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Nose for News by Sarah Stultz

Anyone else have a sweet tooth out there?

I don’t mean just an occasional craving for ice cream with your family or a feeling for something sweet after a meal.

I’m talking a full-on can’t-stop-thinking-about-sugar sweet tooth — or probably better said, an addiction.

If you are someone with a sugar addiction, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Having said that, I’ll be the first to say I believe I’m addicted.

And I don’t mean that lightly, either. When I say addicted, it is in every way like an addiction to drugs or alcohol, in that just like the craving for drugs or alcohol, the cravings for sugar seem to invade your thoughts again and again throughout the day.

I have gone through periods in my life where I’m “in recovery” so to speak — where I feel in control of my sugar intake — but then other times I feel like I have no control — or very minimal control.

If I begin the day with something with sugar — say a pastry, doughnut or even some cereals — then the rest of my day is set up for failure, and I continue to crave sugar more and more throughout the day.

If I give in to that nagging thought to get something else sweet, then the cycle continues.

In my research about this, I came across a scientific article that studied the commonalities between sweetened diets and drugs of abuse.

In the study, rats were allowed to choose between water sweetened with saccharin — a calorie-free sweetener — and intravenous cocaine.

The study found that 94% preferred the sweet taste of the saccharin. The same result was found when they used sucrose, a natural sugar.

Even when the researchers increased the doses of cocaine, the sweetness still was preferred.

The study concluded that the reward that came from the intense sweetness surpassed the reward of cocaine.

Now read that sentence again. Sugar, which is in many of our processed foods, had a higher “reward” than cocaine.

It’s no wonder society is the way it is.

So how do we break that addiction? While I’m clearly no expert on this, an article through Harvard Medical School, recommends these tips to get started:

• Keep sugary foods away. What is in your cupboards and fridge, you are more likely to eat, so at least make it more difficult to get ahold of them.

• Sweeten foods yourself. Start with unsweetened yogurt, oatmeal, etc. and then add your own sweetener. No matter how much sweetener you put in, you still probably won’t add as much sweetener as if you were to buy it already sweetened.

• Watch for hidden sugars in foods. Read your labels and avoid foods that have sugar listed as the first ingredient.

• Start your day with a filling and nutritious meal, such as steel-cut oatmeal, eggs and fruit.

The article advises that once you get used to eating fewer sweet things, you will crave them less.

These things seem small, but I’m going to give them a try. I’ll update in a couple weeks!

Sarah Stultz is the managing editor of the Tribune. Her column appears every Wednesday.