Is sugar addictive?

I spent Memorial day weekend with my family and was fascinated with my nieces abilities to manipulate my dad and I into giving them anything with sugar in it...it didn't take much arm twisting to convince my dad aka pawpaw. You want some sprinkles in your pancakes? Sure! I mean you do make a good point, it will definitely make them look prettier. You want marshmallows AND whipped cream in your hot chocolate? Well you are just a little culinary genius aren't you! I have been doing it wrong for years!

By far the most entertaining was our visit to one of those DIY froyo places. I didn't know if my youngest niece's eyes could have gotten any bigger.  Her reaction was along the lines of this...

She was definitely in a sprinkle-froyo induced sugar frenzie and feeling good! She was running around trying to steal her sister's froyo despite still having plenty left in her bowl. Note: She was more successful when she practically jumped across the table to snag a bite from her sister's bowl. Anyways, all this got me to thinking, why are kids, and adults for that matter, so sugar crazed?

Obviously, it has been well documented that eating too much sugar is not a good thing for that girlish figure you may be working on or your overall health. There have even been some studies/headlines that compare sugar to drugs such as cocaine in its addictiveness properties. Is sugar addictive? Yes. Is sugar as addictive as cocaine? No. However, if you are a dork, such as myself, and are curious how sugar affects the brain and why we love sugar so much, check out this TedEd video...

Breaking it down
Keep your inner Buddy the Elf at bay...

But don't deprive yourself if all you really want is a doughnut...

My nutrition motto is everything in moderation. Well I am off to send my nieces a huge container of sprinkles. Until next time!

Keep it Fresh,
Keep it Green,

Beth