Argumentative Essay: Is Sugar Addictive?

Is Sugar Addictive? Sugar is everywhere these days. It is loaded into our sodas and energy drinks, it is there in our cereals, our juices, it is added virtually everywhere. A savvy label-reading shopper cannot help but be part amazed and part appalled at the high content of sugar in almost all commercial products. “Sugar-free” products have become a trend themselves, as people try to avoid the obvious dangers of too much sugar and follow the ever-appearing fads. So what is it about sugar that is so appealing? Why does the food industry saturate every product with it, so that we, the general population of consumers keep running back for more and more? Could it be what the decision makers of the food industry probably knew all along – that sugar is highly addictive? Several studies have attempted to find an answer. For example, there was a study conducted on the rats, where they would feed them sweetened water and then deprive them of it for a specific period of time. Then the cycle would continue and the dosage of glucose in water would be increased. The rats would eventually exhibit symptoms of addiction – such as cravings and withdrawal symptoms. They would also binge – meaning they would consume larger than normal qualities of
Well, if we know more about our foods, we can make better decisions about our diet. We can make intelligent choices and feel better about what we put inside our bodies. For example, one website mentions the American Heart Association’s guidelines for daily sugar consumption – 6 teaspoons for women and 9 for men (Mayo Clinic, 2015). And, according to Scharff (2014) “Cutting out obvious sugar is a starting point for positive life-style changes and something, given the current research findings, we should all consider” (p. 1). Indeed, the most important thing is being knowledgeable about what we eat and taking steps to eat healthier. What is more important than health after