Could Sugar be more Addictive than Cocaine?

More Addictive Than Cocaine?

Could refined sugar be one of the commonly accepted drugs in our culture? It is certainly addictive to those who are susceptible to it. Like me, many people cannot just eat one cookie or one piece of chocolate. Research has shown that the pleasure center of the brain is affected when sugar is eaten by those who are addicted to it, which causes us to crave for more.

In 2007, the Public Library of Science (PLOS) published a research article on the addictiveness of sugar versus cocaine. The research was performed on rats that were given sugar water and cocaine. When they were given a choice between the two substances, 94% of the animals chose the sugar water over the cocaine!

These researchers speculated that the potential addictiveness of sugar is from the supernormal stimulation of the taste receptors and the reward signal in the brain, which can override self-control and lead to addiction.*

Sugar-Laden Foods

Before I realized that I was addicted to foods like chocolate, cinnamon rolls, cake and other sweet treats, I just thought I enjoyed eating them.  After letting go of these types of foods, I recognized that sugar was highly addictive. It kept me coming back for more. It made me feel good, happy and upbeat. I felt like I could face my stress, boredom, loneliness, problems and insecurities with a little help from something sweet to eat.

Today, I stay away from it as best I can. Do I wish I could have sugar without it calling me back for more? Of course! However, I’ve accepted that this substance is not for me. My body cannot handle it.

Eating sugar-laden foods used to be my way of coping with my feelings. Now, instead of reaching for food, I reach for my recovery tools that help keep me on track. My recovery tools include connecting with God through prayer, make phone calls to friends from my 12-Step group, or simply go for a walk. These are some of the tools that I use regularly to help me stay on my recovery path.

One Bite Will Lead to Another

Too much sugar can keep you overweight and miserable. If you are addicted to it, I encourage you to exclude it from your eating plan.  For a Food Addict, there is NO such thing as eating in “moderation.”  Once you take that first bite of a cookie, cake, or whatever sweet thing you love to eat, all bets are off!  One bite will always follow another and another and another, until it is all gone.

It may seem drastic to you to eliminate sugar from your diet, but it must be done in order to break the cycle of addiction. “…And even though I am allowed to do anything, I must not become a slave to anything” (1 Cor. 6:12b).

You can do it with God’s help, along with a support group that understands your addiction.

God will be with you on your recovery path and He will do for you, what you can’t do for yourself.  Click on the resource link on the home page for a list of organizations that can help you stop eating addictively and guide you on your path to recovery.

Cynthia

*Lenoir, M., Serre, F., Cantin, L., & Ahmed, S. H. (2007). Intense Sweetness Surpasses Cocaine Reward. PLoS ONE, 2(8), e698.

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0000698