Sugar-Serotonin Effect
What Are the Causes of Sugar Cravings?
Enjoying dessert. Photo Credit Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images
The reason sugar elevates serotonin is more a side effect than a direct effect. When sugar is consumed, insulin is released and binds with amino acids. Together, they go to muscles. This leaves tryptophan, a small amino acid that normally has competition for transport, a clear path to get into the brain where it is used in the production of serotonin. You make the connection that sugar makes you feel good. Indeed, this is truer for some than others. A January 2009 study in the journal "Eating Behavior" reported an increased intake of sweet foods by overweight individuals when tryptophan levels were depleted.