Addicted to Sugar

I've heard some people lately compare using sugar to substances such as morphine, tobacco, or cocaine. "Come on!" I thought. "Let's not malign such a sweet product." So I set out to research what people were saying and studying about sugar.

The sugar that we use in the United States generally starts out as sugar cane or sugar beets. That gets refined down through a series of industrial processes into molasses, then into brown sugar and finally into pure sucrose. This final product of sucrose is what we know as table sugar, a white crystalline substance that tastes sweet and that we spoon into our coffee or tea and sprinkle on our grapefruit, toast, or cereal.

Medieval Europe hardly knew about this taste of sweetness known as sugar. A few royal folks had it once in awhile as a delicacy. During the Crusades some Europeans were introduced to sugar used by the Saracens from cane plantations in southern Spain. Even a hundred years ago, in the Little House on The Prairie, the Ingalls family used molasses as a sweetener and had a small amount of white sugar "for company". That's a far cry from the estimated 100 pounds per year that each American is said to consume.

So, why all the fuss about sugar? Sugar can cause the following:
? Increase in tooth decay

? Increase in anxiety, irritability, and even panic in some people

? Increases PMS symptoms for some women

? Is blamed for causing hyperactivity in some susceptible children

? Can trigger binge eating in people with bulimia

? Can make it difficult to lose weight because of higher insulin levels that causes the body to store extra carbohydrates as fat

It could be that last symptom attributed to sugar that has made sugar an enemy in health-conscious people lately. Americans are fat, and by all reports, getting fatter. Could it be the increased use of sugar in the typical American diet? After all, once you are accustomed to a certain level of sweetness, then a dessert has to be twice as sweet to stand out to our taste buds.

But is sugar addictive? In medical terms a substance is addictive if it: induces a state of pleasure, or relief from stress; causes long-term chemical changes in the brain; changes the brain to trigger dependence and uncontrollable cravings; causes dependence to the point that abstinence creates severe physical and mental reactions. Some people recognize themselves in this description in their attempts to give up sugar.

Withdrawal symptoms can include feeling weak, or "weird", or light-headed, coupled with a strong desire to consume more sugar. These feelings are alleviated with a candy bar, or muffin, or a soda. In the hierarchy of addictions, withdrawal symptoms to sugar are said to be mild; withdrawing from caffeine is painful; dramatic and painful when you give up heroin; and possibly life-threatening when you abstain from alcohol after long-term use.

Researchers in health and medicine, however, do not believe there is such a thing as sugar addiction. Clinical trials have shown that when laboratory rats eat sugar, it creates dopamine in their brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that regulates feelings of reward, and is believed to be responsible for many addictive behaviors. But simply raising the dopamine level isn't enough for sugar to be considered an addiction…..yet. Researchers admit that it is possible we may find a connection between sugar and an addiction in the future.

I'm not convinced. Perhaps sugar is just one addiction I've managed to bypass. I feel weak, and irritable, and lightheaded when I'm thirsty and don't drink enough water, but no one is suggesting that I should quit drinking water because of it. I think a lot of people fall back on comfort foods or comfort measures when they are stressed, and sugar happens to be a comfort food for lots of people.

The cliché of "all things in moderation" seems to be the key here. Eat some sugar. Perhaps not over 100 pounds a year. Maybe try cutting back on sugar, and substituting an apple instead of a donut for a midmorning snack, or bedtime treat. But calling enjoying sugar an addiction, to me, is making light of serious, life threatening addictions to dangerous and illegal substances.