Confessions of a Sugar Junkie

"All I ever really want is sugar."

- Andy Warhol -

johnryansolis.com

I’m a sugar junkie, bona fide. I love sweets in all its shapes and forms; cookies, cakes, brownies, doughnuts. Tempt me with anything sweet and delectably artificial and I’ll destroy the entire thing within a matter of minutes. A large packet of chocolate digestives? A whole tub of Ben & Jerry’s Fish Food? Size is no barrier. In fact, I’m usually at my sugar-fuelled worst when “king-sized” is thrown into the equation.

But there’s something about sugar dependency that doesn’t quite evoke the same attention and concern as other addictions. It’s hard to imagine a sugar junkie receiving the same kind of sympathy as an alcoholic or smoker. Perhaps it’s due to the lack of recognition that sugar addiction gets by the medical community or the commonly held notion that sugar is harmless and non-addictive. Either way, there’s such a widespread disdain for sugar addiction that it’s almost embarrassing to identify with. But it shouldn't be disregarded.

I think it’s possible to get addicted to anything. An addiction isn’t always purely physiological but can be psychological as well. A person might get emotionally attached to a particular feeling that an object or activity induces in them, and when that feeling is absent they’ll crave it, but it’s when the compulsion to satisfy this craving becomes uncontrollable that a person is considered an addict. Dr. Nicola Avena who studies aberrant eating behaviours claims that addiction is "characterized by a pattern of compulsive, uncontrollable behaviours that occur at the expense of most other activities and intensify with repeated cycles”.

According to recent research, moreover, refined sugar has a physically addictive property similar to many drugs; in fact it’s allegedly more addictive than cocaine. In the scientific paper Intense Sweetness Surpasses Cocaine Reward, Magalie Lenoir and her colleagues report that rats given a choice between sugary water and cocaine overwhelmingly favoured the former. Even rats that were previously addicted to cocaine switched to the sweetened water once it became an option. In her book, Potatoes not Prozac, Dr. Kathleen DesMaisons also likens sugar addiction to drug addiction, explaining that sugar causes our brains to release natural chemicals called "opioids" which produce a feeling of intense pleasure.It's no wonder we keep longing for more.

Personally I didn’t need a study to tell me this; the addictive quality of sugar doesn’t astound me in the slightest. I’ve always had a pretty sketchy relationship with the stuff. My attitude and behaviour at times has been indistinguishable from that of a drug addict, and by that I'm not implying that sugar addiction is homogeneous to all other addictions, some are undoubtedly more physically overwhelming than others. One thing's for sure, a lack of sugar doesn't cause prolonged periods of vomiting and shivering in bed all night as a lack of heroin would do to a heroin addict. What I do mean, on the other hand, is that my desire for sugar has at times become so overpowering that it defies all logic and rational thought. I keep going back for more even when I want to stop; eating sugar becomes default behaviour rather than a pleasurable choice, and in that sense I could possibly compare myself to a heroin addict.

Let me sum up the inanity that addiction bestows on an otherwise reasonable and intelligent person. I can spend hours anxiously craving for something sweet; a tub of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream or a box of Oreo cookies. My use of the word hours is no exaggeration, I’ve gone for days intermittently fantasising about cream-filled doughnuts before until eventually I had I have one (or five). I’ll think meticulously about how I’m going to get my next fix, and the possibility of going without sugar will turn me into a nervous wreck - not merely irritable but downright miserable. 

Then after a period of deprivation the withdrawal pangs begin to emerge: shaking, twitching, headaches, nausea, lethargy, the list goes on. Regardless of whether they’re psychological or genuine physical symptoms, this is the point at which I cave in and start to ravage cupboards and fridges looking for something loaded with sugar: cakes, biscuits, muffins, soda, cream; white sugar granules straight from the bag will suffice if need be. When I finally get my hands on something, I’ll binge until I’m on the verge of throwing up. Just as an alcoholic isn’t capable of having a few drinks, a sugar addict can’t just have “a few” slices of cake without devouring the entire thing.

And then there’s the secretive behaviour. Unlike most drugs sugar is a socially acceptable indulgence, so you can pretty much pump your blood full of it all day and no one will bat an eyelid, but in spite of this, a sugar junkie will start to act as if they’re doing something bad, perhaps out of shame. It’s embarrassing to confess but I’ve done some pretty shady things over the years to conceal my sugar dependence: hidden biscuits in my pockets, eaten under tables, lied about where I was going so that I could sneak off and binge on chocolate, you name it.

I'm not saying that everyone who eats cakes and biscuits will inexorably become addicted. Just as some people can experiment with or recreationally use drugs without forming an addiction, there are many who seem able to include sugar in their diets and even indulge occasionally without problems. I do know, though, that I’m not alone in my plight. In being open and honest about my issues over the past few months, quite a few people have admitted to me that they've also struggled to maintain a healthy relationship with sugar.

As with most addictions, the first step to dealing with the issue is to recognise that there’s a problem, but many people downplay their addictions. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve heard someone claim they’re able to enjoy a sugary treat every now and then without becoming addicted yet they can’t seem to finish a meal without eating "something sweet" afterwards. Or you’ll see them wolfing down a doughnut and sipping a Pepsi for lunch every day, a bit like the "social smoker" who insists they're not addicted to nicotine but can’t seem to avoid having that "one cigarette" each night after dinner.

I think that the overconsumption of sugar is passive for a lot of us, which is probably why it’s seldom regarded as habit forming. It’s not just in confectionary but a great amount of what we eat contains sugar - salad dressing, peanut butter, jam, ketchup, bread, yogurt, canned fruits and vegetables. We don't realise just how much and how often we're putting it into our bodies, and I guess even when it is brought to our attention most of us tend to be fairly nonchalant about it since the general assumption is that it's innocuous.

Over time, though, I’ve come to think of my volatile relationship with sugar as equivalent to drug addiction. In his book, Drugs & the human body: With implications for society, Ken Liska defines a drug as “any absorbed substance that changes or enhances any physical or psychological function in the body”. There’s no denying the sudden burst of energy that I get when I devour a chocolate sundae and my blood sugar level skyrockets, and then there's the "comedown" from the high as it plummets just as quickly. I repeatedly endure these highs and crashes, along with the plethora of withdrawal symptoms, despite how often I vow never to go near the stuff again. If that isn’t indicative of an addict, then I don’t know what is. 

There’s a rapidly increasing weight of evidence to support the existence of sugar addiction, though it’s continuously being debated by scientists. Still, I try not to get too caught up in the scientific verdict on the issue. The only evidence that I can reliably allude to is my own experience, and this unquestionably affirms that sugar addiction is real.