Are Foods High in Sugar as Addictive as Drugs?

Do sugar rich foods, fat rich foods, and drugs have anything in common? Researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine say “yes”. They’ve discovered that foods high in sugar and fat may be just as addictive as some drugs which could partially explain the rising rate of obesity in this country.

To test this idea, researchers gave rats standard rat food for five days followed by chocolate flavored foods that were high in sugar for two days. After eating the sugar rich food, the rats were reluctant to eat their standard rat chow and showed signs of anxiety. When they were again offered foods high in sugar, they ate larger than normal quantities and their anxious behavior disappeared. The rats had very quickly developed signs of an addiction to sugar rich foods and were stressed when they were unable to obtain them. When they finally did get the sweet foods they craved, they overcompensated by eating more. Could humans exhibit a similar pattern of addiction to food?

The researchers wanted to know exactly what was happening in the rats’ brains when they were deprived of the sugar rich foods they craved. They found when the rats weren’t offered foods high in sugar, levels of a protein called corticotrophin-releasing factor or CRF was higher. The activation of CRF, during periods when foods high in sugar aren’t available, causes stress and anxiety and motivates a rat (or person) to seek out the sugar rich foods they crave – similar to the way a drug addicted person seeks out drugs. The researchers found that when the rats were given foods high in sugar, their CRF levels dropped.

This experiment makes it easier to see how stress could motivate a person to eat foods high in sugar and other high carb comfort foods. It could also explain why emotional eating and carb addictions occur. When sugar rich foods are eaten, the body releases chemicals similar to opioids which give intense pleasure – further fueling food addictions. Some experts believe that breaking addictions to foods high in sugar is just as challenging as overcoming a drug or alcohol addiction. Plus, the fact that foods high in sugar are so readily available makes it easier to develop an addiction in the first place.

The way around an addiction to sugar rich foods? Eliminate sweet foods from your diet for four weeks. After a month away from them, chances are you won’t crave them as much anymore and you’ll be less motivated to seek them out. Give it a try, it really works.