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#1
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This Explains Your Donut Addiction ?
[ Recent news article on rats preferring sugar water to cocaine is
substantated in this article available in full at the link below with the abstract as follows. ] Full Article http://www.plosone.org/article/info:...l.pone.0000698 Intense Sweetness Surpasses Cocaine Reward Magalie Lenoir#, Fuschia Serre#, Lauriane Cantin, Serge H. Ahmed* University Bordeaux 2, Université Bordeaux 1, CNRS, UMR 5227, Bordeaux, France *Abstract* Background Refined sugars (e.g., sucrose, fructose) were absent in the diet of most people until very recently in human history. Today overconsumption of diets rich in sugars contributes together with other factors to drive the current obesity epidemic. Overconsumption of sugar-dense foods or beverages is initially motivated by the pleasure of sweet taste and is often compared to drug addiction. Though there are many biological commonalities between sweetened diets and drugs of abuse, the addictive potential of the former relative to the latter is currently unknown. Methodology/Principal findings Here we report that when rats were allowed to choose mutually-exclusively between water sweetened with saccharin–an intense calorie-free sweetener–and intravenous cocaine–a highly addictive and harmful substance–the large majority of animals (94%) preferred the sweet taste of saccharin. The preference for saccharin was not attributable to its unnatural ability to induce sweetness without calories because the same preference was also observed with sucrose, a natural sugar. Finally, the preference for saccharin was not surmountable by increasing doses of cocaine and was observed despite either cocaine intoxication, sensitization or intake escalation–the latter being a hallmark of drug addiction. Conclusions Our findings clearly demonstrate that intense sweetness can surpass cocaine reward, even in drug-sensitized and -addicted individuals. We speculate that the addictive potential of intense sweetness results from an inborn hypersensitivity to sweet tastants. In most mammals, including rats and humans, sweet receptors evolved in ancestral environments poor in sugars and are thus not adapted to high concentrations of sweet tastants. The supranormal stimulation of these receptors by sugar-rich diets, such as those now widely available in modern societies, would generate a supranormal reward signal in the brain, with the potential to override self-control mechanisms and thus to lead to addiction. Citation: Lenoir M, Serre F, Cantin L, Ahmed SH (2007) Intense Sweetness Surpasses Cocaine Reward. PLoS ONE 2(8): e698. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000698 Academic Editor: Bernhard Baune, James Cook University, Australia Received: April 24, 2007; Accepted: July 4, 2007; Published: August 1, 2007 http://www.plosone.org/article/info:...l.pone.0000698 |
#2
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This Explains Your Donut Addiction ?
Seems sensible.
I have used artificial sweeteners to replace sugar. I hope they don't kill me. (I can't stand the "green" taste of stevia. I do avoid aspartame, after watching a documentary on it.) Igor reported success at rejecting all sweeteners. I use saccharine, cyclamates, and sucralose. Cubit 320/152/160 "Jim" wrote in message ... [ Recent news article on rats preferring sugar water to cocaine is substantated in this article available in full at the link below with the abstract as follows. ] Full Article http://www.plosone.org/article/info:...l.pone.0000698 Intense Sweetness Surpasses Cocaine Reward Magalie Lenoir#, Fuschia Serre#, Lauriane Cantin, Serge H. Ahmed* University Bordeaux 2, Université Bordeaux 1, CNRS, UMR 5227, Bordeaux, France *Abstract* Background Refined sugars (e.g., sucrose, fructose) were absent in the diet of most people until very recently in human history. Today overconsumption of diets rich in sugars contributes together with other factors to drive the current obesity epidemic. Overconsumption of sugar-dense foods or beverages is initially motivated by the pleasure of sweet taste and is often compared to drug addiction. Though there are many biological commonalities between sweetened diets and drugs of abuse, the addictive potential of the former relative to the latter is currently unknown. Methodology/Principal findings Here we report that when rats were allowed to choose mutually-exclusively between water sweetened with saccharin–an intense calorie-free sweetener–and intravenous cocaine–a highly addictive and harmful substance–the large majority of animals (94%) preferred the sweet taste of saccharin. The preference for saccharin was not attributable to its unnatural ability to induce sweetness without calories because the same preference was also observed with sucrose, a natural sugar. Finally, the preference for saccharin was not surmountable by increasing doses of cocaine and was observed despite either cocaine intoxication, sensitization or intake escalation–the latter being a hallmark of drug addiction. Conclusions Our findings clearly demonstrate that intense sweetness can surpass cocaine reward, even in drug-sensitized and -addicted individuals. We speculate that the addictive potential of intense sweetness results from an inborn hypersensitivity to sweet tastants. In most mammals, including rats and humans, sweet receptors evolved in ancestral environments poor in sugars and are thus not adapted to high concentrations of sweet tastants. The supranormal stimulation of these receptors by sugar-rich diets, such as those now widely available in modern societies, would generate a supranormal reward signal in the brain, with the potential to override self-control mechanisms and thus to lead to addiction. Citation: Lenoir M, Serre F, Cantin L, Ahmed SH (2007) Intense Sweetness Surpasses Cocaine Reward. PLoS ONE 2(8): e698. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000698 Academic Editor: Bernhard Baune, James Cook University, Australia Received: April 24, 2007; Accepted: July 4, 2007; Published: August 1, 2007 http://www.plosone.org/article/info:...l.pone.0000698 |
#3
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This Explains Your Donut Addiction ?
"Cubit" wrote in message et... Seems sensible. I have used artificial sweeteners to replace sugar. I hope they don't kill me. Somebody here, sometime, commented on artificial sweeteners. They said the jury was out on whether or not they were harmful, but we know for a fact that sugar is bad for you. -- Mike |
#4
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This Explains Your Donut Addiction ?
Cubit wrote:
Seems sensible. I have used artificial sweeteners to replace sugar. I hope they don't kill me. (I can't stand the "green" taste of stevia. I do avoid aspartame, after watching a documentary on it.) Igor reported success at rejecting all sweeteners. I use saccharine, cyclamates, and sucralose. Cubit 320/152/160 "Jim" wrote in message ... I hope that it is only a step towards eliminating all sweeteners completely. You don't need them and they will not give you much from the nutritional point of view. Man survived for all but the latest 100 years or so without them. Your money is better used on more exciting things. I wish you a great journey towards good health. |
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