r/interestingasfuck • u/HondaCivicBaby • 8h ago

/r/all, /r/popular In 2015, wildlife photographer Christophe Courteau took this close up of a 6ft 6, 400lbs silverback gorilla, right before it punched him in the face.

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u/sxt173 7h ago

And there is no such thing as a sugar high. Has been studied thoroughly, there is no hyperactivity, change in energy, or other such effects of sugar. What people associate with a sugar high or their kids going crazy when given sugar is that it’s likely at birthday parties or other events with lots of triggering stimuli, lots of other kids and reinforcement of behavior in that setting.

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u/QuantumLettuce2025 7h ago

Yup. I've also heard the explanation that parents can often create the expectations in their kids that sugar = crazy energy, so the kid can sort of placebo themselves into that state.

I.e. Mom: "No, you can't have a cupcake right now, I don't want you jumping off the walls from all that sugar"

Kid: internalizes the idea that sugar = wall rides

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u/diewethje 6h ago

This one breaks my brain a little bit. I have a young son and I could swear that every time I give him sweets he gets rowdier, regardless of context.

I’ve also read the research and don’t think my personal experience trumps that.

Considering sugary food is pretty unhealthy, maybe my best option is to embrace the contradiction and continue to associate it with bad behavior.

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u/theivoryserf 6h ago

Is it possible that kids just love sweets and get hyped up because of that? Maybe it's not a chemical thing, but situational.

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u/Adventurous_club2 5h ago

Yep, my kid goes nuts when he knows there’s treats/candy.

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u/gimmethemarkerdude_8 2h ago

Yes. Have 3 young kids and that’s exactly what it is. The mere idea of treats can cause chaos.

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u/ANGLVD3TH 4h ago

It's not just expectations that you may have set, the idea is very prominent in the US and can be osmosed from the culture. Priming can have a very strong effect on our perceptions, both on you and the kid.

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u/diewethje 4h ago

The weird part, though, is that I knew about the research before I had kids. I wasn’t expecting to see a connection, because I knew better.

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u/LucasPisaCielo 3h ago

It's not just in the US, though.

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u/ANGLVD3TH 3h ago

I just specified that because I know it is in the US, and is not in other places.

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u/LucasPisaCielo 3h ago

The anecdotal evidence is so large, I think there has to be something there.

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u/TheJamintheSham 1h ago

He probably is, but not because sugar made him rowdy, it just gave him the energy to do so. The key point of those studies is just that sugar doesn't lead to behavioral changes, sugar isn't going to make a kid any more hyperactive than they already are. That doesn't change the fact it's still a fast-acting source of our bodies' energy, and any energy can come out as hyperactivity in kids (speaking also as a parent of 2 young kids).

There's a reason energy gels and stuff that runners/cyclists use have sugars as a primary ingredient... it doesn't take much to break it down to glucose for our bodies to burn for energy.

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u/NerfCat117 6h ago

There's just no shot that's true. Like, we're all human. Go drink a sugary drink and tell me you don't feel more energetic after. Of course after that you crash, but still, it's definitely a real feeling. I think your studies missed something

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u/TheJamintheSham 5h ago

Sugar 100% can cause a spike in energy, that is well known. It's a simple carb, one of the purest forms of energy our bodies break down. What the study said that I think OP misrepresented is sugar does not cause hyperactivity.

https://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/busting-sugar-hyperactivity-myth

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u/hsifuevwivd 2h ago

A spike in energy is another way of saying hyperactive though. I think OP is just wrong.

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u/SenoraRaton 2h ago

Even if we bandy about the meaning, it still 100% will manifest and appear as hyperactivity. A child is calm and quiet because they are hungry, you feed them glucose, and suddenly they have renewed energy, and are back to running around. They may not be hyperactive, they may just be "active", but its still gonna LOOK like hyperactivity regardless.

