Sugar Addiction: Fact or Fiction?

Sugar is a delicious food that triggers the reward system in our brain due to both its energy content and taste, and it is the main face of processed foods that cause food addiction. The general effects of sugar in the brain, and especially its effects on the brain's reward pathways, have been an area of ​​intense research and discussion. Sugar consumption activates the mesocorticolimbic system in a similar way to substance use. Depending on sugar intake, there is an increase in dopamine D1 receptor binding and a decrease in D2 receptor connection in the brain, and this change in dopamine levels may lead to deprivation first and then to continued sugar intake. High blood sugar levels affect the hypothalamic appetite peptides as well as the regulation of peripherally released appetite hormones. These changes in brain neurochemistry that occur with sugar intake, although smaller in magnitude, are similar to those that occur with substance use. Considering the negative effects of sugar on human health, it is clear that the addiction it can create will have serious consequences. Based on these reasons, it is important to take steps in which the government and industry act together, for both individual and public health, in order to reduce sugar consumption.