Sugar & Ultra-processed Food Cravings: How to Get Off the Addictive Rollercoaster

There is more in the news these days about the risks of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and consumption seems to be at an all-time high.

There was a recent article in the Washington post citing a recent review of the research involving approximately 10 million people. The review found a direct association between eating too many UPFs (those that have been industrially manufactured) and mental health disorders, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and more.

UPFs “are not merely modified foods.” Typically, they contain “little if any nutritional value and are they are primarily made from cheap, chemically altered ingredients.

These types of industrial products have a low nutrient content and are high in added sugars, heated oils, additives like flavour enhances and colouring that make them tasty and addictive. 

In terms of junk food consumption, the statistics are sobering. Canadians get a minimum of 48% of their caloric intake from ultra-processed products. In the US 67% of what children aged 2–19 consume.

Adolescents are more sensitive than any other age group to UPFs. (The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, 05/2020). Consumption of processed foods leads to nutrient deficiencies in people of all ages but because the brain is still developing until our mid-20’s kids and adolescents are more at risk. Studies show a direct connection between these junk foods and mood changes, anxiety, learning problems and behavioral symptoms most prominently in adolescents.

UPFs not only contribute to mental and physical disorders, they are also addictive.

Food addiction involves the same areas of the brain as other drug addiction. The same neurotransmitters are involved, and many symptoms are identical. According to the Yale Food Addiction Scale — a tool diagnosing ultra-processed food addiction — about 14% of adults and 12% of children show clinically significant signs of addiction to such foods. This is quite similar to addiction rates among adults for legal substances like alcohol and tobacco.

UPFs have a powerful effect on the reward centers of the brain. These effects are caused by brain neurotransmitters like dopamine.

Current evidence also highlights the adverse health effects of UPFs, not only due to the lack of nutrients but also to the effect the have on gut health and chronic low-grade inflammation.

You might ask- what does low grade inflammation and the gut have to do with mental health and physical health disorders?

Hippocrates the father of medicine stated in ‘All disease starts in the gut’ and after 2000 years we are now learning just how significant that statement was.

The gut microbiome has different effects on many body organs, including the brain – this bidirectional pathway is called the gut-brain-axis.

Chemicals in our environment, over use of antibiotics, stress, processed foods and other factors can alter the microbial balance in our gut which is commonly referred to as ‘leaky gut’. Pathogenic microbes or toxins can penetrate the protective gut lining causing an inflammatory immune system reaction throughout the body and the brain.

Low grade inflammation is now recognized as a main underlying cause of common mental and physical health disorders.

In addition, the gut contains about 90% of body’s serotonin and 50% of the dopamine. These and other neurotransmitter imbalances are associated with depression, anxiety disorders, and learning disorders and more. Very importantly the gut also contains more than 70% of the immune system – protects against viral infections. So, if you or your kids are more prone to colds or flus the answer could lie in the gut.

Many people might ask: “Wouldn’t I feel it if I had inflammation in my body. When I hurt myself, I feel pain or there is swelling. Are there symptoms I would feel if I had low-grade inflammation?”

Inflammation is the first response of the immune system to infection, injury, or foreign substance. in acute stages it is a protective reaction that aids healing. Chronic low-grade inflammation is silent, in that it does not cause overt symptoms, yet it is the cause of most chronic diseases and presents a major threat to the health and longevity of individuals.

And then… There is sugar.

Sugar of many names - fructose, sucrose, dextrose, lactose, maltose, glucose etc., is one of the most highly consumed foods in our Western society.  Although sugar is not considered an ultra-processed food, sugar is a major thief of modern-day health.

Fructose in the form of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is commonly found in soda, condiments, desserts, applesauce, baby food, and other processed snacks. What is worse is that the average North American consumes more than 40 pounds (18 kilograms) of high-fructose corn syrup per year.

The new research demonstrated that consuming a lot of fructose in the diet can actually change the expression of hundreds of genes, including genes that may lead to a greater predisposition toward metabolic diseases such as diabetes, and brain disorders such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Alzheimer’s disease.

Excitingly, it was additionally demonstrated that DHA largely reversed the fructose-induced changes in the brain. DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid that is essential to the brain and can be found in fatty fish, such as salmon, as well as in walnuts, flaxseed, and omega-3 fatty acid supplements. The brain and the body are not able to manufacture DHA; it has to come through our diet.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends maximum of 5-10% of our daily calories from sugar –5% would be about 6 teaspoons or 26 grams of sugar per day. One soft drink contains 10 teaspoons.

 

What about fruit juice, many people think that juice is a much healthier choice?

Let me ask, how many apples would you eat at one sitting, usually not more than one right at least I wouldn’t. A single glass of apple juice contains same amount of sugar as 4-5 apples.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has used the strongest wording yet declaring that fruit juice has absolutely no role in a healthy diet. And I would suggest to not be followed by thinking energy drinks flavoured waters, vitamin enhanced beverages are better choices than water.

Why is it so difficult to kick the sugar habit?

When we eat sugary foods, it stimulates the release of dopamine to calm our stress and provide us a sense of wellbeing like many drugs.  Not surprisingly, our bodies want more of this dopamine feel good hormone! As the brain begins to associate all these beneficial effects of sugar the cravings begin. 

And what we don’t always understand is that the more we rely on these sweet snacks to produce dopamine, the more we deplete our natural ability to produce it.

Sugar also causes our blood sugar to rise and fall rapidly causing – when blood sugar drops it can cause many unwanted symptoms such as fatigue, mood swings, crying spells, irritability, anxiety, and angry outbursts

No wonder we reach for something sweet! It’s the worst thing we can do, because then the cycle starts all over again and becomes well-established and it becomes harder and harder to get off the sugar rollercoaster.

Common Symptoms of UPF and Sugar Addiction:

• frequent cravings for certain foods despite feeling full and having just finished a nutritious meal
• eating a craved food much more than intended
• often feeling guilty after eating particular foods — yet eating them again soon after
• repeatedly — but unsuccessfully — trying to quit eating certain foods
• often hiding the consumption of unhealthy foods from others
• feeling unable to control the consumption of unhealthy foods — despite knowing that they cause negative health effects

Supplements to Help Curb the “Cravings”

Probiotics: In a new animal study, researchers have shown that an absence of certain gut bacteria may cause binge-eating sweets, particularly after the use of antibiotics, which can alter the composition of the gut microbiota. The researchers found that mice with microbiotas disrupted by oral antibiotics consumed up to 50% more sugar than mice with typical levels of gut bacteria.

B Vitamins are essential to curb sugar cravings.

Zinc deficiency, which is very common in today’s world, may result in sugar cravings and an increased appetite.

Omega-3 fatty acids particularly DHA can help reverse the damage caused by UPFs and sugars

Chromium: A double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 2013 randomly assigned 42 overweight adult women with carbohydrate cravings eating to receive chromium or placebo for 8 weeks. Chromium: a randomized trial found that chromium reduced food intake, hunger levels, cravings and decreased body weight.

Magnesium is responsible for regulating not only glucose and insulin levels, but also the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Diet and lifestyle suggestions include: regular exercise, eating more high-quality protein throughout the day, and the foundation of health is following a healthy diet such as the Mediterranean diet.

For any questions or further information please consult with the knowledgeable staff at the Vitamin shop.