Sugar Addiction Has Similar Effect to Drugs Addiction!

Did you know high dosage of sugar consumption is as dangerous as poison said Robert Lustig, M.D., a neuroendocrinologist in University of California? If that shocks you, you’re not alone!

In a first world country like America, health-conscious organizations like American Heart Association and even World Health Organization (WHO) are already give out a warning on excessive sugar consumption. What’s excessive? They suggested that we should not consume any more than 6 teaspoon of sugar per day, which is around 90 grams. This recommendation was given because the startling number of average sugar consumption of American people, which hit 32 kg per year. “The long-term implications are the scariest part,” said Mark Hyman, MD, the writer of The Blood Sugar Solutio 10-Day Detox Diet.

The long-term damages are not limited to diabetes and cavities; excessive sugar consumption can also cause obesity, colon cancer and even Alzheimer’s. A research showed that people with a proportional weight but consume too much sugar will have twice the risk of getting cardiovascular diseases.

Most people are not aware that they actually are addicted to sugar. Our bodies produce glucose – one of the contents of sugar that gives us energy, from fat, protein and carbohydrate that we consumed. A psychologist Ashley Gearhardt, Ph.D. said that sugar or anything that’s sweet activates the pleasure center in our brain. A research even showed that sugar impairs our brain, similar to how drugs affect the brain of a drug addict, said Nicole Avena, Ph.D., the writer of Why Diets Fail: Because You’re Addcited To Sugar. Another research also said that there’s no difference in addiction to sugary foods to addiction to drugs!

“A lot of people consume sugar more than the recommended serving size but they don’t even know that they’re eating too much of it,” said Nicole Avena, Ph.D. This is because most food that claimed to be healthy actually has a lot of hidden sugar in it. To make sure that people are sticking to the 6 teaspoon a day recommendation, FDA have asked nutritionist that’s responsible in food labeling to separate added sugar and natural sugar in the nutritional facts labels. So far, we’re only given the total amount of sugar in a package.

So, how much sugar do you actually consume in a day? We have to start to be smarter about our sugar consumption! Start counting the amount of sugar that goes in to your meals in a day, and from there you can gradually reduce it to the recommended daily serving size. Sugar might seem harmless, but trust the experts, it can be as toxic as poison to your body in the long term!