Issue 448: April 29–May 6, 2004

BITTERSWEET

Overindulging in sugar can give you more than bad teeth and a big belly

By Tracey Middlekauff

Photographs by Astrid Stawiarz

For years, 44-year-old TV exec Claire Scott suffered from severe mood swings and frequent bouts of depression. She was overweight, had little energy and felt desperate most of the time. When Scott finally sought help, she learned her symptoms were directly related to her addiction to the white stuff. But it wasn’t what you think: The monkey on her back was cheap, legal and, most of all, sweet. Scott had become dependent on refined sugar.

Your mom may have warned you that too many sweets would give you cavities and pack on the pounds, but recent studies from the Harvard Medical School and the Baylor College of Medicine reveal something more alarming: They’ve linked sugar—directly or indirectly—to all manner of health problems, including heart disease, arthritis, Alzheimer’s, cancer, PMS and depression. Recently, the World Health Organization recommended that refined-sugar foods (including high-fructose corn syrup, which is found in most sodas and cereals) make up no more than 10 percent of daily caloric intake, an announcement that has been heavily contested by the sugar industry. While the medical community debates the specific dangers of relying too heavily on sugary foods, no one is claiming that the stuff is actually good for you; and, in the last months, sugar-denouncing workshops have been popping up all over the city.

Regardless of the perceived risks, for many people sugar is simply too seductive to avoid. And according to a growing number of nutritional experts, a weak will might not be the culprit. Sugar, these health professionals contend, affects the system much like a drug, and over time, it becomes increasingly difficult to avoid. Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D., author of Potatoes Not Prozac and The Sugar Addict’s Total Recovery Program, pinpoints something she calls “sugar sensitivity” as the underlying cause of the compulsive habit. “[Sugar] has a drug effect in everyone’s brain,” she says. “But if you’re sugar sensitive, you get a bigger reaction and it’s easier to become addicted.” In other words, if you can’t stop at just one cookie, it’s not because you’re a glutton, it’s because you’re an addict.

At first, DesMaisons says, people thought her ideas were “nuts.” But a 2002 Princeton study may offer scientific vindication. In the study, rats compelled to binge on sugar displayed withdrawal symptoms when the substance was taken away. The symptoms—such as anxiety, teeth chattering and the shakes—were consistent with those experienced in nicotine or morphine withdrawal.

“I think we are a nation of sugar addicts,” says Rachel Kieffer, a holistic-nutrition counselor who advises the sugar-addled in public workshops and individual treatment programs. “Even if you don’t eat high quantities of sweets, there’s sugar in everything: packaged food, restaurant food, take-out food.” Kieffer believes people turn to the sweet stuff for many reasons, perhaps, most significantly, for the physical high you get after eating supersweet food such as candy. Like other substance-abuse patterns, that euphoric feeling is usually followed by a low, which can lead to a desire for more. Additionally, Kieffer thinks sugar is connected to poor emotional health. “A lot of times, people who turn to sugar are prone to depression or have light depression,” she says. “But sugar makes it worse. It numbs the pain or boredom. When you numb yourself, you can’t deal with your issues.”

But DesMaisons maintains that true sugar dependency is all about brain chemistry. “It’s always physiological,” she says. DesMaisons developed her theories while working as an addiction counselor, where she successfully implemented dietary change as an intervention tool for alcoholics and junkies. Her idea of sugar sensitivity boils down to three main components: carbohydrate sensitivity, low serotonin and low levels of beta-endorphin. Someone who is sensitive to sugar experiences a more extreme rise in blood sugar from carbohydrates than the non-addict, as well as a more intense kick from the release of beta-endorphins—and a person’s lack of serotonin can affect impulse control. After feeding his or her sweet tooth, a sugar addict will feel the same kind of rush an alcoholic or drug user will get from satisfying a craving. And when they don’t get it, they withdraw. Painfully.

DesMaisons’s diet doesn’t take an addict off sugar cold turkey. She’s developed instead a series of withdrawal stages designed to stabilize brain chemistry before removing sugar. The first stage is switching from a sweet, carb-laden morning meal, such as a bagel or cereal, to eating a protein-fueled breakfast, like an egg-white omelette. Next, DesMaisons recommends keeping a food journal so you can recognize the connection between food and mood. Eventually, addicts will eat three meals with consistent amounts of protein a day and transition from “white” foods (white bread, pasta, etc.) to “brown” foods (fare like brown rice, sweet potatoes and soy beans). By the time they get to step six—removing sugar altogether—brain chemistry will be stable and the diet won’t be sabotaged by cravings.

It was DesMaisons’s book that led Scott to realize sugar was the cause of many of her physical problems. “[Kathleen] was describing my life in a way that was quite remarkable,” she says. Scott kept a food journal and indeed noticed a correlation between what she ate and how she felt. After embarking on the program (”You don’t ever go through a withdrawal period,” she confirms. “By the time you get to removing sugar, it’s a nonevent.”) and sticking with it, she lost weight—and has kept it off. But more important, Scott says, she has her life back and has regained “energy, enthusiasm and a sense of humor.”

Kieffer agrees that slow weaning is the best way to kick the sweet stuff. Not only are accelerated withdrawal symptoms messy—some people throw up or get ill—but a clean break can also increase the chances of binging. Additionally, because sugar is present in many processed foods, Kieffer cautions her clients to read labels. Even better, they should learn to prepare their own food. In her Brooklyn office, Kieffer offers cooking lessons to those who don’t know the difference between barley and Swiss chard. “It’s not such a big deal,” she says. “[Cooking] isn’t so time consuming if you have some easy tips. When you know what you put in your food, that’s one of the best ways [to stay off of sugar].”

Although most holistically minded nutritionists agree, not everyone in the health profession buys the idea that sugar is addictive. Rachel Brandeis, a registered dietician and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, says, “We’re all born with an innate likeness for sweets; it’s built in. But I don’t agree that it’s a true addiction.” Brandeis claims cravings and compulsive eating aren’t the same as addiction. As for the Princeton study, she adds, “I wouldn’t make the jump from rats to humans.” And Dr. Robert Yanagisawa, an endocrinologist and director of the weight-management program at Mount Sinai, New York, believes that sugar addiction is hard to prove. “It’s definitely true that when you come down from a sugar high, you go low,” he says. “I can see people trying to avoid feeling low.” But, he offers, he’s not sure he’d equate this with something like cocaine dependence.

Because of these conflicting theories, I wanted to see for myself what impact (if any) my sugar intake has on my life. For seven days, I kept a journal of everything I ate, and I noticed a pattern almost immediately: My bad moods came at the same time every day (and night) and I got sleepy every afternoon at 3:00. After documenting my usage for a week, I cut myself off. The first day without sugar was ugly. While Kieffer and DesMaisons provided me with nutritional tools for coping, I initially wanted to feel the pain. I got a headache, I couldn’t stay awake, and I was very, very cranky. I tried to compensate with coffee, but it didn’t help. The second day, I decided to take the professionals’ advice: I included protein with breakfast and lunch and consumed a healthy portion of whole grains with dinner. I started to feel a little better. A few days into my sugar-free life, I realized I hadn’t taken a single nap. I wasn’t being mean to my boyfriend, and I seemed to have a decent supply of energy. Then came the biggest stunner of all: I didn’t experience any PMS symptoms (I didn’t even cry once).

Science isn’t conclusive regarding sugar’s addictive properties or detrimental health effects, but one thing seems certain: Cutting down isn’t a bad idea. If you think you might have a real problem with sweets and you’re not sure which expert to believe, DesMaisons has some simple advice: “Ask your body. Your body will tell you.”