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The Not-So-Sweet Science Of Sugar Addiction
Plus: which ultra-processed foods *aren't* unhealthy?
The 10almonds Team
May 31, 2024
Today’s almonds have been activated by:
There’s a joke that goes…
An old man was complaining about his declining health, and said:
“I used to walk around the block every morning, but nowadays I can only get halfway before I have to turn back”
And superficially the joke’s funny because teehee, he’s still walking the same distance. But there’s something deeper here:
There’s a lot about our age (and our relationship with same) that’s solely a matter of our self-perception and expectations.
The question then becomes: what to do with that information?
In A Rush?
Today’s 30-Second Summary
If you don’t have time to read the whole email today, here are some key takeaways:
Sugar is a food that’s instrumental in most food addictions, so what sets it apart?
Today’s main feature looks at the science of this, and discusses how it compares (and contrasts) with other addictions such as cocaine, alcohol, or even video gaming.
In short, while it’s generally agreed it is an addiction, much science is still ongoing with regard to the mechanism and implications, but there is a lot that we do know already!
Keeping track of what we eat is a very good health practice, to ensure our nutritional balance is what we want it to be.
Read on to learn more about these things, or click here to visit our archive
A Word To The Wise
 | Healthy Ultra-Processed Foods?UPFs have a bad reputation, and mostly rightly so. But there are some kinds that aren’t bad for the health: |
Watch and Learn
The Mental Health Dangers Of Oversharing
Prefer text? The above video will take you to a 10almonds page with a text-overview, as well as the video!
Mythbusting Friday
One Lump Mechanism Of Addiction Or Two?
In Tuesday’s newsletter, we asked you to what extent, if any, you believe sugar is addictive; we got the above-depicted, below-described, set of responses:
About 47% said “Sugar is chemically addictive, comparable to alcohol”
About 34% said “Sugar is chemically addictive, comparable to cocaine”
About 11% said “Sugar is not addictive; that’s just excuse-finding hyperbole”
About 9% said “Sugar is a behavioral addiction, comparable to video gaming”
So what does the science say?
Sugar is not addictive; that’s just excuse-finding hyperbole: True or False?
False, by broad scientific consensus. As ever, the devil’s in the details definitions, but while there is still discussion about how best to categorize the addiction, the scientific consensus as a whole is generally: sugar is addictive.
That doesn’t mean scientists* are a hive mind, and so there will be some who disagree, but most papers these days are looking into the “hows” and “whys” and “whats” of sugar addiction, not the "whether”.
*who are also, let us remember, a diverse group including chemists, neurobiologists, psychologists, social psychologists, and others, often collaborating in multidisciplinary teams, each with their own focus of research.
Here’s what the Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies has to say, for example:
Sugar is a chemical addiction, comparable to alcohol: True or False?
True, broadly, with caveats—for this one, the crux lies in “comparable to”, because the neurology of the addiction is similar, even if many aspects of it chemically are not.
In both cases, sugar triggers the release of dopamine while also (albeit for different chemical reasons) having a “downer” effect (sugar triggers the release of opioids as well as dopamine).
Notably, the sociology and psychology of alcohol and sugar addictions are also similar (both addictions are common throughout different socioeconomic strata as a coping mechanism seeking an escape from emotional pain).
See for example in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs:
On the other hand, withdrawal symptoms from heavy long-term alcohol abuse can kill, while withdrawal symptoms from sugar are very much milder. So there’s also room to argue that they’re not comparable on those grounds.
Sugar is a chemical addiction, comparable to cocaine: True or False?
False, broadly. There are overlaps! For example, sugar drives impulsivity to seek more of the substance, and leads to changes in neurobiological brain function which alter emotional states and subsequent behaviours:
However!
Cocaine triggers a release of dopamine (as does sugar), but cocaine also acts directly on our brain’s ability to remove dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine:
…meaning that in terms of comparability, they (to use a metaphor now, not meaning this literally) both give you a warm feeling, but sugar does it by turning up the heating a bit whereas cocaine does it by locking the doors and burning down the house. That’s quite a difference!
Sugar is a behavioral addiction, comparable to video gaming: True or False?
True, with the caveat that this a “yes and” situation.
There are behavioral aspects of sugar addiction that can reasonably be compared to those of video gaming, e.g. compulsion loops, always the promise of more (without limiting factors such as overdosing), anxiety when the addictive element is not accessible for some reason, reduction of dopaminergic sensitivity leading to a craving for more, etc. Note that the last is mentioning a chemical but the mechanism itself is still behavioral, not chemical per se.
So, yes, it’s a behavioral addiction [and also arguably chemical in the manners we’ve described earlier in this article].
For science for this, we refer you back to:
Want more?
You might want to check out:
Take care!
Our Sponsors Make This Publication Possible
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This Or That?
Vote on Which is Healthier
Yesterday we asked you to choose between stevia and acesulfame potassium—we picked the stevia (click here to read about why), as did 79% of you!
Now for today’s choice:
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Click on whichever you think is better for you!
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One-Minute Book Review
100 No-Equipment Workouts: Easy to Follow Home Workouts Suitable for all Fitness Levels – by Neila Rey
For those of us who for whatever reason prefer to exercise at home rather than at the gym, we must make do with what exercise equipment we can reasonably install in our homes. This book deals with that from the ground upwards—literally!
If you have a few square meters of floorspace (and a ceiling that’s not too low, for exercises that involve any kind of jumping), then all 100 of these zero-equipment exercises are at-home options.
As to what kinds of exercises they are, they each marked as being one or both of “cardio” and “strength”.
They’re also marked as being of “difficulty level” 1, 2, or 3, so that someone who hasn’t exercised in a while (or hasn’t exercised like this at all), can know where best to start, and how best to progress.
The exercises come with clear explanations in the text, and clear line-drawing illustrations of how to do each exercise. Really, they could not be clearer; this is top quality pragmatism, and reads like a military manual.
Bottom line: whatever your strength and fitness goals, this book can see you well on your way to them (if not outright get you there already in many cases). It’s also an excellent “all-rounder” for full-body workouts.
Penny For Your Thoughts?
What did you think of today's newsletter?We always love to hear from you, whether you leave us a comment or even just a click in the poll if you're speeding by! |
May today see you well-prepared for the coming weekend,
The 10almonds Team
