How Sugar - Like Drugs & Alcohol - Impacts Our Dopamine Levels

Psychiatrist Dr. Anna Lembke discusses how addictive substances like alcohol and drugs cause our dopamine levels to rocket, and reveals - perhaps surprisngly - that highly processed, high sugar food can also have a similar effect on our brains. This is the second podcast of three that I'm doing in conjunction with the International Food Addiction Consensus conference held in London on 17th May. 

Anna argues we've transformed our world into a place of overwhelming abundance, where we're constantly bombarded by  triggers - whether that's food, drugs, social media or other addictive substances that continually stimulate high dopamine release in our brains.

She believes we're becoming addicted to pleasures that make us sick. Anna reveals the neuroscience of food addiction; the impact of  constant dopamine hits to our brains; the value of a month long dopamine fast; and what we can all do to lead healthier, more balanced lives.

Dr. Anna Lembke is a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic.

 

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The host of the podcast, Liz Tucker is an award winning medical journalist and former BBC producer and director.  You can follow Liz on Twitter at https://twitter.com/lizctucker and read her Substack newsletter about the podcast at https://liztucker.substack.com

Medical Matters with Liz Tucker has been selected by Feedspot as one of the top 15 UK Medical Podcasts https://blog.feedspot.com/uk_medical_podcasts/