To think that caffeine & sugar are drugs?

[dieselKiller]

The mood altering effects of caffeine & sugar are pretty obvious, I think, and both positive (more energy) & negative (anxiety, aggression). AIBU to think that we should be more explicit as a society that caffeine and sugar are mood-altering drugs?

Do you talk to your kids about the effects of caffeine and sugar so they’re not caught unawares by them?

Sugar isn't a drug. It's essential for us to function.

Caffeine is a drug but it's not damaging in the same way as a lot of other drugs (nicotine, cannabis, cocaine etc.)

Neither makes me aggressive. I'm more concerned about artificial sweeteners and all the other shit that is put into much of the food in offer that people consume unawares tbh.

I will make sure I mention it to them when I make them a cup of tea with a teaspoon of sugar in it before school!

I really should limit their intake of crack, too, it does affect their behaviour at school.....

We’re all fucking doomed then if we can’t have a coffee first thing or a packet of sweets when we need them.

Jeez. 🙄

Lovely though (as I sip my first coffee of the morning and would totally be having a caramel shot in it if I wasn't fasting)

I typically drink a couple of cups of coffee a day and eat cake. I’m not trying to start a campaign to ban coffee & cake. I’m talking about being aware that coffee & cake aren’t completely neutral to your mood and that there are both positive and negative effects (which are dose-dependent).

Sorry, that's just a daft assertion.
Neither are addictive, neither necessarily cause the symptoms you describe. These are personal to you.
If you are telling your children they are addictive, you are in the wrong and scaremongering

Are you talking about sugar or added sugar, OP?

I would talk to kids about not consuming too much added sugar and particularly UPFs - although I still don't see it as a drug in the way that caffeine is.

Added sugars can be addictive and consuming too much can be detrimental for health in many ways, this is common knowledge.

But sugars in terms of the carbohydrates that occur in many foods are essential for a healthy diet.

@dieselKiller

To what end?

water is wet, but I don't feel the need to start a thread about it?!?!

I do see where you're coming from, but supporting a child to be aware of the impact of different foods on their health and mood is different to labelling a piece of cake as a "drug".

Cake is not a drug or something that comes in "doses" - this undermines the reality of actual drugs.

Well no, sugar is not a drug. But ime it is incredibly addictive, and something I am now trying to address as my weight is creeping up. I've never tried tea or coffee and I'm 38!

I don’t believe that sugar and caffeine are addictive. I do believe that they are habit forming. But that’s not the main thing I’m referring to: it’s the mood-altering effects, both positive and negative, that I’m interested in whether people are aware of.

People obviously believe in the positive effects of these substances based on the responses, but seem to be ignoring the negatives.

For those that have never experienced the negative effects of caffeine, perhaps you have kept your personal dose low and perhaps you’re unaware of the negative effects of mixing alcohol and caffeine (Buckfast)?

Caffeine is addictive and can have negative impacts on sleep, mental health and physical health.

How have you not heard that caffeine is addictive? This has been known for decades.

This is about caffeine:
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/articles/2020/12/new-insight-into-caffeine-use-disorder

Caffeine is a drug imo, and it's definitely addictive. If you think it's not, try giving it up!

Sugar more difficult - essential to function but also addictive which seems to be once it's been processed and turned into junk food/snacks - eg you don't get a sugar addiction from eating fruit.

I don’t know why people say you’re ridiculous. Scientifically sugar is not a drug and essential to human function. Caffeine is indeed a drug and does have a physiological impact. For example: heart rate. Hence why there are restrictions on heavily caffeinated energy drinks. These facts are taught as part of the National Curriculum in primary school.

This does not say it is addictive, it states vaffeine use disorder is theoretically possible
Clutch at those straws

Sugar is not essential for us. Our body doesn't need any added sugar. That's what is making people fat.

I stopped caffeine dead and suffered 2days of severe headaches. I never normally get headaches so that presumably was the withdrawal.

I don’t know why people are so unaware that scientifically caffeine is a drug. Explains why it’s on the National Curriculum I suppose because parents can’t be trusted to not buy restricted, highly caffeinated drinks for their children. Primary school science and PSHE - the impacts of substances on the body.

It is a stimulant and impacts the central nervous system and has a physiological impact on the body. Hence why it is a drug.

I've just given up 'sugar' and caffeine for the past 19 days. It wasn't that hard at all despite eating / drinking excessively. If I had that much alcohol, it would be a lot harder to stop.

However 'sugar' is misleading. Fruit contains sugar, not to mention how your body reacts to carbohydrates. So, the glucose spike (ie how it affects your body/ mood) of a chunk of white baguette and chocolate bar are not dissimilar. I think it's silly to isolate 'sugar' as a baddie apart from dental health. There's also many things which help to reduce the sugar spike (eg. Combining sugar with fat) so if you really want to learn about the effects of 'sugar' and educate people, you need to learn a lot more about nutrition.

Personally, I'll leave it as long as my kids are eating a pretty healthy balanced diet, sugar and caffeine are OK. It's better to be relaxed about food (for your mental health) unless you have a medical issue, rather than giving children an idea that some foods are really 'bad'.

It’s also important to recognise that people metabolise caffeine at different rates so the effects are specific to an individual (beyond the obvious issue of large people and small people handling different doses differently).

I think the point that talking about sugar and caffeine as drugs with doses somehow negatively affects our understanding of classified & hard drugs is interesting, but ultimately disagree with that.

I also disagree with the point that there is a danger to having sensible discussions with kids about the effects of the substances they consume.

Let’s go through life without any lows or highs, let’s not do anything that might give us joy; a good laugh with a friend, a delicious meal, belting out your favourite power ballad in the shower, or cause us grief; making friends or falling in love, having a pet, watching a sad film.

Food, particularly, must be carefully policed and monitored to be nutritionally balanced at all times and nothing should ever be eaten in excess.

Yes we talk about the effects of caffeine and sugar.

Interesting episode on diary of a ceo about sugar.

@whistleblower99 The coverage of caffeine in national curriculum is interesting. I didn’t know that.