Is Sugar Like a Drug?

From Shereen Jegtvig:

Research presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology shows how rats respond to sugar binges just like they would respond to morphine, cocaine or nicotine.

"Our findings with lab rats show that intermittent access to sugar can lead to changes in the brain and behavior similar to those caused by drugs of abuse," said Bart Hoebel, PhD, Professor of Psychology, Princeton University. "In certain models, sugar-bingeing causes long-lasting effects on the brain and increases the inclination to take other drugs of abuse, including alcohol."

Hungry rats were fed sugar water and researchers discovered that the rats' brains released neurotransmitters called dopamines thought to be involved in addiction. Further tests elicited withdrawal symptoms in the same rats.

Interesting research.

I don't usually write much about diet and nutrition studies with rats and other non-human animals because they don't always translate well to human behavior. We still don't really know for sure that sugar is chemically addicting or if there are emotional issues involved with eating too many sweets and suffering from sugar cravings that rats probably don't experience. However, we know there are connections between sugar craving and having low serotonin levels. One thing I find interesting, though, is that the rats in the study were deprived of food for twelve hours before being fed sugar water, so I'm not sure how much of the dopamine response was just from relief of hunger (though the researchers say this shouldn't happen with other foods that apparently are boring to rats) or directly due to sugar. In either case, it suggests possible addictive brain chemistry.

So, since you're not a rat, how does research like this affect you? Now that we're deep into the holiday season, you may have lots of parties to attend with lots of sumptuous foods and decadent desserts. Don't starve yourself all day 'saving up' your calories for the party foods -- it may be bad for your brain and you might go off the sugar-bingeing deep end. Instead, eat normally and choose healthy foods throughout the day with lots of nutrients and fiber (like fruits and vegetables). Then later, when you are faced with all those delicious holiday treats, it may actually be easier to control your cravings.