If you are a fan of the cartoon character Homer Simpson, you have to wonder when FOX will run an episode entitled “Homer Gets Type 2 Diabetes”. In one episode of The Simpson’s, Homer even leaves an idyllic world in which he is rich and successful because there are no doughnut shops. Many American people with type 2 diabetes are nearly as addicted to the round breakfast delights as Homer Simpson is made out to be!

What is the reason for this addiction?

The reason type 2 diabetics find doughnuts addictive is to do with sensation and sensory memory. Eating a doughnut is an experience that fills your senses… and it’s round. Your field of vision is round, so when you pick up a doughnut, it is all you can see… especially since it has a little bull’s eye in the center.

A doughnut is an addictive combination of sugar and fat. The combination of sugar and fat triggers the production of dopamine in your brain. This brings about the same chemical change in your brain that occurs during gambling or sex.

What are doughnuts sweetened with?

Most doughnut makers sweeten the dough with high-fructose corn syrup, also known as HFCS. This kind of sugar short circuits the production of adiponectin, so you eat more and more food sweetened HCFS without a hormonal signal ever reaching your brain that your are full.

And because white flour is also used in the dough, doughnuts are a potent source of mu-opioids. These are fast acting chemicals that lock on to the same receptor sites in your brain that can be occupied by opium or morphine. You feel relaxed, there’s nothing in your body telling you that you can’t eat more and more, and you get a pleasant high for less than US $1.

This combination of effects leads to out of control blood sugar levels and weight gain. It’s also why many diabetics find doughnuts the hardest addiction to kick.

Can you kick the habit?

There are not yet any 12-step groups for doughnut addiction, but you can kick the habit. If some kind soul at your office brings in doughnuts once a week, find other productive things to do that won’t take you by the break room… well, at least not until all the doughnuts are gone.

If your morning routine includes a stop at the doughnut shop after your morning workout, take a different route home. Just say no to doughnuts. They are as dangerous for type 2 diabetics, their blood sugar levels and weight control, as any drug.

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