Anyone else feel they are addicted to sugar?

This content has been removed.

I would definitely say I used to be reliant on sugar- I would start my day off with a pastry, eat sugary snacks all day and then eat biscuits and chocolate in the evenings. I think the more you eat, the more you want to eat.

I managed to really cut down on the sweet stuff, which was really hard to start with as I felt awful, but persevered and now have sweet treats occasionally and enjoy them much more.

I would also say though that I used to feel really sick and get a sore stomach after eating too much sugar, so I had a bit of an added incentive to stop having quite so much.

I think if there are specific things you want, like ice cream, then include them in your diet occasionally, enjoy them, but don't go overboard. Eat healthy the rest of the time.

ok, I'm over it....whew

I feel like a like sugar a lot. I feel like "addiction" gets tossed around way too freely.

Seriously, Tex.

I'm betting more on people's eating habits rather than sugar "addiction". We are creatures of habit, so when anything tries to disrupt what we've habitually learned, there's usually going to be some sort of retaliation normally.
Where before one would eat as much as they wanted, now having to limit it has disrupted a usual habit.
New habits take time to form, but one has to be consistent for it to happen.

A.C.E. Certified Group Fitness and Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I certainly did not mean to start a headed argument on whether sugar is addictive or not, and I am NO means meant to make this sound insulting to people with addictions, as one poster said.

But, I wrote this hoping to have encouragement, or just to hear how others with this have handled it.

And YES, there is such a thing as sugar addiction.

I have attached just a couple of the many articles on whether sugar can be an addictive substance, just as caffeine is. There was also a study at Princeton on this subject.

So I am very sorry if I offended anyone. I was just hoping to hear from others, to know that maybe I am not alone in my battle with sugar.



http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/01/08/260781785/is-sugar-addiction-why-so-many-january-diets-fail


http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/prescriptions-life/201403/how-break-your-sugar-addiction

http://drhyman.com/blog/2013/06/27/5-clues-you-are-addicted-to-sugar/

With all due respect, those are blogs, not evidence. They are peoples' opinions. There is absolutely zero evidence that sugar is addictive any more than protein is. Food in general stimulates our pleasure center because we need it to survive. Our bodies reward us for eating.

I personally think it is more the combination of sugar and flour. I have to stay away from all baked good. Like you I cannot control how much I eat once it is in my house. And I eat very healthy food as a rule. .
Everything you find on the supermarket shelves today is highly processed and made with genetically altered wheat, corn and soy. It is addictive.
read this article
http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/food-addiction-most-addictive-foods

we are basically all like drug addicts with the food which is sold to us by the big corporations. The only way out is not to buy it anymore and force new regulations.
I am old enough to know that this is true. When I grew up food was not genetically altered and everybody could eat bread, cookies etc. without getting addicted.

I have a sugar addiction. The only way I curtail it is to not buy too many sugary sweets. When I go over my parents house I raid their candy dish and sweets cabinet which lets me know it is a good thing that I don't have them in the house.
I know what you mean about the grocery store. I have to do "self talk" the entire time I am in there. Bakery items, candy, ice cream, snack cakes, they all call my name. I just stay focused, I don't put any in my cart, instead I get fresh fruit, apple sauce, smart ones frozen desserts and fiber one bars.

Yes, those things have sugar. I am not depriving myself of sugar totally! I would go insane. Instead I am controlling the portions and not placing myself in a situation where I can eat an entire box of Lil Debbies. I have been able to lose 30 pounds and still eat sweets, I just have to keep it under control.

My advice to you is to watch what you bring into the house.

I don't think it is such an addiction, as a viscous cycle of spiking and dropping blood sugar. That and it tastes great.

When you eat something sugary, your blood sugar spikes and your body rushes to lower it, which causes it to dip and you crave sugary things...

I can eat a 300 calorie breakfast that is high in protein and fat and almost forget to eat lunch.

