Natural Health

Sugar Treats are Mood Downers

Back to ArticlesArticles
Sugar Treats are Mood Downers about undefined
At one time or another -- hopefully now in the past -- you probably gorged on a candy bar, stuffed yourself with ice cream, or downed a fizzy drink to give yourself a pick-me-up and boost your mood. This sugar rush, so scientists tell us, is caused by a surge of the feel-good brain chemical called serotonin. No wonder sugar gives us a lift. But does it really? A new study suggests the sugar rush is a fiction. Far from raising our spirits, we become fatigued, less alert and feel worse. . .

Not Even a Short-Term Mood Lift

A whole slew of studies purports to show that carbs reduce fatigue, boost energy, give us a clear head and improve mood, but a group of psychologists still had their doubts. They looked over the research but concluded that it wasn't reliable, so they dug deeper and collected data from the most well-conducted studies they could find. In total, 31 studies, with 1,259 healthy adult participants, met their high standards. The psychology group from the Universities of Warwick and Lancaster in the UK and Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany, took many variables into account. For instance, they considered how long the volunteers fasted before loading with sugar, the type and amount of sugar they ate, the form it came in, and whether engaging in demanding mental and physical activities made any difference. They also looked at a number of emotional states: calmness, tension, confusion, alertness, anger, vigor, fatigue, depression, connectedness. Finally, they divided the results into three time periods after sugar consumption: up to half an hour, 31 minutes to an hour and beyond an hour. The scientists found that carbohydrates (CHOs) do not have a beneficial effect on any aspect of mood at any point in time. In fact, carbs lower alertness within an hour and increase fatigue within 30 minutes.

A Myth is Debunked

They wrote, "These findings challenge the idea that CHOs can improve mood, and might be used to increase the public's awareness that the 'sugar rush' is a myth..." The study didn't look into the sugar-serotonin connection, but questioned the existence of a mood-boosting mechanism related to carbs. According to Dr. Konstantinos Mantantzis, who led the research, "The idea that sugar can improve mood has been widely influential in popular culture, so much so that people all over the world consume sugary drinks to become more alert or combat fatigue. "Our findings very clearly indicate that such claims are not substantiated – if anything, sugar will probably make you feel worse." So if sugar won't give us a lift, what will?

A Simple Way to Energize Yourself

There's always that old standby, coffee. Besides making you more alert, it’s now linked to a range of health benefits, so this beverage is a win-win. Another choice is simply to go for a walk. Psychologists from Iowa State University, in a series of experiments, found that walking -- whether indoors or outdoors, in pleasant or drab surroundings, on your own or with friends -- raises your spirits. Dr. Jeff Miller, the study’s lead researcher, said walking, rather than sitting or standing, “will almost certainly result in increased feelings of pleasant energy. And that’s true whether you expect this to occur or not. “If you are feeling disengaged or sluggish, and you desire to energize yourself, take a brisk walk. Your feelings of engagement will very likely increase, and all those things you might have wanted to be doing should seem less imposing.”
  1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30951762
  2. https://warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/no_such_thing
  3. https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/minding-the-body/201608/walking-can-lift-your-mood-even-when-you-dont-expect-it

Keep Reading

View All Articles
Researchers Say One Single Unifying Theory May Explain Alzheimer's about false

Natural Health

Researchers Say One Single Unifying Theory May Explain Alzheimer's

Scientists have focused on amyloid beta plaques as the primary cause of Alzheimer’s disease for more than 25 years.Readers of this publication know I tossed the theory out a long time ago. For one

How Quickly You Forget Might Point to
 Future Dementia about false

Natural Health

How Quickly You Forget Might Point to
 Future Dementia

If you’re like many people today, you regularly listen to a podcast series or an audiobook.Let me ask you, after you've finished listening to the story, how much of it do you remember?If you recall

Never Make an Important Decision on an Empty Stomach about false

Natural Health

Never Make an Important Decision on an Empty Stomach

Shopping for food when you're hungry is never a good idea. It’s no surprise that candy bars and chocolate fudge cake are hard to resist when your stomach is rumbling.But fascinating new research into