Sugar spikes the release of dopamine in your brain in a similar way to cocaine or prescription opiates, so how do you stop the cravings?
Just like hard drugs, namely cocaine and heroin, sugar spikes the release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens area of your brain. Dopamine is a neurohormone and is created several different ways in the brain, especially when stimulated by drugs like cocaine, nicotine, prescription opiates, and yes, sugar. Regular sugar consumption, it has been scientifically concluded, inhibits the so-called “action” of the dopamine transporter, meaning daily sugar binging eventually reduces how much dopamine is produced and carried through pathways in your brain, including areas responsible for pleasure and reward . 3 Stages of sugar addiction: binge, withdraw, crave (rinse & repeat) Feeling nervous, anxious, or depressed? It could be that your body just doesn’t feel like producing dopamine until you feed it more sugar. Got a headache or feeling lethargic? You could be experiencing sugar withdrawal symptoms, facilitated by sugar deprivation. Sounds like a drug addiction, huh?