Sugar is sweet, but we get too much of it. "Sugar" is often times hidden on food packaging ingredient list by any (and oftentimes _many_) of its 56 different names[^1] - names like: "Chemistry"-sounding names like: - sucrose - dextrose - dextrin - lactose - fructose - high fructose corn syrup - maltodextrin - maltose And other "natural"-sounding names like: - cane sugar - agave nectar - honey - fruit juice (possibly with "concentrate") Each of these names sugar goes by _are_ different,[^2] but they're all essentially _sugar_. They lead to [[Insulin Resistance]], [[Metabolic Syndrome]], and other bad health outcomes. [[Junk Foods Don't Fill You Because They Don't Give Your Body What it Needs]]. Sweet foods give your brain a rush of [[Dopamine]], which motivates it to find more. In essence, sugar is a drug... and like all drugs[^3] there is a [[Law of Diminishing Returns]] that happens where your body adapts to inputs and reverts to [[Hedonic Treadmill|Homeostasis]], requiring you to up the dose to achieve the same feeling of "reward". **** # More ## Source - [[Good Energy (book)]] - https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/56-different-names-for-sugar#Glucose-or-fructose-Does-it-matter ## Related - [[Eat Food - Not Too Much - Mostly Plants]] - [[Treats]] [^1]: Technically 56 different _forms_, each with their own name, but they all functionally amount to "sugar". [^2]: From the healthline article: > Glucose and fructose — even though they’re very common and often found together — may have different effects on your body. Glucose can be metabolized by nearly every cell in your body, while fructose is metabolized almost entirely in the liver [^3]: I think?