is sugar addictive?

[brightstar]

More and more I hear that sugar is addictive and that the more you eat it, the hungrier you are and the more you want to eat sugar. Is that true?

[Ron]

More and more I hear that sugar is addictive and that the more you eat it, the hungrier you are and the more you want to eat sugar. Is that true?

That is absolutely true. if you're like most people, you're already hooked on sugar and you don't even know it. It's not a matter of not drinking soda or eating sugary sweets. That does help if you don't eat those things, but if you take a closer look at all of the processed products that you eat, from frozen dinners to spaghetti sauce, then you'll find out that you're loading up on sugar by eating regular things, even if they don't taste sweet at all. And because of that sugar, you're eating more of it than you would if you were eating whole foods.

[LoseItInstantly]

Agree with Ron. Think about it. Sugar (and simple high-glycemic carbs, like grains) is processed very quickly, which means the calories are dumped right into your blood all at once and have to be used. If they aren't, your insulin spikes to try to "burn them off" (very colloquial way of putting that). Once the calories from the sugars are burned (or stored as fat once your body becomes insulin resistant), you have to replenish them in order to keep running. Remember calories are fuel. Your body gets used to quick energy supplies that have to be burned (or stored) quickly. Calories from fats and proteins are processed more slowly and gradually and provide more steady energy that will sustain you. This is why you don't get hungry after eating an omelette as quickly as you do after eating a high-carb breakfast. That's also why you experience carb crashes but not protein crashes. The problem is that you have to sort of retrain your body to function on slow-release calories instead of quick-release, and until that happens, you will crave the quick-release carbs and sugars.