Weighing The Facts

Sugar Can Be Addictive, Princeton Scientist Says

by Kitta MacPherson
Animal studies show sugar dependence

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 binging 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-binging rats in a number of ways."

At the annual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology in Scottsdale, 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.

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sources: http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S22/88/56G31/index.xml?section=topstories
picture: pdphoto.org

New Therapy Hope For Eating Disorders

A specially-created form of cognitive behavioural therapy could be the key to helping people with eating disorders, say UK researchers.

Experts believe four out of five of those who suffer from eating disorders could benefit from 'talking therapies' after a study by Oxford University discovered most sufferers achieved 'complete and lasting' improvement.

The treatment is currently only available for bulimia patients but with over a million Britons suffering with some kind of eating disorder, medical experts believe cognitive behavioural therapy should be available to all.

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Sugar Addiction: Do you need a 12 step program?

Craving sweets on a regular basis? If so, you may just have an addiction. Whether your yen is for chocolate, cake, cookies, or even sweet tea you could be addicted to sugar. Some are comparing the tendencies of sugar addicts to those of a drug addict. Does it warrant a 12-step program? Probably not, but consumers should be aware of the issue, if for nothing else than the amount of calories consumed.

There are some people who crave sweets on a daily basis and get their fix with a cookie or a slice of cake, others only get a sweet craving a few times a month but aren’t satisfied until the entire box of Oreos are gone. It seems, based on recent research, no matter which group you fall into, if you frequently crave sweets you may have a sugar addiction and it could affect your brain. Sugar and sweeteners seems to start chemical changes in the brain, as seen in addicts who use drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

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Eating Disorder Sites Can Have Negative Impact

You can find anything on the Internet these days, including Web sites devoted to eating disorders. Commonly known as pro-ana or pro-mia, short for pro anorexia and pro bulimia, since around the year 2000, hundreds of Web sites have cropped up spouting these eating disorders as a lifestyle choice, not a disease. Complete with tips on binging and purging, "thinspiration" photos of extremely thin celebrities and weight loss challenges, the pro-ana movement has gained many followers but just as many opponents. In recent years, there has been a backlash against pro-ana, with many Web providers shutting down these sites and many anti pro-ana protesters calling for all the Web sites to be shut down.
So the question remains, should pro-ana Web sites be banned from the Internet?
After developing an eating disorder at the age of 14, Angela Ross would spend two to three hours a day on pro-anorexia Web sites. Now the moderator of the Facebook group Stop Pro Ana, which currently has approximately 1,600 members, Ross, 18, is on a mission to spread awareness about the dangers of pro-ana.
"Getting on those Web sites definitely encouraged me to keep going with my eating disorder. And I don't want anyone else to fall into that trap like I did," Ross, of Roswell, NM, said. "I would personally love for all of these sites to be shut down."
According to research done at the University of Missouri, there is emerging evidence that Web sites promoting anorexia do have a negative impact. In a piece published in The International Journal of Eating Disorders, the research showed that young women who looked at anorexia sites later felt lower self esteem than the women in the study who were assigned to look at Web sites featuring conventional models.

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Compulsion To Overeat Is Mainly In The Genes, Study Shows.

The genetic roots of obesity lie mainly in the brain, according to research that implicates inherited eating tendencies as one of the strongest influences over waistlines.
The discovery of seven genetic variants linked to obesity has suggested that DNA affects body shape mainly by changing eating behaviour, rather than by regulating fat storage.
Of the seven, five seem to be active in the brain, making it likely that work by fine-tuning appetite, the sense of fullness after eating, or even preferences for some foods over others.
The findings indicate that although genetic differences can help to explain why some people are overweight while others are slim, obesity cannot generally be blamed on genes that slow metabolism and allow fat to be laid down more easily.
Most of the genetic factors linked to obesity, which were found by two independent research teams, seem rather to work by altering the amount people eat. Some DNA profiles may simply make it easier or harder to control food consumption.
This insight demonstrates how nature and nurture are intertwined in the origins of common biological effects such as obesity. It is also encouraging for therapy, as it means that something people can control – their food intake — is ultimately responsible for weight gain even when genetic predisposition is also involved.

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sources:http://www.healthnews.com/nutrition-diet/sugar-addiction-do-you-need-a-12-step-program-2275.html
http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/health/294805/new-therapy-hope-for-eating-disorder-patients.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5342552.ece
http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/local/story/375729.html

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