More addictive? The study shows that given a choice, the rats preferred sugar or a sugar substitute over drugs ... I think that's actually the way that it should be: the attempt to feed the body outweighs the desire for pleasure.

(BTW - reading over the study indicates that they were testing "sweet receptors" more than sugar as they used a saccharin solution for the majority of the experiment. Not only that it was mutually exclusive ... the rats had only those two choices. No little bowl of healthy alternatives like granola or beans.)

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Cybele,

It's taught in many undergrad psychology course - Cocaine is so addictive that rats and monkeys, given the choice between cocaine and food, will do so much cocaine that they starve to death.

However these were normal food items, not sugar water.

At least that's what they taught me in my class.

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Mike - did you read the study linked above? ... for the most part the findings reflect a result for rats preferring saccharin over cocaine ... not sugar over cocaine, though the did use some sugar water, but not as the primary test of the experiment.

The title of this blog post is misleading, the study concluded that the sweetness receptor was the part of the brain that was engaged here, not the addictiveness of sugar itself (nor the addictiveness of cocaine).

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well, i did manage to give up cocaine, and i was pretty addicted, sweets on the other hand- seems impossible!

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Sugar not only is addictive, it feeds cancer. In the states, Drs use a sugar solution to detect where cancer is and see the size of it (becuase cancer cells feed off of sugar) it is then visible during testing. In fact, an American Dr who treats cancer patients and practices in Mexico, gives his patients a little orange juice with chemo treatments so that less chemo is needed since the cancer cells obsorb the sugar so readily but are also absorbing the chemo. Less chemo, lessens the negative effects.

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I have insisted that sugar provides its own kind

of HIGH. then I read an article the spoke of

(I think) complex carbohydrates?(sp) which give you

that high, just as long as you are consuming. Sugar

is one of those. I am surprized concerning zero

calories? But not the addiction power of sugar

doesn't surprize Me. The same may be said of Food.

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As described, the conclusion is not supported by the experiment. If this sort of work passes as good science, we can also conclude that all fat people are rats.

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I was a participant in the horrible ordeal.After getting wacked on crack I was so hungry I'd eat or drink anything including sugar substitutes with no nutritional value. Bummer dude,now I'm labelled a double dipping addict and starving. Please send D-Con I can't take it anymore.

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This is pure baloney. The "logic" is simple: The researchers are lying, claiming that sugar is worse than cocaine. It isn't.
But they will then claim, "Well, then, compared to sugar, cocaine isn't all that bad! Let's ban sugar, and legalize cocaine!"
I refuse to believe a word of that article.

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drugs provide pleasure, whats wrong with that?

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IS this comparison right in the first place?

Sugar is food, cocaine is not!

Rats or any animal primary need is to satisfy hunger, and not to get HIGH

I really wonder where the money comes to do such non contributing studies?

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I have decided to start snorting rats that have been feed cocaine laced sugar.

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It's not the first time that Marisa's title is misleading ("diet soda no better for you than regular" immediately comes to mind. Perhaps instead of jumping at a "sensational" title, Marisa should actually read the report she writes about and then think of a title that would reflect it correctly.

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Lol @ Jim.

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The replies to this post show how ignorant the general public is. Just because you can eat something doesn't make it food. Sugar isn't "food." This study is valid. Refined sugar has been known to be highly addicting and a study now proves this. It's addicting because it causes intense withdrawal symptoms, including depression and the inability to concentrate.

This is why stereotypically, depressed girls snack on sugary foods, and why college kids saturate their coffees with sugar, especially before exams (I worked at my college's cafeteria).

The drug addiction you who seem very ignorant about drugs and cocaine are talking about is mainly psychological.

I feel depressed that I'm the same species of animal as David here. Look at his ignorant comment:

"The researchers are lying, claiming that sugar is worse than cocaine. It isn't."

Dude totally missed the point. The study shows that sugar is addicting, and compared to cocaine, more so. That's it. It doesn't mean we should legalize cocaine or ban sugar.

(We shouldn't ban any drug, but that's an ethical and health issue and has nothing to do with sugar nor this study.)

and Brooke: It's called marketing.

You guys should do your homework on addiction and drugs, mainly illegal ones.

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High fructose corn syrup is CAUSING autism. Around 12 months we begin feeding our children “table food” which is loaded with HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP. This toxin poisons the developing brain and reverses language and learned behaviors. The child retreates into it’s own world. No more eye contact or physical contact is desired. Even some of our “junior” baby foods and formulas contain HFCS. Again, we are poisoning the developing brain. HFCS is NOT a sugar nor is it NATURAL. It is a CHEMICAL. Our bodies do not understand how to metabolize this chemical, so our livers convert it into fat(obesity skyrocketing rates) and it clogs our brains with left over metabolites (the left over stuff). Get this stuff out of your diet. It is killing americans with obesity, heart disease, diabetes, non-alcholic fatty liver disease and AUTISM rates at 1 in 90 kids. This is scary. The FDA NEVER tested HFCS nor will it. They are “sleeping” with the corn industry. No one is proecting us. The corn industry LIES and says it is JUST LIKE SUGAR, yes a 30 step chemically altered substance is “sugar”?? I don’t think so!!! You can’t make this at home, nor can you grow it!! Don’t eat it ever again and tell parents of babies to watch labels, you would be shocked at the huge number of foods and beverages which contain this “chemical”. Good luck……

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Well, I know that sugar is not good at all for heath, but to compare it with cocaine...!

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