For ages, addiction has been linked to illegal drugs such as cocaine, bhang, and heroin among others, however, recent data shows that sugar is far more addictive than all those illegal substances.
A review published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine has claimed that refined sugar has a similar effect on the brain as illegal drugs such as cocaine.
According to the review, studies on rats revealed drug-like effects including bingeing, craving, tolerance, withdrawal, dependence, and reward.
“Consuming sugar produces effects similar to that of cocaine, altering mood, possibly through its ability to induce reward and pleasure, leading to the seeking out of sugar,” cardiovascular research scientist James J DiNicolantonio, cardiologist James H O’Keefe, and Physician William Wilson write in the review.
The doctors go on to cite a situation where the rats they experimented on preferred sugar to cocaine and even experienced withdrawal symptoms when the sweetener was withheld.
“Sugar is pretty much probably the most consumed addictive substance around the world and it is wreaking havoc on our health,” DiNicolantonio stated.
He attributed this to the lack of an ‘aversion signal’ to sugar as there is to salt that prevents us from consuming too much salt.
This basically means that, unlike salt which people often stop consuming once they have had enough, with sugar, they can have as much as they want whenever they want.
That being said, the cardiologist admits that sugar withdrawal effects in humans are usually present in the brain rather than physically.
“Withdrawal symptoms from sugar come from dopamine deficiency in the brain. This may lead to symptoms such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and it may even create a similar state in the brain as found in patients with depression,” he elaborates.
This deficiency can be temporarily relieved by eating more sugar hence the term ‘sugar fix.’
Notably, this is one of the reasons why the World Health Organization recommends limiting the amount of sugar given to children. Dietary sugar fries young ones’ livers and brains; just like alcohol.
Addiction aside, consuming a lot of sugar can result in weight gain which increases the risk of developing conditions such as Diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some cancers.
As such, considering sugar does not contribute anything nutritionally to our bodies, doctors and scientists recommend eating it in moderation.
