Why are we addicted to sugar ?

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Sugar, omnipresent in our modern diet, exerts a powerful attraction on us, human beings (but not only!), a quasi-irresistible attraction comes from mechanisms that push us to consume more and more of it, despite the proven risks to our health. From obesity to diabetes, including cardiovascular diseases and dental caries, the consequences of overconsumption of sugar are now well documented. Yet we struggle to reduce our consumption, and it has never been higher. This apparent contradiction between our knowledge of the risks and our behavior reveals the complexity of our relationship with this food.

Let's explore the biological, psychological, and societal reasons that explain our addiction to sugar, in order to better understand why this substance, once rare and precious, has become a real public health issue in our contemporary societies.

An innate predisposition to sweet taste

Our attraction to sugar is rooted in our evolution. From the fetal stage, we already develop a preference for sweet tastes. Inès Barkatou, in her thesis; The influence of the sugar industry in health research; cites a study by De Snoo: “injection of a sweet taste stimulus into the amniotic fluid causes increased fetal swallowing, which has been interpreted as a positive response to sugar “. Not even born and already attracted? Yes, in a way.

At birth, this preference is confirmed. Ganchrow and his colleagues, cited in the same thesis, observed in their research that newborns show a positive response, measurable by facial expressions, to a sweet taste stimulus: ” These positive expressions consist of a raising of the corners of the lips, a sucking of the lips and fingers, the opening and closing of the lips, and the rhythmic protrusion of the tongue [Editor's note: repetitive and voluntary movement of the tongue that comes out of the mouth] “.

This innate predilection for sugar would have an adaptive value, which has favored our survival over the centuries. As Beauchamp explains, “there would be no food in nature that is both sweet and toxic, while many plant poisons have a bitter taste“. The sweet taste therefore served as a marker to locate sources of glucose, essential to the functioning of our body.

When sugar hijacks our reward system

Beyond simple taste preference, sugar does not just delight our taste buds, but powerfully activates the brain's reward circuit. It triggers a release of dopamine in the brain, which makes us want more and more. Serge Ahmed, a neurobiologist at the Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, explains in this Inserm article: “We have shown that rats clearly prefer sugar water to intravenous heroin or cocaine, no matter how high the dose! This very robust result has been reproduced with methamphetamine in the United States. It therefore demonstrates a high addictive potential ».

In humans, brain imaging reveals that sugar consumption activates the same areas as drugs with a high addictive potential. Sugar thus triggers a feeling of pleasure and satisfaction that pushes us to consume more and more of it. As Ahmed points out: « The addiction is therefore not only to the sweet taste, but also to sugar, the passage of which into the blood creates pleasure ».

In addition, sugar acts on two levels: first on the tongue via the taste receptors, then in the brain through the influx of blood glucose. This double stimulation therefore reinforces its addictive power. The addiction is therefore not simply linked to the sweet taste, but to the physiological effect of sugar on our body.

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An omnipresence that reinforces l’addiction

While our biology predisposes us to love sugar, our modern environment exacerbates this tendency and the latter has become omnipresent in our diet, well beyond simple candy and other sweets. This 2017 study, published in the National Library of Medicine, reveals that ” two-thirds of the pre-packaged products studied contain added sugars “. It is found in the vast majority of processed products, even savory ones, where it plays a role as a flavor enhancer or preservative.

The food industry exploits our natural attraction to sugar by adding it massively to its products. Pascale Modaï, nutritionist and addiction specialist, emphasizes: “Many patients, without having eating disorders (bulimia, anorexia, etc.), complain of not being able to resist sweet foods like candy, or fatty and sugary foods like chocolate or biscuits. Their behavior corresponds to the symptoms of addictions […]Obesity can be a consequence of this loss of control, but beware of demagogy, it is too easy to tell the patient that he must avoid excess when we have no solution to offer him! These public information messages are useless and stigmatize him. He knows very well that eating too much sugar is bad and he would like to stop! But for many, food is an easily accessible source of pleasure. This is why this addiction affects so many people in a very anxiety-provoking general climate ».

Marketing techniques make these foods ultra-available and attractive, especially for a vulnerable audience: children. This overabundance of sugar in our environment makes weaning very difficult. Jean-Pierre Couteron, president of the Addiction Federation, notes: “Distributors on train or metro platforms, online purchases, etc., everything is permanently accessible, with a simple click“.

We also often associate sugar with moments of pleasure or comfort since childhood: birthdays, holidays, snacks after school, snacking in front of Netflix, etc. This emotional component further reinforces its addictive power. In a context of stress or anxiety, many turn to sweet foods to reassure themselves, creating a vicious circle that is difficult to break. Our sugar addiction is therefore the result of a complex alchemy, where very diverse factors are intertwined, from the roots of our evolution to the dubious practices of manufacturers. Ironic, isn't it ? It's what comforts us the most that sometimes ends up destroying us : a classic paradox of human nature.

• Our attraction to sugar begins in fetal life and has evolved to help us identify safe and energetic foods.
• Sugar activates the same brain circuits as some drugs, creating an addiction reinforced by its omnipresence in our diet.
• Sugar is linked to moments of comfort and pleasure, exacerbating addiction, in an environment where it is very easily accessible.

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