SuperUser Account posted on February 22, 2012 01:00
The United States in the 21st century seems to take as a matter of course that the pursuit of pleasure is one of the most important pursuits. But people are nonetheless not happy. The gross national happiness index is an indicator that measures quality of life, and the United States scores a lowly 44th on the happiness index
Pleasure and happiness might actually be opposites. And as the use of sugar for pleasure has increased, happiness has decreased. Long-term stimulation of your brain's pleasure center, called the nucleus accumbens, drives the process of addiction. When you consume sugar, the nucleus accumbens receives a dopamine signal, from which you experience pleasure. But with prolonged exposure, the signal gets weaker, so you have to consume more to get the same effect. And if you reduce your intake, you go into withdrawal.
According to The Atlantic:
“Tolerance and withdrawal constitute addiction. And make no mistake, sugar is addictive ... As our obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, and dementia rates continue to skyrocket due to our sugar over-consumption, the idea that a bottle of Coke holds the key to happiness is nothing short of pulp propaganda.”
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