Sugar Can Be Addictive: Animal Studies Show Sugar Dependence

[Guest guest]

[it's absolutely ridiculous that it has taken this long for scientists

to recognize this. I recall numerous arguments about this with

" Barrett's Parrots " *. I often wonder what they think when they read

the evidence that they've been wrong about so many issues. --C

*Barrett's Parrots -- a group of people who worship the ground

Barrett walks upon and parrot most of his beliefs due to an inability

to critically think for themselves. Most of the Parrots are MDs and

scientists. I've always said they are amongst the most mediocre in

their profession; hence, the need to let someone else think for them.

Barrett is so good at what he does, he gets them to do his bidding and

they respond with gratitude that he even speaks to them. Don't get me

wrong; they are by no means harmless. They have the overblown egos of

people with no talent and will attack those who can see through them.

Barrett does the same. Barrett is a Big Pharma and chemical company

mouthpiece. Though he objects to being accused of this, he never sues

anyone for saying this as he sues for everything he can possibly sue

for. He doesn't sue on this point because it would then give

attoeneys the right to delve into the information that is so carefully

guarded. He doesn't want this so he merely protests at being

characterized a a schill but does nothing to stop it. His many

websites include Quackwatch http://www.quackwatch.org/ . The

" Parrots " can be found on his mailing list and infiltrating many

online groups that are alternative med or chiropractic in nature.

They take on pseudonyms and are vicious in groups. They repeatedly

attack even when it is obvious they are wrong. Here's a little

something on Barrett and the Parrots.

http://groups.google.com.au/group/misc.kids.health/browse_thread/thread/9e3d7a52\

0828850a

http://www.quackpotwatch.org/opinionpieces/barrettdollars.htm

(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081210090819.htm)

Sugar Can Be Addictive: Animal Studies Show Sugar Dependence ]

ScienceDaily (Dec. 11, 2008)

A Princeton University scientist will present new evidence today

demonstrating that sugar can be an addictive substance, wielding its

power over the brains of lab animals in a manner similar to many drugs

of abuse. Professor Bart Hoebel and his team in the Department of

Psychology and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute have been studying

signs of sugar addiction in rats for years. Until now, the rats under

study have met two of the three elements of addiction. They have

demonstrated a behavioral pattern of increased intake and then showed

signs of withdrawal.

His current experiments captured craving and relapse to complete the

picture. " If bingeing on sugar is really a form of addiction, there

should be long-lasting effects in the brains of sugar addicts, " Hoebel

said. " Craving and relapse are critical components of addiction, and

we have been able to demonstrate these behaviors in sugar-bingeing

rats in a number of ways. " At the annual meeting of the American

College of Neuropsychopharmacology in sdale, Ariz., Hoebel will

report on profound behavioral changes in rats that, through

experimental conditions, have been trained to become dependent on high

doses of sugar.

" We have the first set of comprehensive studies showing the strong

suggestion of sugar addiction in rats and a mechanism that might

underlie it, " Hoebel said. The findings eventually could have

implications for the treatment of humans with eating disorders, he

said.

Lab animals, in Hoebel's experiments, that were denied sugar for a

prolonged period after learning to binge worked harder to get it when

it was reintroduced to them. They consumed more sugar than they ever

had before, suggesting craving and relapse behavior. Their motivation

for sugar had grown. " In this case, abstinence makes the heart grow

fonder, " Hoebel said.

The rats drank more alcohol than normal after their sugar supply was

cut off, showing that the bingeing behavior had forged changes in

brain function. These functions served as " gateways " to other paths of

destructive behavior, such as increased alcohol intake. And, after

receiving a dose of amphetamine normally so minimal it has no effect,

they became significantly hyperactive. The increased sensitivity to

the psychostimulant is a long-lasting brain effect that can be a

component of addiction, Hoebel said.

The data to be presented by Hoebel is contained in a research paper

that has been submitted to The Journal of Nutrition. Visiting

researchers Avena, who earned her Ph.D. from Princeton in 2006,

and Pedro Rada from the University of Los Andes in Venezuela wrote the

paper with Hoebel. Hoebel has been interested in the brain mechanisms

that control appetite and body weight since he was an undergraduate at

Harvard University studying with the renowned behaviorist B.F.

Skinner. On the Princeton faculty since 1963, he has pioneered studies

into the mental rewards of eating.

Over the past decade, Hoebel has led work that has now completed an

animal model of sugar addiction. Hoebel has shown that rats eating

large amounts of sugar when hungry, a phenomenon he describes as

sugar-bingeing, undergo neurochemical changes in the brain that appear

to mimic those produced by substances of abuse, including cocaine,

morphine and nicotine. Sugar induces behavioral changes, too.

" In certain models, sugar-bingeing causes long-lasting effects in

the brain and increases the inclination to take other drugs of abuse,

such as alcohol, " Hoebel said.

Hoebel and his team also have found that a chemical known as

dopamine is released in a region of the brain known as the nucleus

accumbens when hungry rats drink a sugar solution. This chemical

signal is thought to trigger motivation and, eventually with

repetition, addiction. The researchers conducted the studies by

restricting rats of their food while the rats slept and for four hours

after waking. " It's a little bit like missing breakfast, " Hoebel said.

" As a result, they quickly eat some chow and drink a lot of sugar

water. " And, he added, " That's what is called binge eating -- when you

eat a lot all at once -- in this case they are bingeing on a 10

percent sucrose solution, which is like a soft drink. " Hungry rats

that binge on sugar provoke a surge of dopamine in their brains. After

a month, the structure of the brains of these rats adapts to increased

dopamine levels, showing fewer of a certain type of dopamine receptor

than they used to have and more opioid receptors. These dopamine and

opioid systems are involved in motivation and reward, systems that

control wanting and liking something.

Similar changes also are seen in the brains of rats on cocaine and

heroin. In experiments, the researchers have been able to induce signs

of withdrawal in the lab animals by taking away their sugar supply.

The rats' brain levels of dopamine dropped and, as a result, they

exhibited anxiety as a sign of withdrawal. The rats' teeth chattered,

and the creatures were unwilling to venture forth into the open arm of

their maze, preferring to stay in a tunnel area. Normally rats like to

explore their environment, but the rats in sugar withdrawal were too

anxious to explore.

The findings are exciting, Hoebel said, but more research is needed

to understand the implications for people. The most obvious

application for humans would be in the field of eating disorders. " It

seems possible that the brain adaptations and behavioral signs seen in

rats may occur in some individuals with binge-eating disorder or

bulimia, " Hoebel said. " Our work provides links between the

traditionally defined substance-use disorders, such as drug addiction,

and the development of abnormal desires for natural substances. This

knowledge might help us to devise new ways of diagnosing and treating

addictions in people. "

--

Regards,

" What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared

to what lies within us. " ~~Ralph Waldo Emerson