Sugar Can Make you Feel Good, but Can it Lead to an Addiction?

Sugar supplies energy to the human body. It affects the human energy regulation system as well as the reward system. It also has an effect on emotion regulation. Overconsumption of sugar can lead to metabolic diseases (e.g. Diabetes mellitus and obesity). During the last decade, researchers were trying to elucidate whether sugar may lead to a dysregulation of the human reward system that may lead to an addiction - similar to other known addictive substances (e.g. alcohol or heroin). The aim of this review is to inform the reader about this controversial topic.