It's during this early 'sugar withdrawal' stage that both mental and physical symptoms have been reported – including depression, anxiety, brain fog and cravings, alongside headaches, fatigue and dizziness. So that's why it's not surprising to see negative effects when we eat less sugar or remove it from our diet completely. It's obvious that sugar can have a powerful effect on us. The foods that could survive an apocalypse.In rats, there's strong evidence to suggest that sucrose consumption can actually change the structures in the brain that dopamine activates as well as altering emotional processing and modifying behaviour in both animals and humans. This means its effects are independent of the sweet taste. Sugar is able to activate these reward pathways in the brain whether it's tasted in the mouth or injected into the bloodstream, as shown in studies on mice. Intense sweetness surpasses even cocaine in terms of the internal reward it triggers. Dopamine can drive us to seek food, such as junk food.Įxperiments in both animals and people have shown how profoundly sugar activates these reward pathways. Reward governs our behaviour – meaning we're driven to repeat the behaviours which cause dopamine to be released. The rewarding effects of dopamine are largely seen in the part of the brain involved in pleasure and reward. When we're exposed to a rewarding stimulus, the brain responds by releasing dopamine – which is why it's often called the 'reward' chemical. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, meaning it's a chemical that passes messages between nerves in the brain. Sucrose activates sweet taste receptors in the mouth which ultimately leads to the release of a chemical called dopamine in the brain. These effects are so significant it's even led to a debate as to whether you can be 'addicted' to sugar – though this is still being studied. Beyond the improved taste and 'mouthfeel' of foods with high sugar content, sugar has profound biological effects in the brain. Table sugar – known as sucrose – is found in sugar cane, sugar beet and maple syrup while glucose and fructose are the main constituents of honey.Īs mass production of food has become the norm, sucrose and other sugars are now added to foods to make them more palatable. But it's likely these symptoms relate to how the brain reacts when exposed to sugary foods – and the biology of 'reward'.Ĭarbohydrates come in several forms – including as sugars, which can naturally occur in many foods, such as fructose in fruits and lactose in milk.

The reason for these side effects is currently poorly understood. Headaches, fatigue or mood changes, which are usually temporary, are among the symptoms. But people sometimes report experiencing negative side effects when they try to eat less sugar. Reducing sugar intake has clear health benefits, including reduced calorie intake, which can help with weight loss, and improved dental health.

A greater understanding of the dangers of eating excess sugar on our health may also be driving this drop. This could be happening for any number of reasons, such as a shift in tastes and lifestyles, with the popularity of low-carbohydrate diets, like keto, increasing in the past decade. It might surprise you to learn that sugar consumption (in the UK and other developed countries at least) has actually been steadily decreasing over the past decade.

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