Doctor says sugar is eight times more addictive than cocaine

Updated
Doctor Says Sugar Eight Times More Addictive Than Cocaine
Doctor Says Sugar Eight Times More Addictive Than Cocaine


A U.S. doctor is making it his mission to publicly highlight some scary effects sugar has on the body. The chairman of the Institute for Functional Medicine says we're becoming more dependent on sugary foods and drinks - saying they're even more addictive than cocaine.

On"CBS This Morning," Dr. Mark Hyman said, "In animal studies, they find that the rats go for the sugar and that it's eight times as addictive as cocaine. Small amounts of sugar can be part of a normal diet, but most of us are addicted to sugar and don't know it."

Hyman himself has gone as far as calling sugar and sugary foods "deadly."

He told the New York Daily News that "sugar is the new nicotine. And worse, sugar actually causes diabetes and obesity."

The doctor's trying to help people find ways to lessen their dependence on sugar with tips from his book, "The Blood Sugar Solution 10-Day Detox Diet."

On the book's website, Dr. Hyman says 600 people took part in the diet, which encourages healthier eating habits. Together, they lost more than 4,000 pounds, and their average blood pressure fell by about 10 points.

Dr. Hyman told New York Daily News the average American eats 152 pounds of sugar a year. Whoa.

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