Is Sugar a Drug?

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Drugs, television, and alcohol have, at times, been considered society’s greatest addictions. Today, however, the most serious addiction people have is sugar. 

Sugar has a lot in common with street drugs such as heroin and cocaine.  For starters, they are both highly refined and look similar in appearance.  The taste of sugar stimulates the same endorphin receptor sites that are activated by cocaine.  Eating sweets creates a warm, pleasurable, and comforting feeling that makes the consumer feel instantly happy. Just like any drug, sugar creates adverse health effects such as rotting teeth, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and abnormal brain function.  Furthermore, trying to quit sugar leads to withdrawal symptoms such as teeth chattering, trembling, and irritability.

In many ways, sugar is worse than street drugs.  Children are sadly hooked on sugar at a very young age, and parents feed it to them without knowing that it’s a silent killer. Many babies that are younger than 2 years old have a condition called “bottle rot” – a severe rotting and decay of the teeth, which is caused by the chronic use of a baby bottle filled with fruit juice.  As sugar-fed children grow up, they begin to exhibit behavioural issues such as ADHD and hyperactivity – largely due to the “high” that sugar creates.  Shortly after the high, there are symptoms of a sugar crash such as irritability, tantrums, and crying spells.

If you deny a child sugar, you’ll witness them acting similar to a drug addict.  They beg their parents for candy while crying inconsolably and acting as if they couldn’t survive without their next fix.   

Often times, individuals will abuse sugar when they have emotional issues and they’ll use it as a temporary mood enhancer.   This often becomes a pattern, and overtime sugar becomes a large part of their daily diet.

There is no drug that can be accessed easier than sugar, and it’s also the cheapest substance on the market.  People can easily seek out a sugar fix for under a dollar, and for this reason, it’s very easy to over consume.    

Many people find it impossible to kick the sugar habit, and when asked to stop eating sweet food for even a week, are unable to follow through. Even worse, they are often in denial about their addiction to sugar.  In reality, there should be a “12 Steps” addiction program for the majority of citizens who are addicted to sweets.

Large amounts of sugar silently dwells in foods such as salad dressings, pizza, barbeque sauces, and most processed foods.   Even so called “natural” foods such as fruit juices and yogurts have shocking sugar contents. 

Usually with drugs, peer pressure exists amongst adolescence.  With sugar, however, peer pressure occurs amongst all ages.  Parents and trustworthy figures advocate the consumption of sugar, and it’s accepted as a normal part of social events and daily life.

To conclude, it is obvious that sugar consumption is highly addictive and is a growing problem. In order to find a solution for sugar abuse, it is necessary to first acknowledge its addictive qualities and the long term health consequences – which would ultimately lead to an agreement that sugar is one of society’s greatest addictions.