ADDICTED TO SWEETS? Sugar can be just as addicting as alcohol, nicotine or opiates – but there are alternatives to help people cut back or quit
America is definitely the home of the sweets and land of the obese. Every third person is overweight and 50% of them are obese, and it’s not from eating too many vegetables. Eating sugar releases huge surges of the neurotransmitter dopamine (along with opioids) in our bodies as part of the “ reward circuit ” that scientists have associated with addictive behavior. This is not so different from what happens when our brain reacts to hard core drugs like heroin or cocaine, or even sex, our mesolimbic (CNS) dopamine system gets activated. The problem is that sweets are just a short-term boost, and then comes the dreaded crash. Motivation disappears. Headaches can become intolerable. Inability to concentrate is common. Depression and a feeling of hopelessness can set in. People get very moody. Do they continue the cycle, feeding the body sugar, like a drug, or should they seek natural remedies? Where to start? First, figure out the root of the problem. Obesity may be responsible for reduc