{"id":584423,"date":"2026-04-04T06:09:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T06:09:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/584423\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T06:09:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T06:09:20","slug":"why-youre-wired-to-love-sugar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/584423\/","title":{"rendered":"Why you’re wired to love sugar"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Experts have answers for you about why people are wired to love sugar and how overindulgence can affect long-term metabolic and brain health.<\/p>\n

Americans love Easter candy, spending more than $5 billion on it in 2024, with chocolate bunnies and eggs among the most popular treats, according to the National Confectioners Association.<\/p>\n

While having a candy or two on a holiday isn\u2019t a problem, consistently eating too much sugar can have significant negative effects.<\/p>\n

According to Brenda Davy<\/a>, a professor in the human nutrition, foods, and exercise department at Virginia Tech and a registered dietitian, added sugar consumption is associated with negative health outcomes, including metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, weight gain, and poor diet quality.<\/p>\n

\u201cHealth organizations such as the American Heart Association recommend limiting foods and beverages with added sugars,\u201d Davy says. \u201cA general recommendation is to limit added sugar intake to less than 10% of total daily calories.\u201d<\/p>\n

For someone who requires 2,000 calories a day, that would mean 200 total calories of added sugar\u2014about the amount in seven or eight marshmallow Peeps.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis should be even less for children, since foods high in added sugar often displace nutrient-dense foods in the diet, which could impact healthy growth and development,\u201d Davy says.<\/p>\n

According to Alex DiFeliceantonio<\/a>, an assistant professor with the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, very few things are \u201chard-wired\u201d into human behavior, but liking and seeking sugar is one of those things. Specifically, sugar and fat combinations, like those found in chocolate candy, are especially rewarding to the brain.<\/p>\n

As the Easter holiday approaches, and candy fills grocery store aisles, Davy and DiFeliceantonio shared guidance on candy consumption to help people navigate the holiday sugar rush:<\/p>\n

Why we crave sugar<\/p>\n

DiFeliceantonio explains that the brain depends on a simple sugar as its main fuel source. Because of this, it encourages behaviors that keep that fuel coming.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour brain runs on glucose\u2014that\u2019s its primary fuel,\u201d DiFeliceantonio says. \u201cIn our evolutionary environment, it would be a really good idea to consume a lot of a resource when you have access to it. In the modern environment, that tendency is less good for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Put simply: Our brains are doing their job, but the modern world provides more sugar than our bodies need.<\/p>\n

Impacts of eating too much sugar<\/p>\n

Davy notes that eating excess added sugar over long periods contributes to weight gain and increases the risk of other negative health effects.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important to distinguish sugar naturally present in foods, such as fruits, from added sugars,\u201d Davy says. \u201cFruit contains fiber and many beneficial nutrients that are needed for promoting good health. They are an important part of healthy dietary patterns, such as the DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sugar intake can affect more than our physique\u2014it can shape long-term brain health, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cLong-term excess sugar intake will lead to increased weight and, in some people, type 2 diabetes,\u201d DiFeliceantonio says. \u201cThose body states are also not great for your brain and can increase inflammation, especially in the hypothalamus, which plays a role in energy balance. High blood sugars and type 2 diabetes are associated with cognitive decline and Alzheimer\u2019s disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kids and candy<\/p>\n

Children do have higher energy needs at certain stages, and they rely on carbohydrates to support growth and development. But DiFeliceantonio notes that candy isn\u2019t the kind kids need.<\/p>\n

\u201cKids also need carbohydrates to fuel their growth,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I don\u2019t think anyone needs a scientist to tell them that most of those carbohydrates shouldn\u2019t come from candy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: Virginia Tech<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Share this Article You are free to share this article under the Attribution 4.0 International license. Experts have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":584424,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[64,63,1295,137,532,6015],"class_list":{"0":"post-584423","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-food","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-nutrition","13":"tag-sugar"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/584423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=584423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/584423\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/584424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=584423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=584423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=584423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}