Why is sugar so addictive?

Sugar seems innocent. Surely, it must be if it is in just about everything, right?

WRONG!

Sugar is so addictive! Check a few labels next time you go shopping. You might be surprised how many times it is listed in the ingredients. Sugar can be found in everything from salsa to peanut butter.

The tricky part is that it may not even be listed as sugar. Look closely for words like glucose, brown sugar, dextrose, sucrose and corn syrup.

Sugar is so addictive!

Sugar releases opioids and dopamine into our body which activates our opiate receptors. Opioids give us that desired high feeling and dopamine is released in the brain. This reward system is triggered, after sugar consumption, in the same ways that drugs activate the same receptors.

Sweets reinforce these neural pathways causing our bodies to feel like we need more sugar. Our brain will constantly crave sugar and then build up a tolerance which means our brain and body will crave it even more. Think about how many times sugar is used as a “reward” in our lives. Starting from when we were children.

Sugar feeds the compulsive behavior, that makes us ignore the adverse consequences like weight gain, hormone imbalances, inflammation, diabetes and fatty liver disease.

I suffered from sugar addiction and other health problems due to the food I consumed. I knew needed to make a commitment to change my eating habits. Gave up sugar and it still is the the best thing I did for my body! I feel so much better!

You can read a little more about my struggle here.