When you think of the addictions that plague people’s mental health and wellbeing, let’s be honest, you think of something hardcore. However, according to wellness writer Cheryl Wischhover, there’s scientific evidence that sugar – yes, sugar – can be just as addictive as cigarettes or drugs (and not in that ‘Oh, I’m totally addicted to these cronuts!’ kind of way).
In fact, neuroscientist and addiction expert Nicole M. Avena, PhD, just published a book with co-author John R. Talbott called, Why Diets Fail: Because You’re Addicted to Sugar. The book is based on 10 years of research on food dependency, and explains how exactly you are addicted to the sweet stuff. Avena details, ‘There are these pathways in the brain that are known to be activated by substance abuse and they happen to be the same pathways that can be activated by food. This might explain in part why so many people have a hard time controlling their intake even though you know you’re only supposed to have one or two cookies.’
‘As a person who has killed an entire box of Oreos in two sittings, this resonates with me,’ Wischhover admits. ‘The data shows that about 11% of the general population meets the criteria for food addiction. Because it’s so palatable, sugar is one of the more common things humans crave. Like any good addiction programme, the first step is admitting you have a problem. For me, this involved taking a modified version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale, which can be found in Avena’s book. I knew I was in trouble after the first two questions: “I find myself consuming certain foods even though I am no longer hungry” and “I worry about cutting down on certain foods.”’
Wischhover continues, ‘While I knowingly do things like dump extra sugar in my coffee and snack on yogurt that is so sweet it makes my teeth hurt, sugar is lurking in lots of unexpected places, like salad dressing and salami. SALAMI. You have to really read labels.’ However, before you try and cut out sugar altogether, you might want to take Avena’s recommended stepwise approach. ‘People talk about quitting cold turkey, and while that might work for some people, the foods containing sugar are just so vast,’ she warns. ‘It can be really overwhelming to try to give them all up at once. You have to come up with something to eat instead that will satisfy your craving.’
‘Giving up sugar too quickly can also cause traditional withdrawal symptoms,’ Wischhover notes. ‘In animal studies, rats that had been fed a steady diet of sugar water exhibited signs of depression, anxiety, and lethargy when the sweet water was removed…Avena’s approach involves giving up things every few weeks. Start by removing sugary beverages like juice and soda, then move on to junk food, then reduce—though not completely remove—carbohydrates such as cereal and bread. Finally, you should try to reduce those foods containing “hidden” sugar like the aforementioned salad dressings. (Condiments are sneaky—even mayonnaise contains sugar!) This requires educating yourself about all the aliases sugar goes by on packaging.’
In fact, Avena points out that there are as many different names for sugar as there are weeks in the year. ‘It’s not going to say just “sugar” on the back,’ she cautions. ‘It might say “maltodextrose” or “dextrin,” or some other chemical sounding name. Unless you’re familiar with it, you won’t know that it’s just a code word for sugar.’ Wischhover adds, ‘Finally, giving up sugar should revive your taste buds. I mentioned to Avena that over the holidays I tried to substitute a handful of blueberries for a handful of M&M’s with poor results. She said that because we’re so over-stimulated with sweetness all day, we don’t notice it in foods that are naturally sweet.’
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