A row of snack cakes sits at the end of an aisle
in a college campus store. Photo By: Kaz Thomas
By: Kaz Thomas
Walk into a grocery store or gas station, and anyone looking for a quick snack can find sodas, frosted donuts and cheap candy. In the United States, people are consuming more sugar per day than ever before and becoming addicted to it.
Pre-packaged meals have sugar stealthily listed in the ingredients. For example, one can of Chef Boyardee mini ravioli contains six grams of sugar. Frozen chicken tenders are steeped in a sugar and salt brine for hours before being added to a flour mixture.
As unlikely as it seems, people can become addicted to sugar. With an increased amount of consumption per day, the risk runs higher.
During a busy day, a short food break is necessary to maintain energy. It might seem like a healthy snack, but in reality one Gatorade™ whey protein bar contains 60% daily value of sugar. Combined with that, a medium blue Powerade™ contains 41% to surpass the recommended amount in just one meal.
A quick energy boost from a protein bar or electrolyte drink can turn into reliance and cravings.
This happens because every time someone eats sugary substances, the body activates opioid receptors and releases dopamine, according to the NIH. It triggers a “reward circuit” in the brain, spurring a behavioral pattern tied to consuming more sugar.
“In medicine we use ‘addiction’ to describe a tragic situation where someone’s brain chemistry has been altered to compel them to repeat a substance or activity despite harmful consequences,” said Alan Greene, a pediatrician based in California.
Too much sugar does in fact have harmful side effects besides addiction. “Sugar activates the opiate receptors in our brain and affects the reward center, which leads to compulsive behavior, despite the negative consequences like weight gain, headaches, hormone imbalances, and more,” said Cassie Bjork, a registered dietitian.
The real problem comes into play when people do not understand how much of it they eat on a daily basis.
A single Fudge Round contains
96% daily value of sugar. Photo By: Kaz Thomas
Scanning around a typical college campus snack store, one could find shelves dedicated to various types of candy and cheap fountain drinks, as opposed to a basket of apples in a corner and pricey fruit and yogurt breakfast parfaits.
Two baskets of apples in a corner in front of
a soda machine. Photo By: Kaz Thomas
There is a way to break sugar addiction, but it takes time and effort. Michelle Hauser, a Harvard nutrition educator, recommends reducing sugar intake over time and replacing it with foods that are digested more slowly, such as whole grains and lean protein.
This method reduces blood sugar spikes and dips, evening out natural bodily processes and reducing cravings for processed sweets.
Despite the negative effects of too much sugar and the difficulty of breaking the habit, places that regularly serve college students such as in-building snack stores and restaurants do little to mitigate the potential of unhealthy habit building.
Demand drives supply here, and cheap sugary foods are what students crave.
“We order what sells the most,” said Zandra Young, assistant manager at Russell Union Gus-Mart. “If people want to buy it, that's what we have in stock.”