Craving or Addiction? Understanding the Nuances of Our Relationship with Sugar

After a 2008 The study reported that refined sugar could be addictive, it sparked a multitude of buzzing titles and sadly famous affirmation that “sugar is as addictive as cocaine”. This has since created a certain stigma around sugar and has led to changes in the cultivation of food.

The claim itself is quite easy to believe. How often does anyone have one candy? Or do you indulge in one Oreo? We may not eat a lot of candies at home, but when a donut box or a cookie tray is left in the office, it seems almost that a primitive instinct takes over and a desire for candy goes up in ball.

When we try to cut the sugar from our diet, we can have headache or we feel tired. Having too much sugar could do the same. So what is the problem with sugar? Is it addictive? Or are there more nuances behind this assertion? Here’s what we know.

Decompose sugar

Small white cubes or granules can be the first thing you think when it comes to the sweet thing; However, there are several types of sugars.

According to Dr Srividya KidambiEndocrinologist of Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) Health Network and professor and MCW chief, Sugar presents himself in many different forms. It is an important source of energy for your body.

“Sugar is just a term,” says Kidambi. There are different types of sugars and our body treats them in different ways.

These include The monosaccharides (only one molecule) like:

And the disaccharides (with two molecules) like:

• Sucrose – Table Sugar

• Lactose – Sugar found in dairy products. Yes, milk has sugar!

• Maltose – Sugar in starch grains and some produce

“Glucose is the one our body needs,” says Kidambi. “…[It] is the basic one that the body breaks down to create energy. »»

We can obtain a large part of the necessary glucose of foods containing complex carbohydrates, explains Kidambi – foods like dark, leafy greens and certain grains, such as quinoa and brown rice.

Learn more:: Our intestinal microbiome transforms sugar into vital compounds for our health

Consume sugar in moderation

Although the body needs specific sugars to function properly, that does not mean eating foods rich in sugar transformed as sucrose is beneficial. It is even possible to eat the healthiest foods too much. For this reason, Kidambi recommends consuming everything in moderation.

“We need to eat calories and in moderation. So the sugar is not bad, ”she says. “It’s bad if it becomes excessive.”

Saccharose is the type of sugar labeled as “bad” or “addictive”. However, this is where we enter a sweet gray area.

Is sugar really addictive?

These titles worthy of Buzz from 2008 and saying that sugar is as addictive as hard drugs are not exactly precise.

“The debate on the question of whether sugar is really addictive continues to evolve, but to date, the evidence supporting the concept of dependence on sugar are still very limited, in particular in humans,” explains Jabe Brown, founder of Melbourne Functional Medicinein an email. “The notion of sugar dependence comes from the idea that very pleasant foods, especially those rich in sugar, can cause neurobiological changes similar to those observed with drug addiction.”

Transformed sugars, or sucrose, can trigger the rewards in the brain and release dopamine. Because our brains love dopamine, of course, we want more trigger, leading us to consume more, Whether drugs or sugar.

When we do not get enough of this trigger, we can live withdrawals. Regarding sugar, these withdrawals can cause mood swings, headaches, nausea, anxiety and depression.

“While sugar activates the rewards in the brain, the general scientific consensus is that sugar does not meet the criteria as addictive substance. Our body needs a little sugar to survive, ”says Stephanie AlbersThe manager of the clinical evaluation program at Project Heal.

According to Marissa Kai MilukA recorded dietitian and founder of Better the Binge, there can happen a time when you don’t want a particular sweet, or your body knows that it does not need this sugar.

“If I had to say:” Take out and eat as many chocolate brownies as you want, “says Miluk,” there is a capacity to which you are, keep me away from these brownies. I don’t want them anymore. The opposite occurs in dependence, where you want more.

Kidambi has also added that it can be more precise to designate sugar dependence as a desire. These intense desires could be for a kind of rapid energy bursting or even for nostalgic purposes.

Be aware of sugar

Should you cut sugar completely? According to Kidambi and a few other sources, a low sugar diet can be more beneficial than being sugar -free.

The British directives on the daily sugar intake for adults are 30 gramscompared to 25 grams for American women.

By eating a low sugar content diet, you may start to want healthier and more nutritious foods, which is not a surprise. Most nutritionists say that eating a well -balanced and nourishing diet improves your health. But most nutritionists also say that engaging from time to time is correct. It is when you start to restrict yourself these negative thoughts towards food and your body can occur.

“Is it chicken, or is it the egg?” Said Miluk: “Do I limit it, that I feel obsessed with that? Or am I obsessed with that because sugar is a problem? ”

Understanding our relationship with sugar is the best way to make sure that we do not fall asleep and that when we indulge ourselves, we do not feel guilty.

Overall, it is a long way to say that no one should feel guilty to eat anything, even sugar. Will highly processed and sweet foods add precious nutrition to your body? No. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have them from time to time.

This article does not offer medical advice and should be used for information purposes only.

This article is a republished version of this Article published previously here

Learn more:: Too much sugar and fat can cause cognitive problems – even in young people

Article Sources

Our writers at Discovermagazine.com Use studies evaluated by high -quality peers and sources for our articles, and our publishers examine scientific precision and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:

A graduate of UW-Whitewater, Monica wrote for several organizations, including one-focused bees and the natural world, before coming to Discover Magazine. His current work also appears on his travel blog and his Common State magazine. His love of science came to watch PBS shows like a child with his mother and spend too much time to expire Doctor Who.