Is sugar an addictive substance?
The history of sugar is quite broad and complex, there are data from 600 AD that claim that it was used as a sedative and miracle drug.
Its use is based on the brain's need for glucose to produce energy required by the body; however, it has now become a dependency that is unhealthy for users who consume it.
When we talk about addiction, we immediately think of alcohol, cocaine, morphine and other substances and we do not usually think of sugar, despite the fact that it is one of the main foods consumed worldwide to such an extent that 160 million tons are produced every year.
What is sugar and what are its effects?
Sugar is a solid crystalline compound that belongs to the carbohydrates, according to its origin it can be divided into white or refined sugar, which is obtained from beet juice or sugar cane, the industrial refining extracts the sucrose and eliminates the rest of the element, cane sugar is the most natural sugar that is extracted from cane juice, in this only the water is removed while vitamins and minerals are present.
Addiction is the compulsive and intolerable use of sugar and its process is divided into three stages:
The first known as "binge eating" is colloquially known as binge eating, which is characterized by unlimited excess to the drug, so when ingested will do so in large quantities, this leads us to an increase in dopamine (which contributes to addiction), then appears the escalation that is the progressive increase in sugar intake, which causes a behavioral sensitization that is the exaggeration of behavior, especially motor.
The second stage, called codependence, consists of the consumption of a large quantity of drugs at one time, here the person becomes more addicted to sugar and dependent on substances. It is characterized by the appearance of signs and symptoms that make up the withdrawal syndrome and marks the stage of dependence.
Finally, in the third stage, which is known as the craving for the drug "craving" in which there is an alteration in learning due to the association by Pavlov's phenomenon effect. The term extinction refers to the decrease and eventual disappearance of the behavior when the action is exercised, however, the reinforcer ceases to appear.
When there is no reinforcer and the action appears, the desire for the drug is manifested and finally a relapse occurs.
This aforementioned process occurs due to the conjunction of different genetic, biological and environmental factors. In the hereditary aspect, it is related to alcohol addiction genes, so there is generally a higher risk of presenting sugar addiction. Subsequently biological because the need to consume sugary foods may be based on a deficiency of tryptophan and serotonin, which would result in atypical depression.
Finally, the environmental factor that manifests itself as a behavioral pattern and which begins in infancy, as well as when the mother is in charge of feeding her baby during the oral phase, can unconsciously create a dependence on sugar by adding sweetener to baby food, juices and providing them with sweets when they cry or get angry. Over time, the child associates good nutrition with the taste of sweets and this can lead to different organic diseases such as diabetes and childhood obesity, which predisposes to heart disease, arteriosclerosis, metabolic syndrome, respiratory failure, among other pathologies.
This succession of steps leads to a neurobiological background that, like other drugs such as cocaine and heroin, sugar causes an increase of dopamine in the mesocorticolimbic region which produces an effect on the synapse of the nucleus accumbens, known as the zone of pleasure release and generation of addictions.
With the above mentioned, we can realize that the excessive consumption of sugar can produce different types of alterations, however, consumption can also cause dysfunctions at the visceral level and develop as a consequence alterations at the musculoskeletal level.
According to the fiit concept method or integrative physiotherapy, applied in our center of physiotherapy and osteopathy in Logroño, an excessive consumption of sugar can cause dysfunction at the level of the intestine which produces opening of the right iliac due to increased muscle tone of the entire leg opening or external rotation, This produces multiple injuries at the level of the muscles such as injuries at the level of the pyramidal muscle, gluteus medius, tensor fascia lata, biceps femoris, posterior tibialis in addition to tendinitis of the iliotibial band, low back pain and the emergence of herniated discs with right sciatica. This can be detrimental to the health of people who practice certain types of sports activities and to the population in general.
Autor: ADMINISTRADOR
August 13, 2023