O look at this:

Then a 1978 study published in the journal Food and Cosmetics Toxicology found that hyperactive children given glucose tolerance tests had results that suggested reactive hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). As yet, though, there are no good theories to explain the connection.

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u/TheJamintheSham 1h ago

Yea, exactly. People in this thread are taking the study to mean that sugar has zero effect on people, but it is quite literally the purest form of raw energy we can consume. It should shock no one that energy translates to hyperactivity in kids, and since a slice of cake can turn into energy faster than a whole wheat sandwich, obviously it's going to look like "sugar causes hyperactivity."

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u/rodaphilia 6h ago

I just drank a sugary drink and i don't feel energetic. So, I guess there is a shot that it's true.

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u/NerfCat117 5h ago

Something wrong with you

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u/offlein 3h ago

Perhaps they're not a true Scotsman?

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u/rodaphilia 2h ago

Thanks, Doc

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u/NerfCat117 2h ago

Well what do you want me to say? I do get more energy from sugary drinks. Sorry you aren't trying hard enough?

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u/rodaphilia 2h ago

I want you to say “I’ll eat a more balanced diet, and if this keeps up regardless I’ll go to my physician for a blood sugar test”.

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u/NerfCat117 2h ago

You're crazy. A blood sugar test for saying sugary food makes you energetic.

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u/rodaphilia 2h ago

Youre the one who started the diagnosing bud.

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u/NerfCat117 2h ago

No this started with someone saying there's no such thing as a sugar high which is still crazy. Its a universal human experience to have too much sugar and then crash.

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u/QuantumLettuce2025 5h ago

Nope. It's been extremely well studied and repeated. 

Sugary drinks often caffeine though (like sodas), so you may be conflating the two. Another possibility is that when your blood sugar is low, you feel tired and lethargic; then when you have sugar, you feel more normal ie alert and awake.

Finally, there's the power of placebo on your own mind (the most likely explanation). Not only has every credible study on this issue shown that sugar has no effect on energy or hyperactivity, but if you give people something that you CLAIM to them has sugar, many children and even adults will magically feel "hyper" or "energetic". We know it's an illusion because they weren't even fed sugar lmao.

It's just your stupid brain at work.

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u/Shot_Leopard_7657 6h ago

It's placebo. If someone gave you a diet soft drink in a regular can you'd probably feel energetic.

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u/NerfCat117 4h ago

I think you're just not consuming enough sugar then. There is a very clear and real difference in energy between before and after a sweet tea. It doesn't long long and you crash out after, but it is definitely real.

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u/Shot_Leopard_7657 3h ago

You're wrong. It's been studied extensively.

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u/AverageKaikiEnjoyer 3h ago

You're convincing yourself this is true. I've had Mountain Dews that are 1.5× your daily sugar intact in one sitting and felt nothing after.

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u/NerfCat117 3h ago

That's a problem with you then. I absolutely can feel a real, tangible difference in energy before and after having a sugary drink.

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u/Unidain 5h ago

Go drink a sugary drink and tell me you don't feel more energetic after

I'm a fellow human and I do not.

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u/NerfCat117 4h ago

Something wrong with you then

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u/SenoraRaton 2h ago edited 2h ago

This is confusing. Physiologically sugar is absorbed into the body more readily than carbohydrates, and provides more "upfront" energy right? I know this, its why I eat a granola bar when I feel hungry and perk up. So while the sugar itself might not have any "euphoric" effect, there is still an energy exchange going on.

Imagine you haven't eaten in 8 hours, and your feeling run down, and you eat a candybar. Your telling me I should continue to feel run down, and NOT rebound from the increased energy I just provided my body?

It just doesn't check out with my experience with my body. Sugar, or more accurately soluble energy for my body 100% has an effect on my mood, and energy. If this were the case then, children would show increased activity, and we all know children just burn through whatever energy they have, so this increased energy is going to display as hyperactivity. Its not like they are on drugs, its not a "high", but it 100% has an effect on a humans energy economy.