Think cocaine is bad for your brain? Then you might want to change the way you think about sugar. Eating high-sugar foods lights up your brain on an MRI "like a Christmas tree," Dr. Mark Hyman, M.D., founder and medical director of UltraWellness Center, said during a recent interview on HuffPost Live. The part of the brain that lights up is the very same part of the brain that's triggered by cocaine or heroine, according to research by Dr. David Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D.
It's research like this that Katie Couric, Oscar-winning producer of "An Inconvenient Truth" Laurie David, director Stephanie Soechtig and Hyman explored in the documentary "Fed Up," which hits theaters May 9. The film sheds light on the unhealthy habits that the American food industry has instilled in us, and what we need to change in order to lead healthier lives. "We have so much power as consumers," Soechtig told HuffPost Live. "We vote with the dollar and we vote with the ballot."
Learn more about the dangers of eating too much added sugar and the upcoming documentary "Fed Up" in the full HuffPost Live segment here.