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

[MDPV_Psychosis]

It's some of both. It isn't psychoactive, but it can be addictive. It also does have strong affects on the body, and the reason why it is addictive is due to the changes in metabolism/non-psychological functions. The body can simply begin to crave it, and one can become psychologically addicted to sweets and fatty foods. However, it's not psychoactive. The addiction is purely the psychological craving for the sweet taste combined with the metabolic aspects which can drive people to seek out unhealthy foods. However, the whole "sugar high" thing is a myth that's often used to erroneously explain misbehaved kids with no evidence behind it. It's sort of similar to the myth that the full moon causes people to "go crazy". Something that people say without there being any scientific evidence behind it. But it certainly isn't good for you and in my experience eating healthy (during the times that I do) actually does cause you to feel better.

Do you have kids? Have you ever given a kid, whom doesn't usually consume sugar, a sudden large dose like a candy bar for instance? Try it sometime and report back...

 

[Jabberwocky]

Based upon the most common definition of a drug (i.e., "any substance (other than food that provides nutritional support) that, when inhaled, injected, smoked, consumed, absorbed via a patch on the skin, or dissolved under the tongue causes a physiological change in the body), sugar isn't a drug because it provides nutritional support. However, the physiological effects of sugar on the body are, to some extent, analogous to addictive drugs. Moreover, like psychoactive drugs, the physiological function of sugar (specifically, glucose, since this is the form of sugar that the human body utilizes in cellular metabolism and stores within various organs/cells in the form of glycogen) in the brain directly affects cognitive functions and perceptual cognition.

By this rationale booze is not a drug because it is metabolized like sugar. As far a destructive drugs one can consume, alcohol is one of the worst offenders. Interestingly when I was abusing alcohol (consuming 24 or more light beers a day) my desire for sugar and sweets disappeared. When I quit booze it came back full force. I'd literally get out of bed, get dressed and go out to the store to buy some snickers bars or red vines. After that my understanding of sugar as a psychoactive drug became a part of my understanding.

interesting article https://www.theguardian.com/society/...t-popular-drug

that was a very good read on the subject RDP89

I've recently quit all drugs and because I'm a stickler for definitions I've included coffee and refined sugar in that list. Well, of all the drugs to quit staying sugar free has been the most difficult. Not so much because of the cravings but because it is added to everything. I discovered this 21 whole grain organic bread I was buying had organic cane syrup as the third ingredient. I was pissed. I went to my local health food store and tried to find a brand without added sugar and no such luck! Fuck that. More recently at a restaurant I willingly broke my self-imposed sugar fast with a wild strawberry flan (it was my parents 50th anniversary celebration). So whatever, I was able to quit everything else but with sugar I've relapsed at least once since I decided to avoid it altogether.

One thing nobody has mentioned is the role of unhealthy intestinal flora like candida in creating sugar addiction. Candida overgrowth isn't just a symptom of high sugar consumption, the candida is actually manipulating your brain into craving sugar by secreting substances that modulate our cravings. For example, I read that:

Fungal candida releases acetaldehyde as a cellular waste product into the body’s tissues. In the brain, acetaldehyde can then combine with dopamine to form salsolinol, a compound that can then further modulate addictive behaviors in an opioid-like fashion.

Not to mention that Candida is known to release 79 different toxic substances into our gut that make us feel sick.

Here's an article on Candida.
https://www.liverdoctor.com/is-a-candida-infection-driving-your-sugar-cravings/

Anyways, despite nutritional guidelines that would have us consuming lots of grains as part of a healthy diet, there is accumulating evidence that most people are better off avoiding carbohydrates altogether. Diets rich in protein and fat like the paleo or ketogenic diet may be some of the healthiest diets for people and certainly promote healthy sustained levels of energy and weight loss. It interesting cause we've been totally sold on the classic pyramid of food groups since we were kids and turns out this is probably wrong

 

[Seppi]

By this rationale booze is not a drug because it is metabolized like sugar.

You have to enlighten me on the biological necessity of ethanol in cellular metabolism.

