and loneliness. But euphoria disables our judgment and blinds us to the craving and sickness of addiction. Ironically, addiction makes us feel more alive with euphoria, while it insidiously kills us with craving and sickness. So addiction is a bad bargain, with imaginary gains and real losses.
The most popular addictive substances are sweets, chocolate, vanilla, cola, coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. Although some of these substances are considered harmless fun, they all create insatiable cravings that reinforce other more serious addictions. For example, sweets, chocolate, vanilla, cola, coffee, and tea reinforce alcohol, tobacco, and drug addiction. So addictive substances are seductive saboteurs that masquerade as familiar friends.
Addiction is big business. The craving of addiction supports the "food" industry. "Food" companies that sell addictive substances spend millions of dollars to advertise the imaginary gains and hide the real losses connected to their products. The sickness of addiction supports the "healthcare" industry. If alcohol, tobacco, sweets, and caffeine were eliminated, many hospitals, insurance companies, and doctors would not have enough patients to stay in business. So our economy depends on addiction, euphoria, craving, and sickness.
Most people are addicted to various substances, and follow what I call the HATE Diet: H is honey and sweets; A is alcohol; T is tobacco; and E is espresso and caffeine. But you can reject addiction and choose health by following what I call the LOVE Diet, which omits all addictive substances. The LOVE Diet rescues you from hunger pangs, cravings, highs and lows, and irritability. The LOVE Diet produces a healthy appetite, satiety, stability, and happiness.
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Food is live medicine. Medicine is dead food.