I can eat a 300 calorie breakfast that has more sugar/carbs (like cereal or oatmeal, remember carbs are pretty much glucose..) and I HAVE to have my morning snack.

Read "The Sugar Diet" publish by Rodale. It is on the Prevention Magazine web site-prevention.com. Even if you don't do the whole diet it is tremendously informative and will help you control sugar.

Blah blablablah, blah blabla bla blah. Sugar blah, blah, blah, crack addiction , blah, blah, blah, same blablabla blablah.

That's all I see, is blah, blah, blah.

Stop it already.

Calm down. Seriously, this is not helpful.

I have a huge sweet tooth and know where you are coming from. I would have enough points for supper and then go over because I had to have that ice cream because my husband wanted some. The only way for me to stop the cravings was to completly cut out the extra sugar. I still eat fruits and add a little sugar to coffee but I don't have any candy, desserts or soda. Last week I had a slice of pie on vacation (my favorite dessert) and it didn't taste as good. It was too sweet and wasn't as satifiying as before. I also stole a sour gummy worm from my husband and that didn't taste right either. This is what worked for me.

With all due respect, those are blogs, not evidence. They are peoples' opinions. There is absolutely zero evidence that sugar is addictive any more than protein is. Food in general stimulates our pleasure center because we need it to survive. Our bodies reward us for eating.

THIS is not a blog. This is from Princeton University.

http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S22/88/56G31/index.xml?section=topstories

"The sugar addiction work was controversial among scientists, and thus unfundable in the peer review system."

http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/2009/november-09/addicted-to-food-an-interview-with-bart-hoebel.html

Controversial does not mean untrue or without any evidence to back the claim. In fact, sugar is known to be addictive in rats.

And the video link I posted in this thread proves researchers are looking into the genetics and brain chemistry of addiction in their studies of obesity linked behaviors and are finding parallels.

It doesn't mean true, either, does it?

Parallels, even if they exist, aren't equivalences, right?

Blah blablablah, blah blabla bla blah. Sugar blah, blah, blah, crack addiction , blah, blah, blah, same blablabla blablah.

That's all I see, is blah, blah, blah.

Stop it already.

Calm down. Seriously, this is not helpful.

It helps me. Because this "addiction," "sweet tooth" thing has gone beyond too far. It's just another way for people to make themselves unique in a boring un-unique world. Everyone likes sweet stuff. It's not anything new or powerful, it's not the discovery of penicillin, it's sugar. Stop OVEREATING it and the "cravings" will stop.

It's not heroin, it's not crack, it's .....




Blah

With all due respect, those are blogs, not evidence. They are peoples' opinions. There is absolutely zero evidence that sugar is addictive any more than protein is. Food in general stimulates our pleasure center because we need it to survive. Our bodies reward us for eating.

THIS is not a blog. This is from Princeton University.

http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S22/88/56G31/index.xml?section=topstories

"The sugar addiction work was controversial among scientists, and thus unfundable in the peer review system."

http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/2009/november-09/addicted-to-food-an-interview-with-bart-hoebel.html

Controversial does not mean untrue or without any evidence to back the claim. In fact, sugar is known to be addictive in rats.

And the video link I posted in this thread proves researchers are looking into the genetics and brain chemistry of addiction in their studies of obesity linked behaviors and are finding parallels.

It doesn't mean true, either, does it?

Parallels, even if they exist, aren't equivalences, right?

From what I've been reading, there is now more evidence for it than against it. However, it's not as cut and dried as addiction to something like nicotine because there is no known survival instinct leading one to seek out nicotine while researchers say there is survival value in seeking out calorie dense foods and sweet foods both.

In any case, if someone has any issue with any food making them hungrier instead of less hungry in a way that contributes to unhealthy weight gain or makes the person crave more of that food in a way that will exceed a healthy day's calories, it's best to avoid that food. Labeling it addictive isn't unreasonable, and if the label is one that helps the person avoid that particular food, I fail to see an issue with it.