2023-09-20 05:34:55
At the University of Bordeaux, other experiments are launched. These studies will demonstrate that humans can also be addicted to sugar. In our brain, sugar activates what scientists call reward circuit, this mechanism which explains why an addict will always consume more. Serge Ahmed explains: “In our brain, we have approximately 86 billion neurons. The reward circuit is 1 million of these neurons. They have a very important influence on our behavior. Sugar, like drugs, activates this reward circuit, which explains why we will repeat our consumption, now and in the future. At first, we consume sugar for the pleasure it brings, then we get used to the pleasure and it may disappear but the consumption continues, more and more. The reward circuit is always activated. And so, with sugar, we can talk regarding a drug in the sense that a drug is a substance that we consume, which produces pleasure at the beginning and activates the reward circuit. So yes, sugar can be considered a drug and some of us can be considered addicts.”
5 to 10 percent of the population is addicted to sugar
For the researcher, Serge Ahmed, we are not all equal when it comes to the reward circuit and addiction. Not everyone can become addicted to sugar. “Not everyone who exposes themselves to sugar will develop an addiction. There is a category of the population that can become addicted to products that contain a lot of added sugars. It is estimated that it is regarding 5 to 10% of people. This percentage rises to 20% among obese people. In terms of public health, this is huge.“
In Belgium, nearly a million people are potentially addicted to sugar. This estimate is worrying.
But how can we reverse the trend, how can we fight once morest both overconsumption and addiction to sweet taste? Moderate your consumption, remove advertisements for sodas and sweets? Some people think we need to go further and remove all added simple sugars from our diet.
This is the case of the designer, Emilie Gleason.
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