Sugar Addiction

Have you ever heard that you could be "addicted" to sugar.  Well, there may be some truth to that.  Though it's not entirely clear research coming out of Australia has shown there is an addictive quality in sucrose, which is the scientific term for table sugar.  As we already know excess sugar consumption can lead to weight gain, among other health conditions.

Did you know that excess sugar consumption not only has negative effects of you physical health, but also your mental wellbeing?  It can actually mess with your brain functioning - yikes!  What happens is that it elevates dopamine levels in your brain.  Dopamine is the feel good chemical that is released in the brain.  Drugs like cocaine, morphine, and nicotine cause a similar release. Sadly, as your brain gets used to an increase in sugar, less dopamine is produced which causes you to need more.

Right now, researchers are looking for ways to counteract this.  One study showed that Varenicline, an FDA approved medication used to help people quit smoking may be able to help.  This is because it's a "partial agonist" and binds to the pleasure and reward receptors in the brain, which would reduce cravings.  That would allow dopamine levels to return to normal.  Before trying this keep in mind that Varenicline is still a drug, so using it to replace another drug may not necessarily be the best strategy.  Talk to you doctor about this.

The purpose of this post is to share with you that sugar addiction should be taken more seriously.  And, if you are someone with sugar cravings it is not because you have no self control, but it may be that it's affecting your brain.


Reference:  Fooducate, Sugar - Food or Drug? http://www.fooducate.com/app#!page=post&id=5937A1E2-3B4E-43DB-483C-9C12003D75C2