The need for glucose should be obvious, but if it's not, read about blood sugar.

 

[Jabberwocky]

You have to enlighten me on the biological necessity of ethanol in cellular metabolism.

Glucose is necessary in cellular metabolism as you said, but consuming glucose isn't. Neither is any type of sugar. Remove sugar from the diet, be they simple or complex carbohydrates (technically not a sugar) and get enough calories from fat and protein and you will do fine health wise. Likely you will feel even better than when you consumed carbs. The protein and fat are metabolized to glucose. Ethanol is a great source of energy as I'm sure you know. When I was drinking daily I didn't really crave food. My only point is that your definition as quoted

sugar isn't a drug because it provides nutritional support.

Has a direct contradiction in booze. Booze provides nutritional support. Both sugar and booze provide a buzz. Booze is more hardcore, but that's beside the point. I get what you mean, but your definition of what a drug isn't is not precise enough to exclude booze.

 

[Coolwhip]

Why do people keep saying sugar isn't psychoactive? It absolutely is, it is also addictive. Something doesn't have to get you subjectively high, or make you hallucinate to be called psychoactive. The fact that it immediately and powerfully alters brain function is not up for debate, the answer becomes more obvious when you look at where and how it affects the brain.

The only reason not to call sugar a drug has more to do with how you define the word drug than any property of sugar. If using the caveat the substances that provide nutritional support are not drugs, then no it is not a drug. Strike that caveat and the issue is plain as day.

 

[Seppi]

Glucose is necessary in cellular metabolism as you said, but consuming glucose isn't. Neither is any type of sugar. Remove sugar from the diet, be they simple or complex carbohydrates (technically not a sugar) and get enough calories from fat and protein and you will do fine health wise. Likely you will feel even better than when you consumed carbs. The protein and fat are metabolized to glucose. Ethanol is a great source of energy as I'm sure you know. When I was drinking daily I didn't really crave food. My only point is that your definition as quoted



Has a direct contradiction in booze. Booze provides nutritional support. Both sugar and booze provide a buzz. Booze is more hardcore, but that's beside the point. I get what you mean, but your definition of what a drug isn't is not precise enough to exclude booze.

I never said the ingestion of glucose was necessary. I stated that glucose was necessary. Therefore, the ingestion of glucose provides nutritional support for biological processes that require glucose.

Ethanol is not required for any biological process; in fact, it borks many of them, such as the function of many ion channels. "Booze" as a drink might provide nutritional support via compounds other than ethanol, but ethanol itself certainly does not provide any form of nutritional support in the human body.

 

[Weltmeister]

I never said the ingestion of glucose was necessary. I stated that glucose was necessary. Therefore, the ingestion of glucose provides nutritional support for biological processes that require glucose.

Ethanol is not required for any biological process; in fact, it borks many of them, such as the function of many ion channels. "Booze" as a drink might provide nutritional support via compounds other than ethanol, but ethanol itself certainly does not provide any form of nutritional support in the human body.

The human body actually developed the ability to metabolise ethanol in order to use it for nutritional purposes.

 

[Seppi]

The human body actually developed the ability to metabolise ethanol in order to use it for nutritional purposes.

The same is true of methanol, but that doesn't make a highly toxic substance a "nutrient".

 

[Weltmeister]

Why does the toxicity matter ? Even if its toxic in many ways it can still provide nutritional support to the body.

At the doses that sugar is usually consumed nowadays its pretty toxic aswell btw.

 

[Seppi]

Why does the toxicity matter ? Even if its toxic in many ways it can still provide nutritional support to the body.

At the doses that sugar is usually consumed nowadays its pretty toxic aswell btw.

No one in their right mind refers to toxins as nutrients. Since you're arguing to the contrary, show me a medical review that refers to ethanol and/or methanol as such or refers to "sugar" as a toxin.

 

[aced126]

For me, sugar is the one of the most fiendy drugs I have ever tried. Once you eat one little chocolate, you turn into a machine which keeps on seeking more.

@Seppi

In fact I would say sugar is not a necessity.

