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Is sugar a drug? If not, what would the differentiation be?

s_y_n_t_a_x 7y ago
Sugar is glucose plus whatever and is safe in moderation. Caffeine is a stimulant drug that you cannot give pregnant women more than a cup a day and it gives you physical withdrawals if you try to quit. edit: edited due to nitpicking.
- jjulius 7y ago
  >Sugar is glucose plus whatever and is safe in moderation. Lots of things that are addictive or considered a drug can be safe in moderation. >Caffeine is a stimulant drug that you cannot give pregnant women at all and it gives you physical withdrawals if you try to quit. Well that's just not true and I'd caution you to not speak in absolutes. Pregnant women can have finite amounts of caffeine. We just had our first child and my wife's doctor cleared her to have a cup a day during her pregnancy. A cup a day is, as far as I can tell, commonly considered OK[0]. "Current guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and other experts say that it's safe for pregnant women to consume up to 200 milligrams of caffeine a day, or around one daily 12-ounce cup of coffee."[1] [0]https://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancy-health/caffeine-intake-during-pregnancy/ https://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancy-health/caffeine-inta... [1]https://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/eating-well/week-4/caffeine-during-pregnancy.aspx https://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/eating-well/week-4/ca...
  - s_y_n_t_a_x 7y ago
    The conclusion for the first article you linked is: > Avoiding caffeine as much as possible is your safest course of action. If you must get your fix, it is best to discuss this with your healthcare provider to make the healthiest choice for you and your baby. If caffeine isn't so addictive then it should be no problem to give it up for pregnancy :) Caffeine crosses the placenta to your baby which cannot metabolize it. There are numerous studies of how caffeine causes birth defects. I'll change my absolute but it doesn't really deter from my point that caffeine can be harmful drug in some scenarios (pregnancy) even when drinking it moderately (2-3 cups a day).
- stronglikedan 7y ago
  Sugar seems to stimulate as well. Perhaps not in the same sense as caffeine? And I've definitely experienced sugar withdrawals that felt physical when I reduced my refined sugar intake. Could those have been psychological, but just felt physical? Psychosomatic - is that the right word?
  - s_y_n_t_a_x 7y ago
    Your blood sugar level was probably out of wack. Depends on a lot of things, what type of sugar, the amount, your metabolism, your age, etc.
fuzzfactor 7y ago
Sugar is a simple carbohydrate, and it is among the big three nutritional substances; proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Caffeine and cocaine are also natural plant products but they are habit-forming stimulant drugs found in much smaller concentrations of the "medicinal" crop compared to the plant sugars found in the commercial sweetener food crops like beets, sugar cane, and maple. Pure chemicals have concentrated properties that can be much more extreme than their low-concentration behavior. Drugs or not. Crystals are among the big three physical forms for pure chemicals; solid, liquid, and gas. It has been well recognized that habitual consumption of these example substances beyond a certain concentration will lead to negative outcomes according to the individual, the substance, and the habit.

Sugar is glucose plus whatever and is safe in moderation. Caffeine is a stimulant drug that you cannot give pregnant women more than a cup a day and it gives you physical withdrawals if you try to quit. edit: edited due to nitpicking.

jjulius 7y ago
>Sugar is glucose plus whatever and is safe in moderation. Lots of things that are addictive or considered a drug can be safe in moderation. >Caffeine is a stimulant drug that you cannot give pregnant women at all and it gives you physical withdrawals if you try to quit. Well that's just not true and I'd caution you to not speak in absolutes. Pregnant women can have finite amounts of caffeine. We just had our first child and my wife's doctor cleared her to have a cup a day during her pregnancy. A cup a day is, as far as I can tell, commonly considered OK[0]. "Current guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and other experts say that it's safe for pregnant women to consume up to 200 milligrams of caffeine a day, or around one daily 12-ounce cup of coffee."[1] [0]https://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancy-health/caffeine-intake-during-pregnancy/ https://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancy-health/caffeine-inta... [1]https://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/eating-well/week-4/caffeine-during-pregnancy.aspx https://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/eating-well/week-4/ca...
- s_y_n_t_a_x 7y ago
  The conclusion for the first article you linked is: > Avoiding caffeine as much as possible is your safest course of action. If you must get your fix, it is best to discuss this with your healthcare provider to make the healthiest choice for you and your baby. If caffeine isn't so addictive then it should be no problem to give it up for pregnancy :) Caffeine crosses the placenta to your baby which cannot metabolize it. There are numerous studies of how caffeine causes birth defects. I'll change my absolute but it doesn't really deter from my point that caffeine can be harmful drug in some scenarios (pregnancy) even when drinking it moderately (2-3 cups a day).
stronglikedan 7y ago
Sugar seems to stimulate as well. Perhaps not in the same sense as caffeine? And I've definitely experienced sugar withdrawals that felt physical when I reduced my refined sugar intake. Could those have been psychological, but just felt physical? Psychosomatic - is that the right word?
- s_y_n_t_a_x 7y ago
  Your blood sugar level was probably out of wack. Depends on a lot of things, what type of sugar, the amount, your metabolism, your age, etc.

fuzzfactor 7y ago

Sugar is a simple carbohydrate, and it is among the big three nutritional substances; proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Caffeine and cocaine are also natural plant products but they are habit-forming stimulant drugs found in much smaller concentrations of the "medicinal" crop compared to the plant sugars found in the commercial sweetener food crops like beets, sugar cane, and maple. Pure chemicals have concentrated properties that can be much more extreme than their low-concentration behavior. Drugs or not. Crystals are among the big three physical forms for pure chemicals; solid, liquid, and gas. It has been well recognized that habitual consumption of these example substances beyond a certain concentration will lead to negative outcomes according to the individual, the substance, and the habit.