Sugar addiction compares to cocaine . . .

We all know how bad sugar is.  We all know how addictive it is.  I personally have experienced it for years.  I saw this on the Dr. Phil show and a picture is worth a thousand words.  Next time I get a craving I will pull this up 

The PET brain scan below shows a person reacts in the same way to sugar as they do to cocaine which causes addiction. Wow, surprising similarities, right?

I saw this episode.  She was a Mountain Dew train wreck

OMG! Did you see the amount of mountain dew she consumed?  I don't know how she is alive. All that, 90 pounds and smoking?

Sugar is bad. I hate when I go to AA there is so much. I started having a cookie at meetings then I realized I was eating more than one. I was going to meetings daily. 

I became where I wanted to eat them more and more. I even got sick from eating them. Still went back. That damn addiction sucks. 

You are sooooooooo RIGHT!  I bought some pumpkin cookies I was going to make for the grand kids and tried just one to see how they tasted.  Before I knew it I was eating another one and another.  AND, I felt terrible after.  I threw them out!  I never connected the dots for years why I could not eat just one chocolate kiss or peanut butter cup.  Once I had surgery I learned from others.

But, to see our brain scan and the effect is the same as cocaine?  YIKES!

Here's some of the original science! Observations and takeaways in layman's terms:

Sugar and drugs work on the same brain chemicals that make you happy. 

If you get a rat hooked on sugar, then take it away, the withdrawal symptoms can look a LOT like opiate withdrawal.

Similarly, if you get a rat hooked up with a high sugar tolerance, it will ALSO have a high tolerance for morphine.

Lab rats were able to choose between drinking swee****er (sugar or a calorie-free sweetener) and having IV cocaine. Almost ALL of the rats went for the sugar-- no matter what dose of cocaine, even if the addict rats had built up a tolerance and got huge doses, and no matter how much harder they needed to work to get it.

Very interesting!

toss up for me...they're both fun!

It's so true.  Quitting my soda habit was one of the hardest things I have ever done.  I had the urge to drink soda for years afterwards.  It has been close to 8 years now and I don't have any more urges to drink soda any more.  But I don't dare drink even a sip!!!  I feel if I did I would be right back where I was.  All I drink now is water and tea and I am more than satisfied with that. 

Hi Crystal,

I can relate. Pre WLS I drank Pepsi from the time I got up until I went to bed and had a bottle sitting on the night stand.  NO DIET  

My drink of choice now is water and tea.  BTW, you can remove that ? blue box thing in your signature line area by clicking * in the upper right hand corner, settings, message board.  Back what ever you have there and then save.  If you need help, let me know