Is sugar a drug (i.e. psychoactive)?

[ungelesene_bettlek]

Let's make the question more specific: is sugar psychoactive? If not, how can it be it makes so much addicition? And no, I do not count oxygen as psychoactive, nor do I consider other food psychoactive.

 

[JessFR]

Gambling is addictive, it's not psychoactive though.

Something doesn't have to be psychoactive to be addictive.

And sugar is not psychoactive. Not by any conventional definition. But I've already given all my views on this. I think people who are anti sugar feel compelled to make up contrived arguments because simply saying the truth isn't negative enough.

Like the anti tobacco lobby. The truth of how bad smoking is just isn't enough for them, they gotta make up bullshit arguments to constantly make it sound even worse.

 

[Jabberwocky]

And sugar is not psychoactive. Not by any conventional definition. But I've already given all my views on this. I think people who are anti sugar feel compelled to make up contrived arguments because simply saying the truth isn't negative enough.

A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that changes brain function and results in alterations in perception, mood, consciousness or behavior.

Lumping the psychoactive effects of sugar with those of other potent psychoactive drugs like cannabis and heroin may blur the line a bit and and I understand why some would choose to omit the milder effects of substances like sugar when discussing the effects of drugs, but it is really only a matter of potency/degree. Most mothers would agree that feeding children lots of sugar induces pronounced behavioral changes, and if you've spent any time around kids after consuming lots of sugar you'd know the mood changes they experience can be profound. It's a very simple argument actually. I'm not sure why you have to appeal to an "anti-sugar agenda" in a thread devoted to the question of sugars psychoactive effects.

 

[Jabberwocky]

I have always said that everything is psychoactive to some degree, in the sense that everything affects our brain chemistry in some way: Drinking a glass of wine, falling in love, going on a roller coaster, getting too much/not enough sleep... everything!

What I try to ask myself is, "Is it harmful?". Depending on the individual, I believe that there are things we need, things we can/should have in moderation, and things that should be outright avoided.

I know that I'm not saying anything new or profound, but our brain/body chemistry is a very complex thing, and nutrition can be one of the most confusing issues of all. Eating a piece of fruit, a bowl of pasta or a spoonful of sugar may all have the same calorie/carbohydrate content, but our bodies (and minds) can process them in completely different ways.