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Sugar addiction

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System
System Posts: 1,900 MFP Staff
This discussion was created from replies split from: sugar my problem.

Replies

  • emailmehere1122
    emailmehere1122 Posts: 140 Member
    edited September 2017
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    psuLemon wrote: »
    Guys, lets try to get back on topic. If people want to discuss the plausibility of sugar or fat addiction in humans, please use the below 21 page thread.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10226257/food-addiction-a-different-perspective/p1

    @psuLemon
    Ok.

    Hey @Carlos_421- show me your scientific evidence proving sugar isn't addictive or are you claiming the lack of scientific evidence saying it is addictive is proof.

  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    edited September 2017
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    Feel free to link your scientific information about sugar not being addictive.

    I said there was no scientific evidence that it is addictive. None.
    Plenty common sense to be applied to demonstrate that it's not, though.
    If you'd ever been around an addict you'd be able to see the difference between liking sugar and being addicted to drugs.
    And btw...if you wouldn't mind showing me where I said sugar is addictive in this thread that would be great
    Heavily implied in the quotes below:
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    xvolution wrote: »
    They say that sugar is more addictive than cocaine, so congrats on cutting it cold turkey!

    The ability to cut it cold turkey is proof that it is not more addictive than cocaine.

    And btw...people quit cocaine cold turkey also...so being able to quit one or the other isn't proof of anything

    Yes, and thankfully there are so many detox centers out there to help people going through their sugar withdrawals.

    Seriously, I don't understand how people can think these two are even remotely equivalent.

    Eta: a quick google I came up with this saying sugar can be more addictive then cocaine
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    xvolution wrote: »
    They say that sugar is more addictive than cocaine, so congrats on cutting it cold turkey!

    The ability to cut it cold turkey is proof that it is not more addictive than cocaine.

    And btw...people quit cocaine cold turkey also...so being able to quit one or the other isn't proof of anything

    Yes, and thankfully there are so many detox centers out there to help people going through their sugar withdrawals.

    Seriously, I don't understand how people can think these two are even remotely equivalent.

    Are you saying I compared them?
    I don't recall doing that either

    Being able to quit one or the other isn't proof of which is more addictive which is what I said

    I personally have never done cocaine so I wouldn't know

    Eta: a quick google I came up with this saying sugar can be more addictive then cocaine

    http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2015/01/07/sugar-health-research


    Did you look at the actual studies that supposedly support this? I've read a couple. They were dodgy in their methodology and the conclusion that sugar is as addictive as cocaine is such a stretch that even Gumby would break. The summary you posted doesn't even link to these articles.


    No I haven't looked at the studies because I really don't care which is more addictive.

    ETA:
    Remember SCIENTIFIC information
    Why do you care about vetting sources all of a sudden?



  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,391 MFP Moderator
    edited September 2017
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    psuLemon wrote: »
    Guys, lets try to get back on topic. If people want to discuss the plausibility of sugar or fat addiction in humans, please use the below 21 page thread.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10226257/food-addiction-a-different-perspective/p1

    @psuLemon
    Ok.

    Hey @Carlos_421show me your scientific evidence proving sugar isn't addictive or are you claiming the lack of scientific evidence saying it is addictive is proof.

    Because if that's what he's claiming that's some jacked up science.

    Here is a thread for you guys.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    That's pretty much Stephan Guyenet's theory, which makes sense to me, despite the use of addiction-based language in this particular explanation: http://www.stephanguyenet.com/why-are-some-people-carboholics/
    So why are some people carboholics and fatoholics?

    The reason is simple. The human brain is hard-wired to be motivated by calorie-dense foods rich in fat, sugar, starch, protein, and salt, because these things kept our distant ancestors alive and fertile in a difficult world. In the modern world, the food industry and home cooks are better at pushing our brain’s reinforcement buttons than ever before in history. Our distant ancestors didn’t have ice cream or pizza, and the brains we inherited from them may not be designed to constructively handle that kind of powerful reinforcement stimulus. We’re so good at pushing our own buttons that some of our modern foods probably provoke very high levels of dopamine release in the brain. Like drugs of abuse, those high levels of dopamine make us crave in ways that don’t always support our health– and sometimes lead to addiction. That’s why we crave dessert.

