The food industry is notorious for its use of sugar and hidden sweeteners to enhance food and drink flavors . This can potentially cause sugar addiction.
From your breakfast cereal to your favourite frozen pizza, sugar is added to almost every processed food on the market today. By processed food I mean most foods that come out of a packet and that are man-made. At first glance, this seems like a harmless addition to enhance taste and make foods more palatable.
However, many experts in the food addiction field now believe that the food industry’s excessive use of sugar is causing a global epidemic of obesity , eating problems (binge eating, overeating) and addiction to sugar.
Sugar is believed to be one of the most addictive substances in the world. Although still unrecognised by the WHO (World Health Organisation ) and the DSM-5 (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illness) , it is becoming more evident that many are struggling to stop or reduce the consumption of highly sugary foods and drinks.
I see this problem often amongst friends and patients. They’re unable to give up certain foods like bread, pasta , cakes , highly sugary drinks …. We know that when we eat sugar, our brains releases dopamine . Dopamine , also known as the ‘happy’ hormone , provides a rush of pleasure . The more sugar we eat, the more dopamine is released. This can lead to a vicious cycle of addiction. Who can have just a small amount of chocolate , cake , biscuits … one we start… In sugar addiction we’re frequently seeking that rush of pleasure to blunt negative emotions, frustration, anger , resentment and other negative feelings.
In addition to sugar, the food industry uses hidden sweeteners such as high-fructose corn syrup, aspartame , cane sugar, cane syrup and many others. These sweeteners are often disguised under different names, making it difficult for consumers to identify them. In fact, some processed foods contain more than one sweetener. Although many of them are low in calories they might encourage overeating by enhancing the taste buds and sending signals to the brain reward system to release even more dopamine.
Many experts now believe that the use of sugar by the food industry is creating a public health crisis. Furthermore sugar consumption has been linked to a range of health issues, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Despite this, the food industry continues to be allowed by governments to add excessive amounts of sugar and sweeteners to their products, further fuelling this global health epidemic. In conclusion, it is essential to be mindful of the food industry’s use of sugar and hidden sweeteners. By avoiding processed foods and consuming natural, whole foods instead, we can prevent fallen into the cycle of sugar addiction and improve our overall health and well-being. By becoming aware of our behaviour around sugar we can learn if we need to seek help to break this cycle.
