Is Sugar Addictive?
Is sugar addictive? Michael Moss is making the rounds on television shows saying that it is. He is pitching his new book, Hooked, Food, Free Will, and How Food Giants Exploit Our Addictions. Click here for more info on his book. Americans certainly have a taste for sugar. We consume an average of 152 lbs every year! Our little ones kick up a fuss over sugary foods both before and after eating them. Adults often overindulge at dessert bars saying, “I just can’t help myself.” Do these behaviors an addiction make?
Why Do We Eat Sugar?
It all begins at birth. Our brains are hardwired to prefer a sugary flavor. That makes evolutionary sense because mother’s milk is extremely sweet. Our other tastes develop over time. The next one that makes itself known is bitter. In this case, we are hardwired against bitterness. That also makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. Bitter flavors are associated with toxins. Our inborn aversion helped to ensure our survival, especially when we learned to crawl and put everything in our mouth. Most Americans learn to overcome our bitter aversion over time. Most of us enjoy coffee, tea, and chocolate. Does that hold for sugar too? Can we learn to reject it?
The habit of adding sugar to our food began with the British. They liked to cut the bitterness of their tea with added sugar. Thus, began the sugar plantations in the Caribbean and the slave trade to feed their appetite. The history of sugar production is awful. Click here for a NYTimes story on this topic.
The health effects of sugar are poor as well, not only due to dental cavities, but its empty calories displace more nutritious foods. The overconsumption of sugar leads to obesity and nearly every major, deadly, chronic disease in the U.S. Which begs the question. Is sugar addictive?
Addiction Definitions
The answer depends on how you define addiction. The classic definition given by Merriam-Webster (click here) defines it as a compulsive, chronic, physiological or psychological need for a habit-forming substance…causing well-defined symptoms upon withdrawal or abstinence. Dr. Steven Melemis produced an excellent You Tube defining addiction. (Click here to watch). He adds that addiction is progressive, i.e., more and more of the substance is needed for the same, immediate, pleasure-producing effects. Second, its use interferes with daily life.
Definitions for addiction have been extended in recent years. The Medical Dictionary (click here) now identifies two types: substance abuse (e.g., alcoholism, drug abuse, and smoking) and process addictions (e.g., gambling, spending, and eating disorders). Moss defines addiction simply as “a repetitive behavior that some people find difficult to quit.” He asserts that food is a drug. The American Psychiatric Association (click here) states that people with a substance abuse disorder show changes in the areas of the brain that relate to judgment, learning, memory and behavioral control. Changes in brain structure “cause people to have intense cravings, changes in personality, abnormal movements, and other behaviors.”
Looking at this set of definitions for addiction, I don’t think sugar is addictive. However, many people are in the habit of consuming large quantities of sugar. Moss is also correct in asserting processed foods exploit our genetic preference for sweet flavors. The major food companies simply capitalize on biology and don’t care what impact their products have on our health. Their concern is only their own bottom line. That’s obviously not good for us.
Cutting Back on Sugar
No good can come from eating a large amount of sugar, but we don’t have to. Our food consumption patterns are learned and what is learned can be unlearned. Of course, weaning from a large intake requires some amount of time. For example, I started eating steel cut oats almost every morning during COVID lockdown. I began with adding some brown sugar and fruit. I gradually cut back on the amount of sugar and now within the last two months, I’ve learned to eat it with just fruit and nuts added. It’s perfectly acceptable (even though, I would still like sugar if it were added). Some cultures get along with very little sugar in their diets. Have you ever had bean paste desserts from South Korea? Some consume much more than Americans do (e.g., Mexico).
It’s a matter of what you are used to and what you have come to expect. In my case, I will continually cut back on my sugar for my own health’s sake and only occasionally have a treat (like peach ice cream in August or a chocolate truffle on Valentine’s Day). I might be a nutritionist, but I am not a Calvinist!
Sugar and Dementia
In dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, tastes change as the brain changes. Strong anecdotal evidence suggests that the preference for sweet becomes keen in these patients, much like it is for youngsters. My own husband used to love chocolate and coffee. Chai tea was his favorite. He long ago began rejecting those bitter flavors but consumes sweet milk shakes and puddings with enthusiasm. Is he addicted? No. But he knows what he likes. I can train my own taste buds, but I can’t train his. His preferences are dictated by his own unique biology at this point, and we are glad for whatever he is willing to eat.
Wrap-Up
If concern for the public health and well-being of Americans is made prominent, the best way to cut back on sugar consumption is to cut back on sugar subsidies ($4 billion/year). If the ingredient becomes more expensive, big food manufacturers won’t use it so freely. Right now, sugar, and especially high fructose corn syrup, is cheap and found in almost everything (including dog food!). Policy and price changes could turn our infatuation around, addictions be damned!
