Sugar Addiction Effects

What Are The Effects of Sugar Addiction

Although sugar addiction may not seem as serious as substance abuse issues with drugs and alcohol, the consequences of sugar addiction and overconsumption of sugar are very real.

Understanding the physical and mental effects of sugar addiction is the first step to identifying the risks of this condition. With better education about the risks of sugar, more individuals struggling may reach out for help and achieve a life free of sugar dependence and addiction.

Physical Effects of Sugar Addiction

Sugar’s negative effect on physical health has been a huge focus of the diet and fitness industry for decades.

Not all sugar is bad; many fruits, vegetables, and grains have natural sugars our body needs to function. However, excessive sugar intake can lead to many physical health complications.

Nausea

Having an overload of sugar in your body can cause feelings of sickness or nausea because your body cannot utilize and store the excess sugar properly. Sugar, especially super sweet high-fructose corn syrup, can stimulate short-term insulin release and cause your blood sugar to spike.

Super sugary foods like candy, ice cream, cereals, soft drinks, and carbohydrates can cause these blood sugar spikes. The rapid change in blood sugar can also lead to feelings of nausea.

Fatigue

Feeling tired after eating foods with high sugar content is quite common. Fatigue from sugar typically happens because sugar intake decreases the activity of the hormone orexin.

Orexin helps regulate sleep/wake stability and feeding behavior, and sugar can cause the inactivation of orexin, leading to fatigue. Consuming sugar also causes blood sugar levels to spike and then drop, leading to fatigue.

Dental Decay

Sugar consumption can worsen dental decay, leading to bad breath, cavities, root canals, and gum disease. Dental decay occurs because sugar interacts with the bacteria within the plaque to produce acid, slowly dissolving your teeth’s enamel.

Joint Pain

Eating large amounts of sugar can worsen joint pain due to how sugar causes inflammation. In addition, research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition indicates that eating or drinking sugar can increase your risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.

Cardiovascular Disease

High-sugar diets and sugar addiction can lead to extra insulin in your bloodstream, which can cause artery walls to become inflamed.

Over time, artery walls grow thicker and more stiff, causing stress and damage to your heart. Such damage can lead to heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes.

According to research, lowering your sugar intake can help blood pressure, which is a major risk for heart disease. Individuals who eat a lot of added sugar are twice as likely to die of heart disease.

Type 2 Diabetes

By far, the largest physical effect of sugar addiction is the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The hormone insulin helps metabolize sugar, but if too much sugar is in the body and glucose levels rise, then insulin resistance can occur.

The risk of type 2 diabetes increases with extreme weight gain and obesity. Eventually, insulin resistance can lead to type 2 diabetes.

Artificial sweeteners are often considered a solution for type 2 diabetics, but certain artificial sweeteners can increase cravings, food intake, and weight gain since your body still craves the sweet taste of these non-sugar sweeteners.

Mental Effects of Sugar Addiction

Despite the ongoing debate on sugar addiction’s existence, research has shown that overeating sugar can produce addiction-like effects in the human brain.

Some of sugar’s effects on the brain are similar to those of addictive drugs, even causing withdrawal symptoms when abstaining from sugar.

Sugar Cravings

Research from Columbia University has indicated that sugar activates the same receptors opioids activate in the brain. Consuming sugar affects the brain’s reward system and dopamine receptors, which leads to cravings and compulsive behavior.

The brain’s reward center releases the feel-good chemical dopamine, a hormone that’s closely tied to addiction. Intense sugar cravings can occur as the brain becomes dependent on the release of dopamine caused by sweet food.

Anxiety

Anxiety is a common effect of eating a high amount of sugar. The body releases insulin to help absorb the excess sugar and stabilize blood sugar levels. However, the resulting sugar rush can make the body work too hard to get back to normal, causing increased anxiety.

Depressed Mood

There is a link between the overconsumption of sugar and depression, according to a study from the University College London. It’s believed that the connection between sugar addiction and depression is due in part to the inflammation sugar tends to cause.

Although depression is a complex mental health condition with many contributing factors, many healthcare providers recommend cutting back on sugar and weight loss as a way to treat depression.

Difficulty Concentrating

Although overeating sugary foods can boost energy, that surge of alertness doesn’t last long. After about 20 minutes, glucose levels drop, leaving you easily distracted and unfocused.

For people with an occasional sweet tooth, difficulty concentrating passes somewhat quickly.

Sugar addicts, on the other hand, may experience prolonged issues with concentration. As they crash from their sugar rush, sugar withdrawal symptoms kick in and worsen focus even more.

Get Help for Sugar Addiction

Although sugar addiction may not seem as serious as drug addiction, sugar issues can lead to some serious mental and physical effects when left untreated.

Like food addiction, sugar addiction rarely requires inpatient care; therapy and diet changes are often the main form of treatment.

You can start by speaking with your primary healthcare provider about your symptoms and what treatment may work for you.

If you don’t know where to start, you can find a therapist through SAMHSA’s online treatment locator or call 1-800-662-4357 (HELP) to see what providers are in your area.