INVC,,
Delhi,,
White sugar is addictive and number one cause of heart disease said Padma Shri & Dr. B.C. Roy National Awardee, Dr. KK Aggarwal, President, Heart Care Foundation of India. The sweetener prompt the same chemical changes in the brain seen in people who abuse drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Quoting a study presented at the American College of Neuro-psychopharmacology’s annual meeting, Dr Aggarwal said that evidence from an animal model suggests that bingeing (drinking large amounts of sugar water) when hungry can cause behavioral changes and even neurochemical changes in the brain which resemble changes that are produced when animals or people take substances of abuse. These animals show signs of withdrawal and even long-lasting effects that might resemble craving. A “sugar addiction” may even act as a “gateway” to later abuse of drugs such as alcohol. The stages of addiction, as defined by the American Psychiatric Association, include bingeing, withdrawal and craving. In the study rats were denied food for 12 hours a day, and then were given access to food and sugar (25 percent glucose and 10 percent sucrose) for 12 hours a day, for three to four weeks. The chemical involved in the addiction on the body is dopamine. White sugar, white rice, and white maida, the triad of refined carbohydrates are all addicting and related to insulin resistance, obesity and heart disease.
