Sugar makes me feel weird

November 8, 2010 6:57 PM

Weird irritated feeling when eating sugar. What is this?

When I eat sugar I get a very district feeling that is unpleasant. It feels like a pinching or irritation behind my eyeballs/eyebrows. It is not a headache. You know how Sean Penn always look and sounds like he is on the verge of crying when he speaks in public? It's THAT feeling. I feel like I become that guy. Strangely, I get the same feeling if I am very sleep deprived, or if I take adderall too many days in a row. Any ideas what is occurring physiologically?

posted by blargerz to health & fitness (7 answers total)

I have only noticed it when eating very, very sweet things. Like the weird, airy frosting on of store-bought cakes and cupcakes. (I eat a lot of sweets and this only happens to me in extreme, processed-food cases.) For me, the pinching feeling is sort of between the roof of my mouth and the back of my nose.

I have no idea what it is or why it happens, but you're not alone and I'd love to know, too!
posted by phunniemee at 7:13 PM on November 8, 2010

No idea what you've got going on... but you describe it beautifully. "The weird airy frosting" and feeling like Sean Penn.
I would say cut down your sweets for a bit, and catch up on sleep if you can? Something's clearly off balance.
posted by SaharaRose at 7:45 PM on November 8, 2010

I think I get this too! It feels like there's a funny bone behind my nose. For me it only happens with buttercream frosting.
posted by acidic at 8:13 PM on November 8, 2010

Do you normally not eat a lot of sugar?
posted by majortom1981 at 4:40 AM on November 9, 2010

I think I get this too! It feels like there's a funny bone behind my nose. For me it only happens with buttercream frosting.

I get a specific feeling when I eat frosting that's like the inside of my mouth itches. So, same trigger, but a different sensation than what you describe.

I guess the solution would be "don't eat frosting" but ZOMG FROSTING.

(Very interested in why this happens, if anyone has an actual explanation.)
posted by sonika at 7:27 AM on November 9, 2010

This is fascinating. It's really interesting that everyone seems to notice that it's frosting that does it. I bake a lot, and I never notice this with my homemade frosting. Just the weird fakey stuff on store cakes.

I really want to know why! If there aren't any good answers, I'm going to ask this same question next week.
posted by phunniemee at 7:34 AM on November 9, 2010

[folks - the "full body yeast infection" derail pretty much needs to stop here, thank you]
posted by jessamyn at 9:31 AM on November 9, 2010