Sugar Addiction Can Be Real
posted 06/25/02
Princeton University researchers
have found evidence that
urges to consume sugar really can be a form of addiction.
The researchers studied rats that were induced to binge
on sugar and found that they exhibited all the signs of
addictive withdrawal, including "the shakes" and changes
in brain chemistry. Sugar triggers production of the
brain's natural opioids, which researchers said may be
"a key to the addiction process. The brain is getting
addicted to its own opioids as it would to morphine or
heroin. Drugs give a bigger effect, but it is essential-
ly the same process." More research is needed to see if
the findings in the rats can be applied completely to
humans. Meanwhile, the findings might "change the way
the person might look at (sugar cravings)," researchers
said. "It puts it in the realm of an addictive disorder
rather than a failure of willpower."
Source: Pulse, Inc., United
Press International.