An alcoholic sweet tooth? Say what?
Confession #1. Three years in college has gone by like a breeze. In a year’s time I’ll be embarking on another journey, probably drowning in medical terms and depriving myself of a ‘social’ life. Oh yes, the ‘social’ life I will truly miss. What, you may ask, is there to miss in having a ‘social’ life during college? Let me just say alcohol and friends are a big part of it. Pretty sure most of you reading this would agree. We, specifically college students, all have our reasons for drinking booze. Whether it be to meet new people, forget one’s problems or have fun with friends, most of us are guilty of having had drunken nights. Much as it would interest you to know about the uninhibited confessions I’ve done under the influence, I have a different type of confession in mind. Thirsty to find out? Read on.
Confession #2. Most of my friends know me for having a personal “chocolate factory” at home. I rarely pop a piece of these heavenly treats in my mouth before; but, for some bizarre reason, my love for sweets in college has flourished, more so during post-hit mornings. The harder it was to control myself from drinking, the harder it was to control myself from eating sweets. I am amazed as to how I can indulge in 6 happy horses the night before and three bars of toblerone the next day. Why is that so?
Confession #3. What I know: eating chocolate and drinking alcohol are very blissful experiences. What I didn’t know: alcohol and sweets activate many of the same reward circuits in the brain (Bryner, 2010). In his study, Kampov-Polevoy (1980) suggested how craving for these two substances stem from a common neurochemical mechanism. Twenty years later, Scinska, Koros, Habrat, Kukwa, Kostowki and Bienkowski confirm this by proving how ethanol can activate some nerve fibers sensitive to low sugar concentrations to a significant number of subjects. Does it mean that a link between being a sweet tooth and alcoholic really exists? Does having an inclination for sweets serve as a marker for developing the risk to become an alcoholic and vise versa?
Confession #4. It’s an alarming but interesting thought to know how researchers were able to link alcoholism to generations as young as children (Bryner, 2010). In his study, Kampov-Polevoy also noticed how alcoholic patients (65 percent of them) prefer the more concentrated sugar solutions (imagine a drink that was about two times sweeter than Coke) than non-alcoholics. Although it's uncertain whether this preference for sweeter solutions came before or after the onset of alcoholism, the difference between the two groups seem significant enough to have been published.
In conclusion, craving for sweets doesn’t necessarily imply a higher inclination for alcohol and vice versa. Like anything, other factors such as environment, genetics (e.g. paternal history of alcoholism), personality and moods have an effect on our over-all perception of the two. In addition, no significant difference was found between frequent and seldom drinkers’ bitterness perception in beer (Scinska et al, 2000; Guinard, Zoumas-Morse, Dietz, Goldberg, Holz, Heck and Amoros, 1995).
I always blamed my intensified craving for sweets, as well as the weight gain that came with it, on the a-a-a-a-a-alcohol. But, taking everything into consideration, I have no one to blame but my alcoholic sweet tooth self. Confession #5.
References:
Bryner, B. (2010). Sweet Tooth in Children May Be Linked to Alcoholism. Live Science, Health. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/health/kids-sweet-taste-alcoholism-100210.html
Guinard, JX, Zoumas-Morse, C., Dietz, J., Goldberg, S., Holz, M., Heck, E., & Amoros, A. Does consumption of beer, alcohol, and bitter substances affect bitterness perception? Physiology and Behavior, 59, 625 – 631.
Kampov-Polevoy, A., Garbutt, J. & Janowsky, D. (1997). Evidence of preference for a high-concentration sucrose solution in alcoholic men. American Journal of Psychiatry, 154, 269-270.
Scinska, A., Koros, E., Habrat, B., Kukwa, A., Kostowski, W., & Bienkowski, P. (2000). Bitter and sweet components of ethanol taste in humans. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 60. Retrieved from http://www.elsevier.com/locate/drugalcdep
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