You had a bagel for breakfast....and now it's 10:30 am, and like a junkie you're already craving more food. Well.....scientist say that that drug comparison… might not be far off. A study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says refined carbs like sugar, corn syrup, or white flour for instance, could trigger food cravings that are similar to the cravings experienced by drug addicts. The study which looked at men ranging from overweight to obese, hypothesizes that the sharp drop in blood sugar after eating cookies or chips, may not only make you hungrier, but also makes the idea of eating, more rewarding and pleasurable to your brain. David Lugwig who coauthored the study, pointed out that these foods "hijack the highly evolutionarily based reward system, putting it into overdrive." Our bodies break down carbohydrates into sugar or glucose and when we eat refined carbs, it causes our blood sugar to spike. Where as if we eat something like vegetables, it takes a long time to break down…slowly raising our blood sugar. Lugwig and his colleages gave 12 participants one of two identical tasting drinks. One contained corn syrup and the other corn starch. The corn syrup based drinks caused a rapid rise in blood sugar levels in test subjects, who then reported being very hungry after their blood sugar levels crashed. Scans of their brains showed activation in their reward and addiction regions.
Earlier this year, another study done, showed rats who easily became addicted to cocaine also apparently became addicted to high-fructose corn syrup. Study author Francesco Leri said "We have evidence in lab animals of a shared vulnerability to develop preferences for sweet foods and for cocaine. There is now convincing neurobiological and behavioral evidence indication that addiction to food, is possible." Previous research has also shown that when animals get "hooked" on sugar, taking it away can lead to symptoms that look like withdrawals in addicts. That's something to think about when you're standing in line at Starbucks.
