Hello and welcome to the Nutrition Facts Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Michael Greger.

Now I know I'm known for explaining how not to do certain things. Just look at my books,

how not to die. The one I'm working on right now, how not to die it. But what I actually

have to share with you is quite positive and boils down to this. What's the best way

to live a healthy life? Here are some answers.

Today we look at a topic that's been in the news a lot lately, addiction. There's evidence

connecting cravings for foods containing high amounts of sugar and fat with the dopamine-based

reward pathways in the brain. In fact, evidence from PET scan suggests brain activity changes

associated with the overconsumption of sugar make parallel that of drug addiction. Here's

the story. People have chewed coca leaves for at least 8,000 years as a mild stimulant without

any evidence of addiction. But when certain components are isolated and concentrated

into cocaine, we've got a problem. The same may be true of sugar. People don't tend

to binge on bananas. It's perhaps the reason we're more likely to supersize soda than sweet

potatoes. The overconsumption of sugar sweetened diets has often been compared to drug addiction,

though this parallel was based until very recently, more on anecdotal evidence than on solid

scientific grounds. But now we have PET scans, imaging technology that can measure brain

activity. We see the same thing in cocaine addicts and alcoholics. This would suggest

that a reduction in dopamine receptors is associated with addictive behavior irrespective

of whether it's due to food or to addictive drugs as seen in substance abusers. Dopamine

is considered the neurotransmitter primarily involved in the pleasure and reward center

of our brain, helping to motivate our drive for things like food, water, and sex, all necessary

for the perpetuation of our species. It was healthy and adaptive for our primate brains

...