Is sugar addiction real?

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  • katiej080810
    katiej080810 Posts: 42
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    Thank you for all of the helpful advice. Giving up sugar completely scares the crap out of me but I think it is something I will have to try to do. I am so unhappy where I am now and binging out all the time on sugar is keeping me here.
  • highervibes
    highervibes Posts: 2,219 Member
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    It was easier for me to stop using cocaine recreationally than it was sugar... just sayin'.
  • michellechawner
    michellechawner Posts: 892
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    Yes it is.

    My mother is addicted to sugar. She's learned to keep it out of the house. I've seen her go on crazy eating binges when I was younger... whole tins of Oreo's, brownies, Full cartons of ice cream...

    She still has fruit, and more "natural" sugars. But she knows she can't just stop at one cookie. I apparently don't take after her, I can have 2 cookies and say ok, I'm done.
  • TheEffort
    TheEffort Posts: 1,028 Member
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    It feels like an addiction to me. :smile:

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  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
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    The short answer is: Yes.

    From wikipedia:
    A 1987 study showed sugar acted as an analgesic drug whose effects could be blocked by a morphine blocker.[2] In her 1998 book, author Kathleen DesMaisons outlined the concept of sugar addiction as a measurable physiological state caused by activation of opioid receptors in the brain and hypothesized that dependence on sugar followed the same track outlined in the DSM IV for other drugs of abuse.

    You quoted wikipedia that quotes a 26 year old study that was quoted in a book that's 15 years old. Seems legit.
  • RickNeedzToGetShreaded
    RickNeedzToGetShreaded Posts: 293 Member
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    I cut out sugar recently, and down to one coffee a day, and it sure is an addiction, I crave it!
  • toaster6
    toaster6 Posts: 703 Member
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    ad·dic·tion
    noun
    the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.

    I know many people that love sugar and don't like the thought of cutting down on it but I don't know anyone that suffers severe trauma when they don't get enough sweets. I think people confuse "I want" with "I need".
  • PlayerHatinDogooder
    PlayerHatinDogooder Posts: 1,018 Member
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    No, It just taste good and people like to eat it.

    I used to believe I had a sugar addiction. Then I just realized that I had to exercise a bit of self control. Having friends that have suffered numerous addictions from cigarettes to heroin I have never experienced any of the symptoms that they have described when withdrawing.
  • GiGiBeans
    GiGiBeans Posts: 1,062 Member
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    Yes, it's real. My addiction got so bad I was stealing candy from children in the park and holding up candy stores. Then I found The Low Carb Way and was cured, praise be to Atkins.
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
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    In for answers on the diagnostic criteria for "sugar addiction" and proof that doesn't involve rats


    I don't understand what this comment means?

    He is discounting research done on laboratory animals as invalid information when extrapolating the information onto human subjects.

    Rats =/= humans, therefore the research validity is limited.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    Yes ! As bad an addiction as crack cocaine! Speaking from experience :sad:

    My experience is Sugar not crack cocaine lol, just clarifying

    :huh:
  • MicheleWE
    MicheleWE Posts: 179 Member
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    YES! I used to describe myself just like OP. I never had one cookie, it always ended up being way more. Homemade cookies were banned from my home because I couldn't control mysel. Eating sweets would set off a whole chain reaction, sugar overload then the search for salty foods to counteract it (sounds silly now, but that is how I thought of it at the time). I experienced the sugar high many times but one that stands out was eating so much until I was "drunk" on it, literally laughing until I got sick. Definately not proud of it! I thought I was hopeless. I had to cut it out completely for a while, but that was not the only thing. I also cut the foods that "act" like sugar in the body-white flour, white rice, white pasta, etc. I never had a problem with potatoes causing me to lose control. But any simple carb I cut out for a while. I started grinding oatmeal to make pancakes and protein bars with and stuck to stevia to sweeten my coffee. I increased my protein dramatically (over 100g per day). I did not cut fruit, although I don't eat a ton of it a day anyways. I started all this in January and for months I was afraid to even try any sugar. I am still carefull but now I can have it without any binging issues and have found that some things I just can't simply tolerate well. I can have ice cream or frozen yogurt and be just fine (those were never triggers), but just a little bit of chocolate candy goes a very long ways. I still steer clear of my trigger foods in my home-baked goods-because I really don't want to go back to that behavior and don't feel the need to test it out. I feel so much better since getting off the sugar.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
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    sure any substances used to an excess that controls your thoughts and emotions can be an addiction. I find that I'm an all or nothing person I have to abstain from my addictions or I lose control.
  • iulia_maddie
    iulia_maddie Posts: 2,780 Member
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    In for answers on the diagnostic criteria for "sugar addiction" and proof that doesn't involve rats


    I don't understand what this comment means?

    Might be a side effect of going through withdrawal. Did you just stop using sugar?
  • hmg90
    hmg90 Posts: 314 Member
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    From the amount of people talking about intense chocolate cravings, I would say yes.
    I've cut sugar out, and I don't crave it anymore. I can see candies and really want it, but I can control myself. I cut it out completely when I started living healthier, and the craving went down. So obviously, like any other addiction, it can be killed.
    I almost wish it was the same with carbs - that the craving went down once you cut it out, but alas, this is not the case. I want pasta and pizza as much as ever. There are good reasons for this though - your body needs carbs more than it needs sugar.
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
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    Yes ! As bad an addiction as crack cocaine! Speaking from experience :sad:

    Please tell me more about the last time your children went hungry because you spent all your money on cupcake frosting.

    ^ This. It's about time people stop using terms like "addicted" because they have self control issues.
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
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    Yes ! As bad an addiction as crack cocaine! Speaking from experience :sad:

    My experience is Sugar not crack cocaine lol, just clarifying

    If you have never been addicted to crack, you aren't exactly speaking from experience. Please develop an actual crack addiction and report back with your findings. Thank you. :flowerforyou:
  • pwittek10
    pwittek10 Posts: 723 Member
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    very much so!!!
    Once you take that first bite, it is super hard not to eat more.
    I try not to give in to the bite it is so much easier.
  • PlayerHatinDogooder
    PlayerHatinDogooder Posts: 1,018 Member
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    Yes ! As bad an addiction as crack cocaine! Speaking from experience :sad:

    My experience is Sugar not crack cocaine lol, just clarifying

    If you have never been addicted to crack, you aren't exactly speaking from experience. Please develop an actual crack addiction and report back with your findings. Thank you. :flowerforyou:

    Looks like Acg just got that test subject he was looking for.
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
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    The short answer is: Yes.

    From wikipedia:
    A 1987 study showed sugar acted as an analgesic drug whose effects could be blocked by a morphine blocker.[2] In her 1998 book, author Kathleen DesMaisons outlined the concept of sugar addiction as a measurable physiological state caused by activation of opioid receptors in the brain and hypothesized that dependence on sugar followed the same track outlined in the DSM IV for other drugs of abuse.

    You quoted wikipedia that quotes a 26 year old study that was quoted in a book that's 15 years old. Seems legit.

    I tend to trust established science rather than speculation or unproven hypothesis. If you look it up on Wikipedia yourself you'll see that the article references more recent journal publications in the cites sources section(2008).

    I feel like if a person does something that is self destructive and (s)he feels that it is compulsive and that they have little control over their ability to abstain from such behaviors, then it can reasonably be treated as an addiction. Obviously, sugar fits all of those criteria for some people.
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