The Truth About Sugar Addiction

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

Sugar is one of the most harmful and addictive substances that you can consume. Excessive sugar consumption is associated with chronic metabolic problems, such as Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart disease
When you eat sugary foods, the reward center of your brain, known as the nucleus accumbens, is stimulated through increased signals of dopamine
As you consume excessive amounts of sugar on a regular basis, your body’s dopamine signals become weaker, causing you to develop tolerance and eventually addiction

Sugar is one of the most harmful and addictive substances that you can consume, as it's associated with various metabolic diseases.¹ Nowadays, it's found in almost everything you eat.

In fact, the average American consumes around 17.4 teaspoons of sugar per day — that's more than 5 teaspoons higher than the average sugar intake recommended by the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2015-2020.² A 2015 article from The Washington Post states that the U.S. even ranks first in the countries that consume the highest amount of sugar.³

According to a study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, around 75% of packaged foods sold in supermarkets contain added sugar. This includes processed foods like sweet snacks, cereals, energy drinks, fruit juices, and baked goods. It's even present in infant food and baby formula, exposing children to numerous health issues at a very young age.⁴

But avoiding sugar is not as simple as skipping sweet foods, as savory foods, like salad dressing and pizza, contain this ingredient as well. Sugar hides behind 61 different names in food labels, the most common of which include sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, molasses, maple syrup, glucose, maltose, lactose and fruit juice concentrate, among others.^5,⁶

What makes sugar so addicting?

When you eat sugary foods, the reward center of your brain, known as the nucleus accumbens, is stimulated through increased signals of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a role in your perception of pleasure.⁷

Because eating sugar makes you feel good, you're likely to eat it often. As you consume excessive amounts of sugar on a regular basis, your body's dopamine signals become weaker and you develop tolerance, so you have to eat more sugar to get the same level of reward, eventually resulting in sugar addiction. This is why manufacturers use sugar to drive your behavior.⁸

There have been many studies regarding the addictive potential of sugar.^9,¹⁰ For instance, a 2018 review published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine states that “sugar has been found to produce more symptoms than is required to be considered an addictive substance.”

It exhibits drug-like effects such as bingeing, craving, tolerance, withdrawal, cross-sensitization, cross-tolerance, and cross-dependency.¹¹ Another study published in the journal Neuroscience states that intermittent bingeing on sucrose and abusing drugs can both increase extracellular dopamine in the nucleus accumbens.¹²

60 ways sugar can ruin your health

Excessive sugar consumption is associated with chronic metabolic problems, such as Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.¹³ Aside from these, there have been numerous studies spanning decades that demonstrate the other ways in which eating too much sugar can lead to detrimental effects on your health. I counted 60 of these health risks, divided into four categories:

Nutrient imbalance or deficiency

Upsets the mineral relationships in your body¹⁴
Causes chromium deficiency¹⁵
Interferes with the absorption of calcium and magnesium¹⁶
Increases total cholesterol, triglycerides, and bad cholesterol levels¹⁷
Decreases good cholesterol levels¹⁸
Lowers vitamin E levels¹⁹

Behavioral changes

Leads to addiction and intoxication, similar to alcohol^20,²¹
Increases hyperactivity²² and depressive symptoms²³
Causes difficulty in concentrating and drowsiness²⁴
Reduces learning capacity and can cause learning disorders²⁵
Increases the risk for antisocial behavior²⁶
Decreases emotional stability²⁷
Increases the risk for alcoholism²⁸

Increased risk of diseases

Promotes cancer cell growth²⁹
Increases fasting levels of glucose^30,³¹
Increases blood pressure levels³²
increases platelet adhesion, which could put you at risk of arterial thrombotic conditions³³
Leads to the formation of kidney stones and gallstones^34,³⁵
Promotes excessive food intake through rapid sugar absorption³⁶
Increases the risk for obesity³⁷
Decreases insulin sensitivity, leading to high insulin levels and eventually diabetes³⁸
Causes reactive hypoglycemia³⁹
Triggers dizziness⁴⁰ and headaches, including migraines⁴¹
Makes you more prone to gastrointestinal tract problems⁴²
Promotes chronic degenerative diseases⁴³
Causes atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases⁴⁴
Causes cataracts and nearsightedness⁴⁵
May lead to autoimmune diseases like arthritis, asthma and multiple sclerosis⁴⁶
Increases the risk for lung cancer⁴⁷
Contributes to osteoporosis⁴⁸
Promotes the progression of Parkinson's disease⁴⁹
Increases the risk of gout and Alzheimer's disease^50,⁵¹
Increases the acidity of the saliva and causes tooth decay and periodontal diseases^52,⁵³
Promotes uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infection)⁵⁴
Leads to toxemia in pregnancy⁵⁵
Worsens symptoms of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)⁵⁶
May lead to epileptic seizures⁵⁷

