When you鈥檙e half a sleeve deep into听Girl Scout cookies and your impulse control hasn鈥檛 kicked in, you might wonder if you鈥檙e dealing with something other than a craving鈥攕omething more like an addiction. Maybe you鈥檝e heard the fact that sugar activates the same pleasure centers in your brain as substances like cocaine and heroin. But while it鈥檚 understandable to feel out of control around sugar, it just doesn鈥檛 have what it takes to be considered addictive by the standards of addiction researchers听or the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which includes the medically accepted definition of addiction.
The similarities听between how the brain responds to sugar and Schedule I drugs听drugs听were discovered in听studies performed听on rats with听limited access to sugar, explains , a dietitian and social worker based in Arlington,听Virginia. 鈥淪imilar neurochemical responses have been observed in humans in response to puppies and music,鈥 she says.听Beyond being misleading, the idea of sugar addiction could be harmful to a person鈥檚 overall diet听and their relationship with food. So why do we insist on talking about sugar like it鈥檚 a drug?
Pleasurable听Doesn鈥檛 Mean Addictive听
According to the , the average American adult eats 77 grams of added sugar per day, well above the 50-gram听maximum that the recommends for someone eating 2,000 calories per day. For a long time, scientists have been trying to figure out why we eat so much sugar. One reason is that it releases dopamine in the area of your brain associated with motivation and reward. In simple terms, it makes you feel good. Yes, the same thing happens when you take addictive drugs, but it can also happen when you 听辞谤听.
Margaret Westwater, a researcher at Cambridge University and the听lead author of a of听existing studies on sugar addiction鈥攚hich have been done primarily on rodents, not humans鈥攅xplains that addiction is a disease with three phases: substance bingeing, substance-seeking behavior and habitual substance use, and withdrawal. The DSM-5 defines it similarly听but instead uses the experiences of certain symptoms as its criteria, including substance cravings and failing to fulfill daily roles because of substance use. Westwater and her review coauthors听found that, unlike truly addictive substances, eating sugar has not been shown to consistently prompt compulsive intake; rodents won鈥檛 continue to seek it out when it鈥檚 paired with an unpleasant stimulus like a shock or a bitter taste,听or when it鈥檚 not readily available.听Likewise, regularly eating sugar doesn鈥檛 necessarily create an听increased tolerance鈥攎eaning you need more of a substance to achieve the same effect鈥攚hich is another hallmark of addiction.听Although habitually eating large amounts of sugar can dull the body鈥檚 insulin response over time (that鈥檚 what causes type 2 diabetes), more research is needed to say whether regularly eating sugar creates an increased tolerance to its effects on human听brains.
Westwater explains that while some people report powerful cravings for sweet foods,听the evidence suggests that this is because of taste and other sensory preferences that are encoded in our brains鈥攁 preference that听evolved in humans long ago when energy-dense foods helped protect against famine and one that is听reinforced by the fact that sugar tastes good. Truly addictive substances, on the other hand, have post-ingestive effects on brain chemistry that are both acute (an immediate change in how we feel) and chronic (characterized by obsessive substance seeking and needing an ever growing dose). And while there is a bit of a gray area between pleasure-seeking behavior and true addiction, Westwater鈥檚 review finds that eating sugar falls into the former camp, while consuming cocaine and heroin falls into the latter.
All of this said, some nutrition researchers still believe that sugar addiction might exist. In a听 published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, the authors argue that sugar addiction is subtle听and more similar to caffeine or nicotine addiction than to cocaine or heroin addiction.听Still, they describe several factors that complicate the question of whether sugar is truly addictive, including the fact that bingeing听can also be caused by food restriction.
You鈥檙e Probably Just Hungry
鈥Restrictive eating patterns have become the norm in our society,鈥 she says. 鈥淲hen our bodies don鈥檛 receive the energy they need, biological reinforcements kick in to ensure our survival. This can come in the form of craving sugar or feeling out of control around it.鈥 Whether you鈥檙e in the middle of a no-added-sugar challenge, on a low-carb diet, or just trying to cut your calorie intake, your body鈥檚 natural response is to crave sugar as a quick source of energy.
Researchers have explored withdrawal symptoms associated with sugar, Habtemariam听notes. 鈥淪ome reports suggest that rodents display signs of anxiety following loss of access听to sugar,鈥 Westwater says. 鈥淗owever, since such 鈥榳ithdrawal鈥 often occurs in the context of extended fasting, we cannot say if the behaviors were precipitated by previous sugar consumption or by hunger.鈥 In other words, it isn鈥檛 clear whether the anxiety is caused by lack of sugar听or by lack of food overall.
Don鈥檛 Demonize Sugar
Thinking of sugar as addictive or inherently bad is not only inaccurate, it can also lead to a disordered relationship with food. 鈥淎s scientists, we must be aware of and cautious about the role of language in shaping beliefs and behaviors that might ultimately become health harming,鈥 Westwater says. 鈥淟abeling a nutrient as addictive听or bad听can drive specific fears of foods that can increase one鈥檚 risk for various eating disorders. For some people, this restriction increases the likelihood of binge-eating episodes, in which they may consume large quantities of these feared foods,听which听drives further feelings of guilt and shame.鈥澨鼸ven if you aren鈥檛 on a strict low-carb or no-sugar diet, it鈥檚 possible that you often steer clear of sugar because of all the messaging out there demonizing it.
鈥淥ur bodies are intelligent. They crave听what they need most,鈥 Habtemariam says.听As with all foods, your body uses sugar for energy. Naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables, and other foods come packed with other important nutrients like fiber, vitamins, and minerals. And while added added sugar isn鈥檛 exactly nutritious,听it鈥檚 OK to eat as a small part of a balanced overall diet.听If you鈥檙e hungry and craving听carbs, it鈥檚 probably because your body听could put them to good use.听Most of your carbs should still come from whole foods like fruits, veggies, and grains, but sugar can be nutritionally beneficial in some cases, like if you鈥檙e exercising for an extended period of time and need quick energy. Eating it alongside protein, fat, and fiber can slow its absorption听and prevent the sugar rush and subsequent crash you might feel after eating just a pack of Skittles.
No one鈥檚 saying sugar is a health food, but we should stop equating a sweet tooth to a drug habit.听While researchers will likely continue to debate the semantics of sugar as an addictive substance, the best thing you can do is tune the idea out. 鈥淏y conceptualizing your relationship with sugar as an addiction, you can only understand it that way,鈥 Habtemariam says.听Thinking of sugar as something you can鈥檛 quit can make you feel out of control around it; thinking of it as something you like eating sometimes makes it feel like more of a choice.听Instead, she recommends recognizing your cravings for what they are: a physiological response to your body needing carbohydrates听or a simple听pleasure-seeking response.