Is Sugar Addictive? The Truth Behind That Sweet Something

Have you ever heard of the phrase: sugar addiction? Or of someone being addicted to sugar?  Generally, humans associate addiction with hard drugs, alcohol, gambling, etc. All things that can rewire our brains and cause serious damage. But, is it possible for sugar to have some of these effects as well? This article uses scientific research to determine the answer to the question: is sugar addictive?

Sugar consumption has risen rapidly over the decades. In recent years, according to the American Heart Association, the average American adult eats about 17 teaspoons or 71 grams of added sugar a day. That may not be frightening until hearing that the recommended consumption for men is up to 9 teaspoons or 36 grams a day for men and up to 6 teaspoons or 25 grams per day for women. That means, the average man and woman are eating 2-3 times the recommended amount of added sugar. 

Keep in mind, added sugar comes in many forms, not just as table sugar. Many “health influencers” and other “health minded” individuals will recommend products or recipes with ingredients like coconut sugar, maple syrup, or honey claiming they are a healthier sugar substitute. I hate to break it to you, but the intestines do not discriminate. In the end your body treats them all like added sugar.

You may be asking yourself, “well, fruit has sugar in it, so is fruit bad?” or you may have even had someone tell you they don’t eat fruit because it has too much sugar. Let me explain the difference between sugar found in fruit and added sugar like table sugar or maple syrup. Fruits are full of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. The fiber found in fruit helps to slow down the absorption of the sugars also contained in fruit during digestion.

Most foods with a significant amount of added sugars in them do not contain a variety of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and fiber. Because there is no fiber, there is nothing to slow the absorption of the sugar. It’s like a sugar punch to the gut that spikes up when foods with added sugar get eaten.

Now that we know more about sugar, what makes something qualify as an addiction? Certain criteria that must be met for something to be considered an addiction. Listed below is the criteria for addiction. A person or thing only has to experience or cause two of these criteria receive the label of addict or addictive.

Let’s dive into what the research says! But simplified. 

Sadly, the answer isn’t a straightforward yes or no. Multiple studies that examined the consumption of sugar the way an average human would eat it, didn’t find enough evidence to support the theory of sugar addiction in humans.² When comparing the biological response to addiction, researchers in one study found that sugar and the desire for sweet taste was completely different from addictive behaviors.³  

In contrast, other researchers found that rats experienced symptoms of addiction when given intermittent access to sugar.^4,5 Essentially, the rats were binging and purging sugar. These sugar binging rats experienced multiple of the criteria of an addict including using more of a substance than intended (binging), tolerance, craving, and withdrawal.⁶ Since at least two of the criteria for an addiction are met, in this case, sugar would be considered addictive.

All of the research that showed sugar to have addictive properties was done on rats. Although studies on rats can give us a good idea of what is going on, humans are much more complex. Controlling the environment of a rat during a study is simple, but making and maintaining the same control in humans is complex (and unethical). Human environments are extremely varied, human genetics are different between people, the human diet includes a variety of different foods. All of these varieties may or may not influence how the human body deals with sugar. 

So what does all of that mean? Well, there is some evidence that sugar can become addictive in binging and purging situations. It is possible that people with binge eating disorder may be at risk of becoming addicted to sugar. That being said, just eating foods with added sugar each day will most likely not lead to a sugar addiction.

• Avoid sugar sweetened beverages

The most common way the average America consumes added sugar is through sugar sweetened beverages. Now please do not just start drinking diet drinks because I said this, those are just as bad in their own way. Try to skip the soda most days and opt for water. If you think water is gross or boring, try adding a lemon to it. 

• Cut back the sugar in your coffee and tea

That caramel ribbon crunch Frappuccino with pumpkin spice might taste really good and help wake you up in the morning, but it is packed with added sugar. Give less sugary options a try.

• Make simple changes

Make simple changes like using unsweetened almond milk instead of original almond milk, eat a fruit instead of drinking fruit juice, use plain yogurt with no added sugar, cook at home instead of eating out, and please please please focus on drinking water.

References

1. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/sugar/how-much-sugar-is-too-much
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5174153/
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8468293/
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/
5. https://www.ibroneuroscience.org/article/S0306-4522(05)00428-8/fulltext
6. https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/52/14/910.long