Is Britney Spears An Out-of-Control Sugar Addict?

Is pop star Britney Spears under the grips of a dangerous sugar addiction?

Are these media reports true:

• Is Britney Spears really mindlessly downing one Cokes after another?

Does she constantly suck lollipops or incessantly chomp on other hard candies?

Do danishes and donuts frequently land in her stomach, as well as cake or cookies?

In other words, is Britney flying high on sucrose, high fructose corn syrup and caffeine -- so much so that she's constantly throwing her poor stressed-out body into an almost constant state of SUGAR SHOCK?

And I can't help but wonder: Might drugs, sugar or alcohol have triggered erratic, unpredictable behavior in her such as when the pop star shaved off her gorgeous locks on Feb. 16?

Now, please bear in mind that I have no inside information about Britney's sugar habit. I am, in fact, relying on Star magazine's un-bylined article "Britney's Rehab Rebellion," which reports that the pop diva has dived into the depths of a sugar habit and demanding, undignified diva-ish antics that show no signs of letting up.

Britney has, as Star puts it, a "raging sweet tooth," a phenomenon that also grabbed the attention of the gossip website, Defamer.

It's perhaps ironic that the pop star is now in rehab, as People and other publications reported. She's reportedly been getting treatment at Promises Rehabilitation Center in Malibu, California, since Feb. 20 for conditions that Star claims are "substance abuse, bipolar disorder, bulimia and postpartum depression."

The sugar behavior recounted by an anonymous source to Star is quite scary. The observer said:

"She has been drinking tons of Coca-Cola — about two cases a day, or 24 Cokes in 24 hours. She drinks one after the other!"

Oh goodness, that's sugar-and-caffeine overload! That'll throw you into SUGAR SHOCK! many times over!

Star did some calculations -- there are 140 calories in a single Coke — "so that means Brit's imbibing at least 3,300 calories every day from the soft drinks alone," the publication reported.

But another important piece of math that needs to be thrown into the equation, too. Each 20-ounce bottle of Coke contains about 16.87 teaspoons of sugar (usually in the form of high fructose corn syrup). So, if Britney's guzzling 24 of these over the course of a day and night, then she's taking in nearly 405 teaspoons of sugar! (It may be a little less if she's gulping smaller-sized cans of soda.)

Look, let's just say that the Star's source was exaggerating greatly. If Britney were consuming 8 twenty-ounce bottles of Coke a day, that would still come to nearly 135 teaspoons of sugar.

According to the Star's source, Britney's sugar fixes don't end with Coke:

"She is also constantly eating lollipops and other hard candy, and when she eats food, it's always something sweet, like danishes or donuts or cake or cookies."

Which brings us to the all-important question: Is Britney substituting one addiction for another?

From having researched my book SUGAR SHOCK! and having once been in the throes of a sugar addiction myself, it seems to me that this very un-diva-like sugar behavior is a sure-fire clue that there's something else going on.

Downing sweets with such frenetic fervor seems to signify that Britney is withdrawing from drugs or alcohol. This excessive, over-the-top clamoring for sugar also could point to some possible underlying nutrient deficiencies or biochemical dilemmas. In fact, some treatment programs recommend supplements as L-glutamine, B vitamins and chromium to help address these problems.

Let's assume for the moment that Britney is switching addictions here. You see, often, when substance abusers kick their habit, they boost their intake of sweets.

"The sugar solution is a kind of substitute for the drug," Robin Kanarek, Ph.D., a Tufts University psychology and nutrition professor told me while I was working on a chapter about sugar addiction for my book SUGAR SHOCK!

"The relationship between sweets and drugs has been known about for a while in less-than-scientific circles," agreed Blake Gosnell, Ph.D., an expert in taste preferences and drug taking and basic research director at the Neuropsychiatric Institute in Fargo, North Dakota.

In fact, Dr. Gosnell told me about a cinematic moment (from an older, classic movie) that dramatizes these strange, sugar-seeking antics. Sure enough, Britney's alleged, gotta-have-sugar behavior reminds me of the sugar-craving scene that appears in the 1955 Otto Preminger drug-addiction drama, "The Man With the Golden Arm," with Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak.

In the scene, Sinatra's character (a dope addict and card dealer) spends a harrowing night kicking drugs cold turkey. After suffering withdrawal symptoms galore, guess what he craves? You got it: Sugar! In fact, he even licks the sugar out of his hands! Yuck!

Another anonymous source Star quoted makes a similar observation: "Usually when a patient eats [a lot of] sugar, it means that they are coming down from a drug that kept them really up, like cocaine or speed."

If a person is coming down off of drugs, alloweing them them sugar isn't going to solve the underlying biochemical problem. No offense meant to the staff at the rehab facility where Britney's getting treated, but if these media reports about Britney's frantic sugar-craving shenanigans are true (or even partly true), then just what kind of medical help is she getting? Why would she be allowed to go on potentially dangerous sugar binges, when the substance is clearly part of her problem, even if it's legal?

Look, I mean no disrespect, but perhaps the doctors and staff there could use an education about sugar's far-reaching dangers! I'd even be happy to supply several copies of my book SUGAR SHOCK!, which would alert them to the fact that all those sweets the celebrity patient is allegedly consuming in excess could bring on mental confusion, depression, anxiety, mood swings, temper outbursts, excessive fatigue and so much more.

With all that sugar coursing through her bloodstream and sending her from a series of blood sugar highs to lows, Britney (or anyone, for that mattter) could be bouncing around from wired to tired at a moment's notice and flying off in irrational rages!

According to previous news reports, Britney's attachment to sweets is nothing new. In fact, in October 2004, the pop star's junk food diet alarmed health professionals and elicited a story, entitled "Sugar High," by Noel Boddie in Blender.

Reportedly, at the time, people witnessed her downing Red Bull energy drinks and sipping Starbucks Frappuccinos, noshing on Cheetos (allegedly, one of her favorite snacks), and even smoking Marlboro Lights.

My heart goes out to Britney, because it appears that she has hit rock bottom but is struggling to get her life back on track. Congrats to her for taking that first step to get help, even if she was pressured into it, as one media report implied. Even so, she should pat herself on the back that she's beginning to address her issues.

And I'd like to assure Britney that there's huge hope, at least as far as her sugar issues are concerned. You can live a sweet, wonderful, life without guzzling one caffeinated soda after another! Now's a good time, too, for her to take care of her sugar issues so that she can pass along healthy food habits to her chileren.

If you also want to wish Britney well, you can visit her fan website.

A very special thanks to my research assistant Jennifer Moore.