Why Meth Addicts Crave Sugar?
Press Release May, 2011

Drugs have been shown to fry your brain like eggs in a hot frying pan. As bad as that sounds, the new research shows methamphetamine does more damage than that. According to U.S. researchers, reported online in PLOS ONE on April 20, 2011, in one of the broadest surveys to date, the data shows the impact of methamphetamine on the genes and the cells of fruit flies. It not only devastates muscle structure of the body it destroys sperm and put the sugar metabolism of the fruit fly into higher gear.

Methamphetamine was shown to affect a tiny fruit fly by changing its biochemical networks as it does to human beings, says Barry Pittendrigh, the coauthor of the new report. Drosophila Melanogaster, or fruit fly as commonly known, has been the subject of many scientific test experiments providing valuable results used by us humans. In this case, the scientists were researching the meth’s toll on genes and protein molecules in fruit flies and came across meth’s effect on sugar molecules which has been the subject of intrigue when it came to meth addiction and human craving for sweets.

This research showed that meth widely caused muscle degradation, sperm destruction and most importantly sped up aging process in the body cells. Previously similar studies had shown the devastation of heart muscles, the reduction of fertility and cell aging acceleration in mice and humans.

One of the doors that this new research opened to a better understanding of how this drug works was the fact that it cuts down sugar molecules in a fast and disorganized way. This process of sugar being used in body is a normal process of cells using sugar when in need of Oxygen. But when done in the normal fashion, there is no devastating effect on the cells as there is when Meth causes this sugar consumption. Meth seems to trick the body, by changing some gene structure that makes the body think it constantly needs Oxygen, therefore should rub the sugar molecules from the cell. As this process of sugar loss by cell continues, the cells develop a never ending need for sugar, just like the cancer cells make cells to go through. This is precisely the reason that Meth addicts develop a sweet tooth and always have the craving for that piece of sweets.

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