Sweet Tooth?
But Very, Very Bruisable...
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Palm Springs, Ca.
Posts: 548
Sweet Tooth?
By Alison McCook
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with an alcoholic father are more likely than others to prefer sweets, according to the results of a new study.
None of the study participants were alcoholics. However, alcoholism carries a strong genetic component, and the findings suggest that a preference for sweets could serve as an indication that a person has a genetic risk of developing the disease.
As a result, testing people on their preference for sweets may help ward off an addiction to alcohol long before they take their first drink, study author Dr. Alexey Kampov-Polevoy told Reuters Health.
"If our findings are confirmed by the future studies, it may help to identify an individual at risk for the development of alcoholism early in life," he said. "As with any other disease, alcoholism is easier to prevent than to treat."
However, everyone who likes sweets should not fear they are at risk of becoming an alcoholic, cautioned Kampov-Polevoy, who is based at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.
Most mammals enjoy sweets, he noted, and not everyone with a genetic risk of alcoholism develops the disease. "In our sample there were several sweet-liking children of alcoholics who never even touched alcohol. And without drinking alcohol it is impossible to develop alcoholism," he said.
Previous reports have established a link between alcoholism and sweets. For instance, one study found that alcoholics were more likely to prefer a sweetened drink than non-alcoholics.
During the current report, Kampov-Polevoy and his colleagues asked 163 people with no history of alcohol or drug abuse to rate their preference for differently sweetened liquids. Half of the study participants reported that their father was an alcoholic.
People were considered to prefer sweets if they enjoyed the most heavily sweetened solution more than the other drinks.
Participants with an alcoholic father were more than twice as likely to prefer sweets as people with no paternal history of alcoholism, the authors report in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
Kampov-Polevoy explained that the same mechanism in the brain enables us to enjoy both alcohol and sweets. As a result, some people struggling with alcoholism may be able to substitute one craving for another--for instance, popping a hard candy when the desire to drink arises, he said.
Indeed, previous research has shown that providing animals addicted to alcohol with sweets helps them reduce their intake of alcohol, and published reports by Alcoholics Anonymous of the experiences of recovering alcoholics suggest that having a sweet can allay the desire to drink, Kampov-Polevoy said.
SOURCE: Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, November 2003.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with an alcoholic father are more likely than others to prefer sweets, according to the results of a new study.
None of the study participants were alcoholics. However, alcoholism carries a strong genetic component, and the findings suggest that a preference for sweets could serve as an indication that a person has a genetic risk of developing the disease.
As a result, testing people on their preference for sweets may help ward off an addiction to alcohol long before they take their first drink, study author Dr. Alexey Kampov-Polevoy told Reuters Health.
"If our findings are confirmed by the future studies, it may help to identify an individual at risk for the development of alcoholism early in life," he said. "As with any other disease, alcoholism is easier to prevent than to treat."
However, everyone who likes sweets should not fear they are at risk of becoming an alcoholic, cautioned Kampov-Polevoy, who is based at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.
Most mammals enjoy sweets, he noted, and not everyone with a genetic risk of alcoholism develops the disease. "In our sample there were several sweet-liking children of alcoholics who never even touched alcohol. And without drinking alcohol it is impossible to develop alcoholism," he said.
Previous reports have established a link between alcoholism and sweets. For instance, one study found that alcoholics were more likely to prefer a sweetened drink than non-alcoholics.
During the current report, Kampov-Polevoy and his colleagues asked 163 people with no history of alcohol or drug abuse to rate their preference for differently sweetened liquids. Half of the study participants reported that their father was an alcoholic.
People were considered to prefer sweets if they enjoyed the most heavily sweetened solution more than the other drinks.
Participants with an alcoholic father were more than twice as likely to prefer sweets as people with no paternal history of alcoholism, the authors report in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
Kampov-Polevoy explained that the same mechanism in the brain enables us to enjoy both alcohol and sweets. As a result, some people struggling with alcoholism may be able to substitute one craving for another--for instance, popping a hard candy when the desire to drink arises, he said.
Indeed, previous research has shown that providing animals addicted to alcohol with sweets helps them reduce their intake of alcohol, and published reports by Alcoholics Anonymous of the experiences of recovering alcoholics suggest that having a sweet can allay the desire to drink, Kampov-Polevoy said.
SOURCE: Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, November 2003.
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Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Dancing in the Light
Posts: 61,518
Thanks Jon, very interesting. I only realized the connection between sugar-craving and alcoholism after the fact. I've never been overweight, but I wish my need for carbs and sugar had alterted me before I began to drink. But, then I'd never had met all the great folks here, would I?
Love, Anna
Love, Anna
Member
Join Date: May 2003
Location: El Paso, Tx
Posts: 5,862
Though I occasionaly had a sweet tooth it never kicked in until after I quit drinking, been very hard to stay away from the chocolate.. forces me to do another 20 minutes on the tread mill... eeegads!
Paused
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Queens, New York
Posts: 4
ha!
jeez...well definitely applicable in my case...my father (recovering alcoholic) doesnt eat sweets at all-as for myself-candy addiction (right alongside with alcohol) all the way bay-bee...whether inherited or solely my own doing, pretty nuts...thx 4 the article!
Member
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Somewhere in the Mojave Desert
Posts: 498
Hey Jon,
I heard this on the news a few days ago and it hit home for me! Didn't eat much sweets while drinking but the first two/three weeks sober I could not get enough chocolate. Glad to say that has calmed down somewhat. Good article and glad you posted it!
Love,
Laci
I heard this on the news a few days ago and it hit home for me! Didn't eat much sweets while drinking but the first two/three weeks sober I could not get enough chocolate. Glad to say that has calmed down somewhat. Good article and glad you posted it!
Love,
Laci
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