Bodily impairments

Impairs metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual⁵⁸
Suppresses the immune system, which increases the risk of contracting infectious diseases⁵⁹
Reduces tissue elasticity and function⁶⁰
Leads to weaker eyesight⁶¹
Accelerate aging⁶²
Increases advanced glycation end products wherein sugar molecules attach to proteins and end up damaging them⁶³
Impairs DNA and collagen structure⁶⁴
Alters collagen structure⁶⁵
Worsens signs of skin aging⁶⁶
Lowers the ability of your enzymes to function⁶⁷
Promotes fat accumulation in the liver⁶⁸
Increases the risk for kidney and pancreatic damage^69,⁷⁰
Contributes to salt and fluid retention⁷¹
Affects urinary electrolyte composition⁷²
Impairs normal function of the adrenal glands⁷³
Compromises lining of capillaries⁷⁴
Weakens your tendons⁷⁵
Can cause an increase in delta, alpha, and theta brain waves, which results in the inability to think clearly⁷⁶
Causes hormonal imbalances^77,⁷⁸
Increases free radicals and oxidative stress⁷⁹
Leads to a substantial decrease in gestation, with a twofold increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age infant⁸⁰
Causes dehydration among newborns⁸¹
Affects carbon dioxide production when given to infants⁸²

How to manage sugar addiction

It's never too late to kick your sugar-loading habits to the curb. Here are some of my recommendations to help manage or limit your sugar consumption:

1. Limit your sugar intake — Sugar in its natural form is not bad provided that it's consumed in moderation. Generally, your total sugar consumption should be below 25 grams per day from all sources, including sugar that you get from whole fruits. However, if you have insulin or leptin resistance, it's ideal to limit your fructose intake to as little as 15 grams per day until you've normalized your insulin and leptin levels.

2. Avoid high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) — This sweetener is made from corn and found in many of the food items that you eat and drink today. It's considered to be dangerous not only because of the amount of sugar that it contains but also because of the health risks that it can cause, most of which are mentioned above.⁸³

fructose overload infographic

Discover the fructose content of common foods, beverages, sauces, and even sugar substitutes in our infographic “Fructose Overload.” Use the embed code to share it on your website or visit our infographic page for the high-res version.

<img src="https://media.mercola.com/assets/images/infographic/fructose-overload-infographic.jpg" alt="fructose overload infographic" border="0" style="max-width:100%; min-width:300px; margin: 0 auto 20px auto; display:block;"><p style="max-width:800px; min-width:300px; margin:0 auto; text-align:center;">Discover the fructose content of common foods, beverages, sauces, and even sugar substitutes in our infographic "<a href="https://www.mercola.com/infographics/fructose-overload.htm">Fructose Overload</a>." Visit our infographic page for the high-res version.</p>

3. Increase your consumption of healthy fats — Healthy fats, such as omega-3 fatty acids, saturated fats, and monounsaturated fats, are your body's preferred source of fuel. The best sources of these include grass-fed butter, coconut oil, free-range eggs, wild-caught Alaskan salmon, avocado and raw nuts like pecans and macadamia.

4. Add fermented foods into your diet — Eating fermented foods like kimchi, natto, organic yogurt and kefir may help reduce the negative effects of excessive sugar on your liver by supporting your digestive function and detoxification.

5. Drink pure water — Instead of drinking sweetened beverages like soda and fruit juices, I recommend that you rehydrate your body with pure, clean water.

6. Try the Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) — Food cravings are sometimes triggered by an emotional need, such as wanting to relieve stress or feel a little happier after a tiring day.⁸⁴ EFT is a simple and effective psychological acupressure technique that could help you manage the emotional components of your cravings.

It has been proven to help relieve emotional traumas, ease phobias and post-traumatic stresses, break down food cravings and lessen physical pain and discomfort. What EFT entails in its practitioners is to have the right mindset when going on a diet or just taking steps to improve on their health. If you're already curious, you can browse through the basics of EFT here.

Aside from the recommendations mentioned above, I recommend exercising every day, along with optimizing your vitamin D levels, getting enough sleep and managing your stress levels. These strategies may help minimize the effects of excessive sugar intake. Exercise, in particular, is known to improve insulin sensitivity,⁸⁵ reduce stress levels,⁸⁶ suppress ghrelin (the appetite hormone),⁸⁷ speed up metabolism,⁸⁸ strengthen bones⁸⁹ and boost your mood.⁹⁰

It can be quite difficult to say no to sweets, especially if you have been consuming them on a daily basis, but once you feel the effects that lowering your sugar intake has on your body, it will all be worth it.