Who doesn’t love something sugary and sweet every now and again? Maybe a cup of ice cream or a small piece of chocolate to satisfy our sweet tooth. A little sugar here and there is perfectly fine, but when we eat, it is in almost every meal everyday, then we have a problem. You are probably thinking “What? I do not eat sugar every day, that’s completely unhealthy,” and that’s what I thought too. However, the thing is, sugar is no longer just “sugar”. If you read the ingredients of any food label and find that anything ends in “-ose,” it’s sugar. Food companies have become very clever in disguising sugar – to name a few, there are fructose, sucrose, dextrose and others with obscure names such as “diastatic malt, maltodextrin, and muscovado. The bottom line is it’s ALL sugar in some form or another.

Because sugar is now in everything we eat (74 percent of processed foods contain some kind of sugar), the American public has become addicted to it. Sugar makes us feel good. We get a small high when we eat sugar because it releases a large amount of dopamine into the brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain that controls many different things, one being reward and pleasure. So, when the chemical is released into the brain people are likely to have an enjoyable experience. Sugar has been found to function like and be just addictive as cocaine because is also causes for a release of dopamine in the brain.

Not only is sugar incredibly addictive and has lasting effects on the brain, but also can lead to other health concerns such as weigh gain, liver damage, and even heart disease. Because sugar is so closely similar to a drug, when trying wean off the substance people start to have withdrawals. Some symptoms of sugar withdrawals include, cravings, headaches, less energy, and even in some cases, depression. It is extremely important to read food labels and stay within the means of your daily sugar intake.

I am guilty of not reading food labels, and just buying whatever I want. Honestly I never gave any thought to what is actually in my food until recently. My mom used to always tell me “If you cannot pronounce the ingredients, then they aren’t good for you.” After taking a trip to the grocery store and actually doing my homework about the food on the selves, it was pretty frightening at the amount of hidden sugars on labels. And helpful tip, “zero calorie,” and “low fat," or “natural” doesn’t make what you are buying any healthier. People need to learn more about the foods they are consuming because sugar isn’t sweet at all, its deadly.