Refined sugar added to food is a primary method used by the makers of junk food to addict consumers to their brand. The added sugar stimulates pleasure-related dopamine production leading to addiction and increased overall calorie intake. I've been explaining this for years. Now the Journal of the American Medical Association has published a study that finally proves that the extra sugar is causing changes in blood fats known to be associated with heart disease, many other diseases, and early death.

The researchers showed that as added sugar intake went up levels of the protective HDL cholesterol went down and of triglycerides went up. Triglycerides elevated in the blood are now recognized as a primary risk factor for heart disease. These extra triglycerides reduce leptin entry into your brain resulting in leptin resistance and obesity. They also deposit themselves in all the wrong places, clogging your arteries, heart, liver, pancreas, and muscles.

The junk food industry is a bubble getting ready to burst under the weight of its extreme detriment to the health of everyone. These companies know that consumers have a choice. It is hard for consumers when food companies have perfected strategies for creating brand addiction on par with the seriousness of addiction to drugs and alcohol.