Personally, I have been on a ketogenic diet with extremely low levels of carbohydrates, and even less so simple carbs (less than 20g carbs a day - essentially nothing).

I would say my body has gone through major adaptations which include much increased beta oxidation of fatty acids in non-CNS cells, and increased metabolism of ketone bodies within the brain. Any glucose that my brain does urgently needs hopefully comes out of the small amount of carbs a day, and if not, then breakdown of protein in diet/muscle and conversion into glucose.

So in fact, you probably don't require glucose, it is simply just a very efficient source of energy, for the brain especially as they cannot beta oxidise fatty acids.

 

[aced126]

@levels

You can't metabolise fats into glucose. You can only use it directly for energy. These two would almost be equivalent statements (conversion into glucose/conversion into energy) except that the brain cannot directly oxidise fatty acids for energy. The liver needs to convert fatty acids into ketone bodies which the brain then can use directly as a source of energy.

 

[Solipsis]

It would get a little crazy if you count everything that has a psychological effect as a drug, like too much or too little air etc.
Pretty sure there is something gratifying and addictive about sugar and it can also make you crash afterwards. That does seem like a drug. Then again not only drugs are addictive.

So yeah in some ways sugar seems like a drug and it is good to stay aware of the risks of consuming a lot of sugar but I doubt that it is helpful to emphatically call it a drug and focus on that.

 

[Seppi]

@levels

You can't metabolise fats into glucose. You can only use it directly for energy.

The glycerol in a triglyceride is metabolized into glucose.

 

[Seppi]

For me, sugar is the one of the most fiendy drugs I have ever tried. Once you eat one little chocolate, you turn into a machine which keeps on seeking more.

@Seppi

In fact I would say sugar is not a necessity.

Personally, I have been on a ketogenic diet with extremely low levels of carbohydrates, and even less so simple carbs (less than 20g carbs a day - essentially nothing).

I would say my body has gone through major adaptations which include much increased beta oxidation of fatty acids in non-CNS cells, and increased metabolism of ketone bodies within the brain. Any glucose that my brain does urgently needs hopefully comes out of the small amount of carbs a day, and if not, then breakdown of protein in diet/muscle and conversion into glucose.

So in fact, you probably don't require glucose, it is simply just a very efficient source of energy, for the brain especially as they cannot beta oxidise fatty acids.

I dare you to take a huge dose of insulin to "confirm" your beliefs, lol.

 

[Bagseed]

The glycerol in a triglyceride is metabolized into glucose.

which is practically nothing compared to the total mass of a triacylglycerol (think three c18 fatty acids per molecule glycerol). but yeah technically you can put those into glycolysis/gluconeogenesis.

alanine -> pyruvat and sugars in vegetables and especially fruits and also glykogen in meat are more likely to be the major source of carbohydrates, whereas metabolism of triacylglycerol probably will have a negligable effect.

 

[Seppi]

I didn't make a statement about an effect size; I stated a fact that you agreed with.

 

[Jabberwocky]

You can't metabolise fats into glucose. You can only use it directly for energy. These two would almost be equivalent statements (conversion into glucose/conversion into energy) except that the brain cannot directly oxidise fatty acids for energy. The liver needs to convert fatty acids into ketone bodies which the brain then can use directly as a source of energy.

Yes, my bad. I forgot the details. Here's a refresher for everyone.

 

[Eryximachus]

I know that the more amphetamine in my system the less drawn to sugary food i feel. So i think it has something to do with dopamine

No. Amphetamine works because it is structurally similar to adrenaline. Your body mediates blood sugar levels with adrenaline and insulin. Adrenaline causes glycogenolysis, which releases glycogen stored in your liver into your blood stream.

Everything is related in your body, and evolutionarily speaking, dopamine is there to reinforce behavior conducive to life. Until recently, such behavior always required energy, whether fleeing danger, hunting for food, or pursuing sex.

 

[Eryximachus]

Folks, sugar is absolutely essential to life. Glucose and oxygen are not drugs. Without them, you're dead.