Sugar Addiction Essay
1
Kylie Greer
ENG-106
January 25, 2015
Diane Goodman
A Nation of Addicts Addiction is commonly associated with such substances as drugs and alcohol; however, there are many that are more common that a majority of people face whether they realize it or not, such as an addiction to sugar. In our current society, we are constantly surrounded by sugar as it is in almost all of the food we eat whether it be a small or large amount. Due to this, one is constantly consuming sugar and does not even realize that they are addicted to this substance. Sugar is an addictive substance because when consumed it causes one to crave more, makes one become dependent upon it, and cycles of addiction are started from a young age. After consuming a sugary food or drink, instead of being satiated one craves it more and this is due to the fact that “sugar abstinence after a relatively long consumption period results in impairment of DRL performance, confirming the parallel effects of addictive drugs and sugar and suggesting an increase in impulsivity as a consequence of sugar deprivation”(Mangabeira, 2015). With one going through the same withdrawal effects as an addictive drug, it is no wonder that sugar is craved and consumed so often in our current society. There are many companies that even add sugar to their products for the sole sake of getting their consumers addicted because they understand the addictive nature associated with sugar and use it to their advantage to get their consumers hooked on their products. These unnatural rates in which sugar is currently being consumed due to the unnecessary infusion of
2
it into products is only worsening this issue of sugar addiction in the current American society.
Another aspect of sugar that classifies it as an addictive substance is the sugar rush experienced when consumed that one becomes dependent upon. According to the encyclopedia of health, “sugar is said to affect the same neurotransmitters in the brain associated with
Kylie Greer
ENG-106
January 25, 2015
Diane Goodman
A Nation of Addicts Addiction is commonly associated with such substances as drugs and alcohol; however, there are many that are more common that a majority of people face whether they realize it or not, such as an addiction to sugar. In our current society, we are constantly surrounded by sugar as it is in almost all of the food we eat whether it be a small or large amount. Due to this, one is constantly consuming sugar and does not even realize that they are addicted to this substance. Sugar is an addictive substance because when consumed it causes one to crave more, makes one become dependent upon it, and cycles of addiction are started from a young age. After consuming a sugary food or drink, instead of being satiated one craves it more and this is due to the fact that “sugar abstinence after a relatively long consumption period results in impairment of DRL performance, confirming the parallel effects of addictive drugs and sugar and suggesting an increase in impulsivity as a consequence of sugar deprivation”(Mangabeira, 2015). With one going through the same withdrawal effects as an addictive drug, it is no wonder that sugar is craved and consumed so often in our current society. There are many companies that even add sugar to their products for the sole sake of getting their consumers addicted because they understand the addictive nature associated with sugar and use it to their advantage to get their consumers hooked on their products. These unnatural rates in which sugar is currently being consumed due to the unnecessary infusion of
2
it into products is only worsening this issue of sugar addiction in the current American society.
Another aspect of sugar that classifies it as an addictive substance is the sugar rush experienced when consumed that one becomes dependent upon. According to the encyclopedia of health, “sugar is said to affect the same neurotransmitters in the brain associated with
References: Mangabeira, V., Garcia-Mijares, M., & Silva, M. A. (2015). Sugar withdrawal and differential reinforcement of low rate (DRL) performance in rats. Physiology & Behavior, 139468-473. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.09.017 Paradowski, R. P. (2012). Sugar addiction. Salem Press Encyclopedia Of Health, Franks, F., Water: A Matrix of Life, 2nd Ed., Royal Society of Chemistry,Cambridge, UK (2000).