Are You Addicted to Sugar? How to Break Sugar Addiction

Maybe you’ve had the experience of eating a cupcake and having a hard time stopping at just one. Or maybe you planned to eat just one piece of chocolate but ended up eating half the box instead. Does this mean you’re addicted to sugar? The answer isn’t quite as straightforward as you might think.

For the purposes of this article, when we use the word sugar, we mean added sugar. These are the sugars that are added to processed foods like candy, soda, and baked goods. This doesn’t include the sugar that naturally exists in foods like milk and fruit. 

Read on to learn how sugar affects the body compared to addictive substances like drugs and alcohol. We’ll also share strategies for cutting back on your sugar intake.

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Is sugar addictive?

It’s unclear. Scientists don’t know for sure whether sugar — or food in general — is addictive. 

There hasn’t been much research on sugar addiction in humans. Most of the research on sugar addiction has focused on animals. And these studies have found similarities between how laboratory rats respond to sugar and how they respond to drugs.

But researchers continue to debate whether sugar is addictive for humans. Some think sugar is a behavioral addiction, like gambling. Others think it could be a substance addiction. We need more research to know for sure.

What researchers do agree on is that people show certain addictive behaviors when they consume sugar. 

Signs of a sugar addiction

To receive a diagnosis of a substance use disorder, you need to meet at least two (of 11) criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) within a 12-month period. 

In studies, scientists found that laboratory rats met five of these criteria for sugar addiction. The five criteria are:

1. Impaired control (binging)

2. Cravings

3. Continued use despite risk 

4. Withdrawal (experiencing physical symptoms that are relieved with the use of the substance)

5. Tolerance (needing more of the substance to get the effect you want) 

EXPERT PICKS: WHAT TO READ NEXT

• Natural sugar vs. refined sugar: Foods like fruit that contain natural sugars also provide nutrients that benefit your overall health. Refined sugar has no health benefits.

• How to reduce sugar in your diet: Small, gradual diet adjustments make it easier to cut back on sugar. And instead of doing a strict “detox,” consider a long-term, sustainable approach.

• The best and worst sweeteners: Whether or not you have diabetes, it’s important to know which sweeteners raise your blood sugar quickly and which don’t.

• How to spot hidden sugars on food labels: A package may not list sugar outright, but it might still be used. Here are the hidden sugars to know about.

The question is whether these results might also apply to humans.

How to break a sugar addiction

Fortunately, there are things that you can do to limit how much sugar you consume. 

Try dietary strategies to reduce sugar intake

Tips for limiting sugar intake include:

• Replacing breakfast cereals with oatmeal or eggs

• Using fresh fruit to sweeten yogurt, pancakes, and oatmeal

• Snacking on unsweetened dried fruit instead of candy

• Substituting small amounts of honey or maple syrup for refined sugar

• Eating snacks that contain protein and/or fiber, which are filling

• Avoiding sweetened drinks like soda, sweetened iced tea, and sports drinks — and replacing them with sparkling water or flat water with fresh fruit chunks and herbs

• Keeping sugary foods like candy and cookies outside the home to make them less accessible 

• Making sure you grocery shop with a list in hand, and when you’re not hungry 

• Reading ingredient labels on food items before buying them

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Limiting your sugar exposure will make it easier to reduce your sugar cravings and binges.

Get expert help from dietary counseling

Of course, you can still enjoy your favorite sweets in moderation. You don’t need to cut out all sugar from your diet. The key is to maintain a balanced diet overall, and consume the right number of calories for your activity level. Consulting with a dietitian can help you create an eating plan that works for your needs.

Address emotional triggers 

For many people, a relationship with sugary foods may be tied to emotions. It’s not uncommon to self-soothe by eating comforting foods. It’s a normal human response, given that we learn as babies that food is a source of comfort, and can relax our nervous system. But there are strategies that can help you reduce emotional eating, such as:

• Learning to understand (and feel) the difference between emotional hunger and physical hunger

• Recognizing your triggers

• Finding ways to cope with intense emotions, such as exercise or mindful eating 

• Therapy

Why am I addicted to sugar?

Eating sugar can activate pleasure centers in your brain. This can trigger cravings and a feeling of wanting more. Over time, you may need to consume more sugar to get the same level of pleasure. That’s because your brain’s reward pathway develops a tolerance to sugar. This tolerance — along with cravings — are often the hallmarks of addiction. 

Scientists think that whether you get addicted to sugar may depend on two factors: the type of food and your individual characteristics. For example, one study found that eating cookies led to an addictive response for some individuals. For others, bananas caused that same response. In other words, the foods that cause someone to feel a lack of control may vary from person to person.

What are the health risks of eating sugar?

Added sugars are empty calories. This means that foods with added sugar contain a high amount of calories but very little nutritional value. As a result, eating large amounts of added sugars puts you at risk of:

• Weight gain

• Diabetes

• Obesity

• Cardiovascular disease

• Higher triglycerides and bad cholesterol

• Lower good cholesterol

How much sugar is OK to have per day?

Experts recommend that no more than 10% of your daily calories come from added sugar. So a person who eats about 2,000 calories a day should get 200 or fewer calories (around 50 g) from sugar. 

The American Heart Association has slightly stricter limits. They recommend:

• Less than 36 g of sugar (9 tsp) per day for men

• Less than 25 g of sugar (6 tsp) per day for women

Is sugar as addictive as drugs and alcohol?

There are some similarities between the way sugar works in the body and the way drugs and alcohol work in the brain.

Dopamine

Sugar releases dopamine in your body, which is why most people enjoy eating sweets. Dopamine is the “feel good” chemical that helps you experience pleasure. In laboratory studies with rats, researchers found that sugar releases dopamine in a way that’s similar to the way drugs release dopamine. And researchers found that sugar activates the reward pathways in the rats’ brains in the same way that cocaine does.

Withdrawal

It’s common to experience withdrawal after stopping or reducing intake of an addictive substance like drugs or alcohol. Withdrawal refers to the physical and mental symptoms you might feel as your body gets used to not having that substance.

Some people have reported experiencing withdrawal symptoms from sugar. But researchers have yet to find study results that back up this claim. It might also be that the “withdrawal” symptoms you experience by abruptly quitting sugar could be your body adjusting to your change in diet, even if it’s a positive change. 

Scientists are still working on an exact definition of sugar withdrawal. 

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Written by:

Mona Bapat, PhD, HSPP

Mona Bapat, PhD, HSPP, has 15 years of clinical experience providing therapy. She is a licensed clinical psychologist in Indiana and Illinois with treatment experience in individual, couples, family, and group therapy modalities.

Edited by:

Meredith Hoffa

Meredith Hoffa is a senior health editor at GoodRx, where she leads journalists and clinicians covering various well-being topics, particularly in diet and nutrition.

Reviewed by:

Karen Hovav, MD, FAAP

Karen Hovav, MD, FAAP, has more than 15 years of experience as an attending pediatrician in a variety of clinical settings. She has worked in a large academic center in an urban city, a small community hospital, a private practice, and an urgent care clinic.

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