Question

write a review article within 4-page topic is " Is sugar the world’s most popular drug?"

Answer 1

Long ago ,alcohol and tobacco have been accepted as harmful substances and drugs like cocaine and herion are considered lethal to the body. It changes our mood and creates a pleasurable short time sensation and once we get used to it,we wants more .These statements are absolutely true for alcohol,nicotine and cannibis but now in the time of globalisation  first time ,we are approaching a concensus on adding sugar to this list of dangerous addictive drugs .Our addiction to the sweet tooth is under scrutiny .Christmassy drinks at all the popular ,international coffee chains have been found to contain huge quantities of sugar and when one consumes excessive amount of sugar ,it leads to changes in gene expression for opioids that are similar to what we see when someone is dependant on a drug like morphine  .In a study it was found that by age 10 ,the average child has consumed 18 years worth of sugar .Caffine ,though safer also is a drug used by millions daily and most of the sugar comes this comes from beverages like alcohol drinks ,soda,fruit drinks,and sweetned coffee and teas.In fact one survey found that high calorie sweetners are in over 95% of garonla bars,cereals and sugar -sweetened beverages most often in the form of corn syrup,sorghum and cane sugar .  Over consumption of sugar may have long side effects which include significant metabolic health impairment .Sugar addiction is a complicated concept .Biological,psychological ,behavioral ,nutritional and social factors can all play a role,affecting the brain and body.More here its is refined sugar, also sugar-containing food and beverages ,processed carbohydrates and other foods also quickly converts to sugar after eating .Like drugs ,sugar disrupts the brain areas of pleasure and self control .This complex dopamine reward system includes endomorphins,endocannabinoids ,oxytocin and opioid like chemicals play a key role in the addiction process .This system is activated everytime sugar is consumed and everytime we eat sweets we are reinforcing those neuropathways causing the brain to become increasingly hardwired to crave sugars ,building up a tolerance like any other drugs . Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is a key part of the reward circuit associated with the addictive behavior . Repeated activation of the dopamine reward system causes the brain to adapt to the frequent reward system stimulation .When we enjoy lot of these foods on a regular basis ,the system starts to change to prevent it becoming overstimulated.In particular dopamine receptor starts to down regulate. Sugar activates the opiate receptors in our brains and affect the reward center which leads to compulsive behavior despite the negative consequences like weight gain ,headaches ,hormone imbalances and many more .So,sugar consumption can adversely affect the dopamine system to maintain the vicious cycle that includes increased body fat ,sugar carving and impaired glucose metabolism. Sugars also appears to have a relationship with binge eating and other disordered eating like anorexia nervosa . In addition to impaired glucose and mental dysfunction ,the dopamine mechanism has a strong relationships with poor fat metabolism .Also when our system receive a rush of sugar ,it can't be metabolized ,so it passes through the liver and becomes fat.that liver fat is the starting point of heart disease ,type 2 diabetes and tooth decay and has been shown to have links to cancer and dementia.In 2015 ,WHO suggested reducing free sugar daily intake to less than 5% of calories about 6 teaspoons .WHO also has been cautioning people to reduce their intake of free sugar to less than 10 % of daily calories since 1989.In nature sugar is found surrounded by fibres,in sugar cane and fruits .It naturally comes in container that produces a shorter blood sugar response and aids in fullness .But todays sugars are refined and concentrated and this concentrated sugars not only limits the amount of sugar ingested but also makes the seet food seems sweeter .Thus the only way to regulate the use of sugar is by adjusting our taste buds .Or sugar replacement like agave ,rice syrup ,honey ,fructose are just sugar in disguise and activates the brains reward system just readily as sucrose .Decreasing or quitting sugar in our diet can help with weight loss ,or by reducing  acne ,improve sleep moods etc.Thus in the end we can say that it is okay to limit the intake of sugar if it is not possible to quiet but over consumption of it will likely to categorise sugar as drugs.