Sugar: more addictive than coke

Researchers recently determined that refined sugar is actually more addictive than cocaine. In a recent study rats were given a choice between sugar water and cocaine, and 94% them chose sugar. Even the rats that had previously been addicted to cocaine switched to the sugar once it was a choice.

And why do you suppose that is? From the study abstract:

Our findings clearly demonstrate that intense sweetness can surpass cocaine reward, even in drug-sensitized and -addicted individuals. We speculate that the addictive potential of intense sweetness results from an inborn hypersensitivity to sweet tastants. In most mammals, including rats and humans, sweet receptors evolved in ancestral environments poor in sugars and are thus not adapted to high concentrations of sweet tastants. The supranormal stimulation of these receptors by sugar-rich diets, such as those now widely available in modern societies, would generate a supranormal reward signal in the brain, with the potential to override self-control mechanisms and thus to lead to addiction.

Ah, clears that question up. Of course, whenever I come across a story like this, regardless of the scientific contribution involved, I'm always left imagining what life must be like for the rats in this study. When the researchers wanted to be sure the sugar was more appealing to the coke-addicted rats, for instance, they steadily increased the dose of cocaine. When I was a human guinea pig for drug trials at the University of Washington, I was never given the option to have my doses steadily increased just to prove a point. I mean, come on, it's just not fair.