An increasing body of research tells us sugar could be as addictive as some street drugs and have similar effects on the brain.
What is an addiction?
The link between sugar and addictive behaviour is tied to the fact that when we eat sugar, opioids and dopamine are released.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is a vital part of the “reward circuit” associated with addictive behaviour.
When a particular behaviour causes an excess release of dopamine, you feel a pleasurable “high” that you are inclined to re-experience, so repeat the behaviour as you repeat that behaviour more often, your brain adjusts to release less dopamine.
The only way to feel the same “high” as before is to repeat the behaviour in increasing amounts and frequency. This is known as substance abuse.
What is added sugar?
The World Health Organization (WHO) has been cautioning people to reduce their intake of sugars to less than 10 per cent of daily calories, saying that doing so can lower your risk of being obese, overweight, or experiencing tooth decay.
This includes the sugars naturally found in honey, fruit juice, and sugar added to food and drinks.
On food labels, added sugars have words such as glucose, corn syrup, brown sugar, dextrose, maltose, sucrose, and many others.
Why do you get a rush when you eat midday chocolate?
The sugar in it- called a simple carbohydrate- quickly turns into glucose in your bloodstream. Your blood sugar levels spike.
Simple carbs are also found in fruits, veggies, and dairy products. But these have fibre and protein that slow the process. Syrup, soda, sweets, and table sugar don’t.