A High-Sugar Diet Consumption, Metabolism and Health Impacts with a Focus on the Development of Substance Use Disorder: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Carbohydrates are important macronutrients in human and rodent diet patterns that play a key role in crucial metabolic pathways and provide the necessary energy for proper body functioning. Sugar homeostasis and intake require complex hormonal and nervous control to proper body energy balance. Added sugar in processed food results in metabolic, cardiovascular, and nervous disorders. Epidemiological reports have shown enhanced consumption of sweet products in children and adults, especially in reproductive age and in pregnant women, which can lead to the susceptibility of offspring’s health to diseases in early life or in adulthood and proneness to mental disorders. In this review, we discuss the impacts of high-sugar diet (HSD) or sugar intake during the perinatal and/or postnatal periods on neural and behavioural disturbances as well as on the development of substance use disorder (SUD). Since several emotional behavioural disturbances are recognized as predictors of SUD, we also present how HSD enhances impulsive behaviour, stress, anxiety and depression. Apart from the influence of HSD on these mood disturbances, added sugar can render food addiction. Both food and addictive substances change the sensitivity of the brain rewarding neurotransmission signalling. The results of the collected studies could be important in assessing sugar intake, especially via maternal dietary patterns, from the clinical perspective of SUD prevention or pre-existing emotional disorders. Methodology: This narrative review focuses on the roles of a high-sugar diet (HSD) and added sugar in foods and on the impacts of glucose and fructose on the development of substance use disorder (SUD) and on the behavioural predictors of drugs abuse. The literature was reviewed by two authors independently according to the topic of the review. We searched the PubMed and Scopus databases and Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute open access scientific journals using the following keyword search strategy depending on the theme of the chapter: “high-sugar diet” OR “high-carbohydrate diet” OR “sugar” OR “glucose” OR “fructose” OR “added sugar” AND keywords. We excluded inaccessible or pay-walled articles, abstracts, conference papers, editorials, letters, commentary, and short notes. Reviews, experimental studies, and epidemiological data, published since 1990s, were searched and collected depending on the chapter structure. After the search, all duplicates are thrown out and full texts were read, and findings were rescreened. After the selection process, appropriate papers were included to present in this review.

Ultra-Processed Food Consumption is Associated with Alcoholic Beverage Drinking, Tobacco Smoking, and Illicit Drug Use in Adolescents: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

“…The cooccurrence of unhealthy lifestyle habits such as the consumption of UPF and psychoactive substances in adolescence is a crucial issue because this cluster effect may result in a synergism that enhances the severity of their separate harmful effects on health (Alzahrani et al, 2014;Ricardo et al, 2019;Whitaker et al, 2021). Most of the evidence on the association between UPF and substance use is based on preclinical studies with animals (Witek et al, 2022), a few epidemiological studies with adults (Amadieu et al, 2021;Schulte et al, 2015) and adolescents (Cummings et al, 2020;M. Wang et al, 2017), mostly focusing on specific UPF such as soft drinks (Atorkey et al, 2021;Fagan et al, 2021;Pengpid & Peltzer, 2019;Shih et al, 2020;Terry-McElrath et al, 2014).…”

Advancements in Glucose Monitoring: A Thin Film ZnO-Nanoflakes Based Highly Sensitive Wearable Biosensor for Noninvasive Sweat-Based Point-of-Care Monitoring for Diabetes

“…Continuous monitoring and management of blood glucose levels are important for preventing the acute and chronic complications of diabetes, highlighting the importance of lifestyle, medication, and, in some cases, insulin therapy to manage the disease and reduce the risk of complications (4). Research in clinical trials and epidemiological studies indicates that consuming higher levels of sugar, specifically from sugar-sweetened drinks, is associated with weight gain and a higher likelihood of developing obesity, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases (5,6). Furthermore, the continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system is vital in managing diabetes and provides real-time insights into the patient's blood glucose levels.…”

Maternal monosaccharide diets evoke cognitive, locomotor, and emotional disturbances in adolescent and young adult offspring rats

“…In a recent review, perinatal and postnatal HSD (such as sugar, sucrose, fructose, or glucose) consumption was considered a potential risk factor for neurobehavioural dysregulations such as mental disorders ( 14 ). Although several preclinical studies have evaluated the effects of maternal HSD on offspring behavior ( 15 – 18 ), most of these studies were performed using male or female rodents independently.…”