Recent studies have shown that cocaine, the second most trafficked drug in the US, is as addictive to humans as sugar. Scientists performed studies on rats and gave them the option to choose between sugar, cocaine and water over a period of 2 weeks and 94% of the rats, chose sugar. The rats were also more willing to work for sugar, than cocaine.
According to researchers from Queensland University of Technology (QUT), excessive sugar consumption increases the dopamine levels in a similar way to other drugs such as cocaine. In the brain, dopamine functions as a neurotransmitter—a chemical released by neurons (nerve cells) to send signals to other nerve cells. The brain includes several distinct dopamine pathways, one of which plays a major role in reward-motivated behavior.
The study found that long-term consumption of sugar will eventually cause a reduction in dopamine levels. That means, they say, people need to consume higher and higher levels of sugar in order to reach the same reward levels and avoid mild states of depression. Like other drugs of abuse, withdrawal from chronic sucrose (sugar) exposure can result in an imbalance in dopamine levels and be as difficult as going ‘cold turkey’ from them.
Now I don’t know about you guys but this study creeped me out a bit and made me much more aware of the amounts of sugar in the food I consume. A simple can of coke contains 38g of sugar which is equal to 9 teaspoons…9….it’s the same as opening your cupboard, grabbing a spoon and loading 9 spoons full of sugar into your mouth and just chewing it.
All of the above being said, I will still grab some chocolate when people offer me but in general, I feel we all need to be more aware of our sugar intake, whether you’re a skinny minny or carry some extra weight. You can look good on the outside, but on the inside, you can be super unhealthy and you won’t necessarily see it until it’s too late and external symptoms start to show. Just be more aware guys.
Additional Sources: http://www.businessinsider.com/sugar-has-a-similar-effect-on-the-brain-as-cocaine-2016-4