For many people eating a little sugar stimulates a craving for more. Sugar can lead to intense feelings of hunger.Sugar has addiction-like effects in the reward center of the brain, causing a loss of self-control, overeating and weight gain.

Reward Response

Health

Sweet foods can be more addictive than cocaine, one <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0000698">study</a> found.Over time, greater amounts of the substance are required to reach the same level of reward.

Sugar Addiction

Even a single occasion of increased glucose levels in the blood can harm your brain. It can impair your memory and attention.High sugar consumption <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2016.03.018">causes inflammation in the brain</a>. But, it can be <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.12.010">reversed</a> by following a low-sugar, low-GI diet.

Memory

One <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/is-there-a-blood-test-for-depression-1066915">study</a> involving 23,245 individuals found sugar consumption was associated with a higher rate of depression. Another study found those who ate more sugar were 23 percent more likely to be diagnosed with a mental disorder.

Mood

Raised blood glucose damages blood vessels. Damaged blood vessels are a major cause of vascular complications of diabetes. It leads to injury to blood vessels in the brain and eyes and can lead to difficulty in learning, memory, motor speed and other cognitive functions.

Mental Capacity

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The <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/the-anatomy-of-the-brain-2794895">brain</a> uses more energy than any other organ in the human body and glucose is its primary source of fuel. But what happens when the brain is exposed to an excessive amount of sugars in the standard American diet? In this case, more is definitely not better.
In the brain, excess sugar impairs both our cognitive skills and our self-control. For many people, having a little sugar stimulates a craving for more. Sugar has drug-like effects in the reward center of the brain. Scientists have proposed that sweet foods-along with salty and fatty foods-can produce addiction-like effects in the human brain, driving the loss of self-control, <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/ten-types-of-overeating-22170">overeating</a>, and subsequent weight gain.
In early humans, this stimulus helped lead them to calorie-rich foods, which aided survival when food was scarce. But now this primitive drive contributes to our epidemics of obesity and diabetes. The behavioral and neurobiochemical characteristics of substance abuse and overeating are quite similar, and the idea of food addiction is gaining ground among scientists.
<h3> Reward Response </h3>
In humans, high-glycemic foods have been found to activate regions of the brain associated with the reward response and provoke more intense feelings of hunger compared to low-glycemic foods. Foods that cause a higher elevation in blood glucose produce a greater addictive drive in the brain.
Research <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.113.064113">published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition</a> used the glycemic index (GI)-a measure of how certain foods convert to sugar in the body-to test this process and found eating a high-GI meal elicited greater brain activity in regions involved in eating behavior, reward, and craving.
<h3> Sugar Addiction </h3>
Additional studies on brain activity have provided evidence supporting the idea that overeating alters our brain's reward system, which then further drives overeating. This same process is thought to underlie the tolerance associated with <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/addiction-4157312">addiction</a>.
Over time, greater amounts of the substance are required to reach the same level of reward. Studies imply that overeating results in a diminished reward response and a progressively worsening addiction to low-nutrient foods rich in sugar, salt, and fat.
A study <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0000698">published PLoS One</a> found that sweet foods can be more addictive than cocaine. Though the research was performed on animals, investigators found that intense sweetness can surpass cocaine reward, even in drug-sensitized and -addicted individuals. 
Throughout the body, excess sugar is harmful. Even a single instance of elevated glucose in the bloodstream can be harmful to the brain, resulting in <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/strategies-to-boost-cognitive-health-and-fight-brain-aging-4077306">slowed cognitive function</a> and deficits in memory and attention.
Some research suggests high sugar consumption causes inflammation in the brain, leading to memory difficulties. A <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2016.03.018">2016 study published in Behavioral Brain Research</a> found inflammatory markers were present in the hippocampus of rats fed a high sugar diet, but not in those fed a standard diet.
The good news, however, is this inflammatory damage from sugar may not be permanent.
Sugar also affects mood. In healthy young people, the ability to process emotion is compromised with elevated blood glucose, according to a brain imaging study.
One of the largest studies to link <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/is-there-a-blood-test-for-depression-1066915">sugar with depression</a> -an analysis of dietary consumption and mood of 23,245 individuals enrolled in the Whitehall II study-found higher rates of sugar consumption was associated with a greater incidence of depression.
<h3> Mental Capacity </h3>
Elevated blood glucose harms blood vessels. Blood vessel damage is the major cause of the vascular complications of diabetes, leading to other problems, such as damage to blood vessels in the brain and eyes causing retinopathy.
Frequent exposure to high glucose levels diminishes mental capacity, as higher HbA1c levels have been associated with a greater degree of brain shrinkage.
Even in those without diabetes, higher sugar consumption is associated with lower scores on tests of cognitive function. These effects are thought to be due to a combination of hyperglycemia, hypertension, insulin resistance, and elevated cholesterol.
A Word From Verywell 
As the research shows, any sugar added in our food is dangerous. We can avoid these dangers by satisfying our sweet tooth with fresh fruit in place of refined sugars.
Eating fresh fruit provides the satisfying sweetness of sugar-laden treats with the added bonus of the fruit's fiber, antioxidants, and phytochemicals that curtail the surge of sugar in the bloodstream and block its negative effects.
</div>

The brain uses more energy than any other organ in the human body and glucose is its primary source of fuel. But what happens when the brain is exposed to an excessive amount of sugars in the standard American diet? In this case, more is definitely not better.

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Understanding What Sugar Really Does to Your Brain

Reward Response

Sugar Addiction

Memory

Mood

Mental Capacity

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Bite-sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

Understanding What Sugar Really Does to Your Brain

Reward Response

Sugar Addiction

Memory

Mood

Mental Capacity

IDEAS ABOUT

MORE LIKE THIS

Artificial sweeteners: sugar-free, but at what cost? - Harvard Health Blog

What Really Happens When You Stop Eating Sugar—and Why It’s Not a Great Plan

The Mental Health Effects Of Eating Too Much Sugar

It's time to

READ

LIKE

A PRO!

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career