    Due to individual differences in how we’re wired, some of us become “carboholics”, others become “fatoholics”, others become both, and still others become neither. We have much work to do before understanding these individual differences. Yet regardless of whether or not we have addiction-like eating behaviors, nearly all of us eat too much when we encounter foods that are highly reinforcing....

    *** Sugar was obviously not the only nutrient that kept our distant ancestors alive, and from an engineering standpoint it would make no sense to design a system that is only motivated by sugar. That’s why our brains are strongly motivated by all concentrated sources of calories– including sugar.

    A difference between this and the usual "sugar=cocaine" stuff is that this recognizes that it's a basically natural (if potentially distorted) evolutionary response to what at one time would have been a good thing, something you should seek out (calories, in a subsistence environment) and that it's not just sugar.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
    edited September 2017
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    psuLemon wrote: »
    Guys, lets try to get back on topic. If people want to discuss the plausibility of sugar or fat addiction in humans, please use the below 21 page thread.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10226257/food-addiction-a-different-perspective/p1

    @psuLemon
    Ok.

    Hey @Carlos_421- show me your scientific evidence proving sugar isn't addictive or are you claiming the lack of scientific evidence saying it is addictive is proof.

    Not Carlos421 here, but since you asked:

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20056521

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27372453

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28330706
  • emailmehere1122
    emailmehere1122 Posts: 140 Member
    edited September 2017
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    AnvilHead wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    Guys, lets try to get back on topic. If people want to discuss the plausibility of sugar or fat addiction in humans, please use the below 21 page thread.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10226257/food-addiction-a-different-perspective/p1

    @psuLemon
    Ok.

    Hey @Carlos_421- show me your scientific evidence proving sugar isn't addictive or are you claiming the lack of scientific evidence saying it is addictive is proof.

    Not Carlos421 here, but since you asked:

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20056521

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27372453

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28330706



    You're last study states "sugary foods contribute minimally to 'food dependence' and increased risk of weight gain"

    But it's a moot point...because I never said sugar was addictive in the first place
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    AnvilHead wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    Guys, lets try to get back on topic. If people want to discuss the plausibility of sugar or fat addiction in humans, please use the below 21 page thread.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10226257/food-addiction-a-different-perspective/p1

    @psuLemon
    Ok.

    Hey @Carlos_421- show me your scientific evidence proving sugar isn't addictive or are you claiming the lack of scientific evidence saying it is addictive is proof.

    Not Carlos421 here, but since you asked:

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20056521

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27372453

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28330706



    You're last study states "sugary foods contribute minimally to 'food dependence' and increased risk of weight gain"

    But it's a moot point...because I never said sugar was addictive in the first place

    You asked for scientific evidence proving sugar isn't addictive. I provided it. And you're correct that sugar is not addictive.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
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    AnvilHead wrote: »
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    Guys, lets try to get back on topic. If people want to discuss the plausibility of sugar or fat addiction in humans, please use the below 21 page thread.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10226257/food-addiction-a-different-perspective/p1

    @psuLemon
    Ok.

    Hey @Carlos_421- show me your scientific evidence proving sugar isn't addictive or are you claiming the lack of scientific evidence saying it is addictive is proof.

    Not Carlos421 here, but since you asked:

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20056521

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27372453

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28330706



    You're last study states "sugary foods contribute minimally to 'food dependence' and increased risk of weight gain"

    But it's a moot point...because I never said sugar was addictive in the first place

    You asked for scientific evidence proving sugar isn't addictive. I provided it. And you're correct that sugar is not addictive.

    Some people just want to argue even if they don't disagree.
  • emailmehere1122
    emailmehere1122 Posts: 140 Member
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    Lol