Beat Sugar Addiction

How to develop a healthy relationship with sweet foods and enjoy its boons.

- Shivani Nagh noor

A majority of people have sweet tooth and this is the reason why the sugar industry is witnessesing impressive growth worldwide. For people who are addicted to sugar or experience cravings it is hard to let go of the feeling of wanting something sweet. The craving for a sweet treat is chocolate, ice-cream, candies, sodas, donuts and so on.

Sugar in moderate amounts is essential for our body because it is a carbohydrate that supplies the body with required energy needs. Consumption in excess creates negative health consequences and the person is at a risk of suffering from diabetes, obesity, heart failure, cancer and decreased life span.

Reason for sugar addiction

Sugar addiction stimulates reward centres in the brain and the pleasurable effect is similar to natural opioids. The hormones ease pain in a way that is comparable to illegal drugs; the taste of anything sweet is gratifying to many. What is the reason behind the awesome feeling of eating something sweet?

Whenever something sweet is consumed the sweet receptors in the tongue is stimulated and this reaction results in the brain sending excessive reward signals and it compels a person to feel good and it triggers addiction.

The taste of sweetness is just so awesome for a handful of people and we know excess sugar is harmful for health. However, the cravings are so intense that it is difficult to let go of eating more than required sweets. An important point to remember is sugar addiction and cravings are dangerous for not just occurrence of obesity but overall health.

Effect of sugar on heart

Excess sugar is bad for heart’s health. A 2013 study conducted by the Journal of the American Heart Association revealed, high amount of sugar consumption, mostly glucose, causes stress on the heart anddecreases function of heart muscle. If left untreated there are chances of heart failure.