Sugar addiction: Causes, symptoms, and how to overcome it

According to Greenberg D. et al. (2021), food and sweet flavors naturally activate hedonic or pleasure components in the brain, just like drugs do. The difference is that food is essential for survival — drugs and sugar are not.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how the feeling of “need” or “addiction” to sugar consumption develops and how to overcome it.

Is sugar a drug?

The way sugar acts on the brain allows it to be considered a drug — albeit a legal one, consumed by everyone. Numerous studies support this, including the renowned research of Venezuelan scientist Pedro Rada.

His experiments demonstrated that excessive sugar intake also activates the brain’s pleasure circuits, in a way similar to drug addiction. His findings helped explain part of the causes of overweight and obesity, and laid the foundation for sugar-sweetened beverage taxes (Rada, 2008).

Causes of sugar addiction: Why is sugar addictive?

What’s known as «sugar addiction» mainly refers to its ability to trigger a pleasurable sensation after consumption, by activating the reward system in our nervous system. However, this gratification fades quickly, driving a desire to experience it again.

The reward response occurs because sugar, like certain substances, stimulates brain areas such as the nucleus accumbens, which are associated with pleasure and promote high consumption of sugar-rich, artificially sweetened, and processed foods.

Factors that can increase sugar cravings

There are three key factors that can increase your cravings for sugary and processed foods:

1. Insulin resistance: When present, your cells demand more energy because they aren’t receiving it efficiently. Sugar provides quick energy, but it wears off just as fast, creating a continuous need for more.
2. Gut microbiota imbalance: Harmful microorganisms such as Candida albicans use sugar directly as an energy source.
3. Tryptophan and micronutrient deficiencies:
   Tryptophan is an amino acid found in proteins that helps produce serotonin, the hormone that naturally regulates mood — which also depends on having sufficient levels of magnesium and vitamin D.

To regulate your insulin, there’s a specific micronutrient that supports its function: chromium. B-complex vitamins also support energy metabolism.

How do I know if I’m addicted to sugar?

Common signs of sugar addiction include an intense urge to eat sugary foods, emotional relief after eating them, and feelings of anxiety or withdrawal afterward. Other key indicators include:

1. Lack of control when eating sugary foods: Once you take one bite, do you feel like you can’t stop?
2. Craving sweets during stressful moments: A lack of the micronutrients needed for serotonin production may lead to anxiety-driven cravings — for example, chocolate (also a source of magnesium), which can soothe these neurochemical imbalances.
3. Cravings for simple carbs: Do you feel the need to eat again shortly after finishing a sugary food? This could be due to:

• ‍Insulin dysregulation, leading to insulin resistance, where your cells can’t properly detect incoming energy
• Microbiota imbalance, where harmful organisms crave sugar and disrupt the neurotransmitters that regulate appetite

The more sugar or sucrose you consume, the more likely you are to crave foods high in it — creating behavioral changes, overeating, or bingeing on other addictive foods like pastries, baked goods, or gluten-containing items, even whole grains.

Problems linked to excessive sugar consumption

While it’s true that your daily caloric needs can be met through carbohydrates, it's crucial that this energy be metabolized slowly and steadily.

This doesn’t happen with simple carbs like sugar, which cause an insulin spike — and just as fast as the energy comes, it crashes.

Simple carbs are the favorite food of harmful gut bacteria. That’s why consuming large amounts of sugar can lead to:

• Obesity
• Anxiety
• Sleep disorders
• Type 2 diabetes
• Cardiovascular disease
• Metabolic syndrome
• Autoimmune disorders and/or chronic fatigue

How much sugar can be consumed daily?

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that daily sugar intake be less than 7% of your total caloric intake. Reducing it to below 5% can offer additional health benefits.

For someone consuming 2000 calories a day, that’s a maximum of 50 grams of sugar, or about 3 tablespoons.

You may think you're well below this limit — perhaps because you only add 1–2 teaspoons of sugar to your coffee or tea, and avoid obvious sugary foods like soda, juice, jam, sports drinks, and candy.

But you probably haven’t considered all the products labeled “sugar-free” that seem healthy — but may actually contain hidden sugars. The food industry uses over 200 different names for sugar, including:

• Jarabe de maíz
• Jarabe de maíz alto en fructosa (HFCS)
• Corn syrup
• High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
• Glucose
• Dextrin
• Dextrose
• Fructose
• Maltodextrin
• Sucrose
• Honey
• Lactose
• Maltose
• Molasses
• Glucose solids
• Malted barley
• Date sugar
• Coconut sugar
• Grape sugar
• Maple syrup
• Agave
• Cane sugar
• ...and many more

That’s why it’s essential to read nutrition labels and ingredient lists.

How to overcome sugar addiction?

As hard as it may seem, like with any addiction, the key is to remove the addictive substance — in this case, 100% remove sugar, and of course, follow a healthy OkNutriWhite diet.

To make this easier for you, here are some helpful recommendations:

1. Clear out temptation: Clean out your pantry! To beat sugar addiction, it’s critical to eliminate all sources of sugar and high-sugar foods from your home. This includes candy, cookies, sodas, sweetened juices, and processed cereals. Replace them with healthy snacks.
2. Take apple cider vinegar: Apple cider vinegar helps metabolize sugar and prevents insulin spikes. Drinking 1–2 tablespoons diluted in water before meals can help reduce insulin crashes and sugar cravings.
3. Exercise regularly: Physical activity helps regulate blood sugar by using glucose for energy during workouts. It also releases endorphins, which elevate mood and reduce emotional eating.
4. Stay hydrated: Drinking enough water is essential for overall health. Thirst is often mistaken for hunger, so staying well-hydrated can reduce unnecessary cravings — including sugar.
5. Follow a ketogenic diet: A ketogenic diet is low in carbs and high in healthy fats, which helps reduce sugar dependence. By restricting carbs, your body enters ketosis, burning fat for energy instead of glucose — resulting in fewer sugar cravings and greater satiety.
6. Improve your sleep hygiene: Quality sleep is essential for hormonal and metabolic balance. Poor sleep disrupts hormone levels and increases cravings — especially for sugary, high-carb foods. Maintain a regular sleep schedule and get adequate rest every night.

Beyond calories or body weight, the 3R Immuno-Nutrition Protocol’s emphasis on “Removing” sugar is designed to lower your inflammation levels — helping prevent, treat, and recover from disease.

Let NutriWhite help you take that step forward toward better health.

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References:

1. Greenberg D, St Peter JV. Sugars and Sweet Taste: Addictive or Rewarding? Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Sep 17;18(18):9791. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18189791. PMID: 34574716; PMCID: PMC8468293.
2. Zaiss DMW, Coffer PJ. Sugar addiction: An Achilles' heel of auto-immune diseases? Cell Metab. 2022 Apr 5;34(4):503-505. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2022.03.007. PMID: 35385700.
3. Sketriene D, Battista D, Lalert L, Kraiwattanapirom N, Thai HN, Leeboonngam T, Knackstedt LA, Nithianantharajah J, Sumithran P, Lawrence AJ, Brown RM. Compulsive-like eating of high-fat high-sugar food is associated with 'addiction-like' glutamatergic dysfunction in obesity prone rats. Addict Biol. 2022 Sep;27(5):e13206. doi: 10.1111/adb.13206. PMID: 36001420; PMCID: PMC9541933.