Sugar Addiction - Research Shows Sugar is Addictive

Sugar is addictive? Well I could have told you that and I’m not even a Princeton scientist! I definitely have a problem with sugar but it’s the opposite of most people. Instead of making me hyper it crashes me out.  I feel like I’m allergic to it, yet I crave it. Very much like some people describe their addiction to alcohol.  In fact sugar binges have replaced alcohol binging in many recovered alcoholics.

When I have a sugar binge I get a bit of a high and can feel my brain chemistry change. According to the research below, I guess it’s the dopamine. Dopamine is a “feel good” brain chemical and is even behind compulsions like gambling, smoking and binge eating. If you ever feel like you ‘NEED’ another fix… of ANYTHING, dopamine is probably at work, training you like Pavlov’s dog that you need more.

Are you a sugar addict too???

Bart Hoebel and researchers in the department of psychology and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute did research that suggests or maybe even proves that sugar is an addictive substance and it affects rats similarly to how drugs and alcohol impact humans.

Sugar addiction in rats may shed light on human behavior

“In certain models, sugar-bingeing causes long-lasting effects in the brain and increases the inclination to take other drugs of abuse, such as alcohol,” Hoebel explained in a University statement. He said that the behavioral study was carried out in addition to a neuroscientific approach, in which he and his team observed the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in reward motivation. Repeated release of dopamine, which precipitates a rewiring of the rats’ brain, is believed to cause addiction.”