Study shows power of sugar addiction
Last Updated Oct 2007
I recently came upon one of the most disturbing articles that I have read in a long
time. Published in the August 2007 issue of PLoS, this research article studied the
impact of an intensely sweetened beverage in cocaine-addicted rats. Cocaine remains
one of the most addictive drugs known, but when cocaine-addicted rats were given the
choice of more cocaine versus access to a super-sweetened beverage, they switched
their preference in a matter of days. This study confirms an earlier study [Obesity
Research 10: 478 (2004)] that demonstrated excess sugar intake causes a drug-like
addiction in rats. The reason for these observations is that we now know that sugar
stimulates dopamine-signaling intensity in the brain. This is how cocaine works.
In the presence of an increased dopamine response, the brain feels great. In its
absence, the brain feels a significant void that can only be overcome by more of the
drug. The article in PLoS points out that sugar (especially in a beverage) has a
more powerful impact on a subject's desire for more of it than cocaine does. The
good news, according to the authors, is that "sugar-rich diets may provide an
unsuspected, though highly costly, shield against the further spread of addiction."
Unfortunately, it also fuels the epidemic rise in obesity and type 2 diabetes. I
guess there is no free lunch.