Introduction
Sugar is one of the most addictive chemicals you may possibly come across. It raises stress levels and can cause allergies. But did you realise that sugar can also be harmful to your mental health? Sugar is one of the most widely consumed foods on the planet, as well as one of the most powerful. Sugar is recognised to have many health benefits, but it also has some drawbacks.
what is sugar?
Imagine warm, gooey sweets, crunchy candies, velvety pastries, and waffle cones filled with ice cream. Does your mouth water? Do you have a sweet tooth? Why? What happened in the brain to make sweet meals so difficult to avoid?
Sugar is a broad name for a family of molecules known as carbohydrates, which can be found in a wide range of foods and drinks. Simply read the labels on the sweets you buy. Sugars include glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose, lactose, dextrose, and starch. High fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, raw sugar, and honey are also banned. Sugar is found in a variety of foods, including tomato sauce, yogurt, dried fruit, flavored drinks, and granola bars.
Reward system
Sugar is common, therefore it’s critical to understand how it affects the brain.
What happens when you put sugar on your tongue? And does a small amount of sugar make you crave more? You bite into your cereal. The sugar triggers the sweet-taste receptors, which are part of the taste buds on the tongue. These receptors send a signal up to the brain stem, where it splits into several parts of the forebrain, including the cerebral cortex. Several parts of the cerebral cortex process different tastes, such as bitter, salty, umami, and, in this case, sweet. The signal then activates the brain’s reward system. This reward system is a network of electrical and chemical pathways that connect numerous different regions of the brain. It’s a complex network, yet it helps in answering a single subconscious question: should I do that again? That warm and fuzzy sensation you get after eating Grandma’s chocolate cake? Your reward system is saying, “Mmm yeah,” and it is not only engaged by food. Things and events that trigger the reward system include socialising, sexual activities, and drugs.
However, over activating this reward system causes a chain of unpleasant events, including loss of control, hunger, and increased sugar tolerance. Let us return to our cereal mouthful. It passes through your stomach and eventually into your gut. What’s more, guess what? Sugar receptors can also be found here. They are not taste buds, but they do convey signals to your brain indicating that you are full or that your body needs to manufacture more insulin to deal with the extra sugar you are eating.
Dopamine
Dopamine, an important molecule or neurotransmitter, is the primary currency of our reward system. The forebrain contains a large number of dopamine receptors, however they are not equally distributed. Dopamine hotspots are locations with dense clusters of sensors that are part of our reward system. In other words, drugs like alcohol, nicotine, or heroin cause dopamine to go into overdrive, causing some people to seek that high all the time; in other words, to get addicted. Dopamine is released by sugar as well, though not as powerfully as drugs. Sugar is also rare among dopamine-inducing foods. Broccoli, for example, has no effect, which explains why it’s so difficult to encourage kids to eat their vegetables.
In terms of healthy diet, imagine you’re hungry and decide to have a balanced dinner. When you do, dopamine levels rise in reward system hotspots. However, if you eat the same food several days in a row, your dopamine levels will slowly reduce, finally levelling out. This is because the brain developed to pay special attention to new or different tastes when it comes to food. Why? For two reasons: To begin, detect spoiled food. Second, because the more variety our diet, the more likely we are to obtain all of the nutrients we require. To maintain that variety, we must be able to detect new foods and, more crucially, desire them.
That’s why dopamine levels drop as eating becomes boring.Now, let’s get back to that lunch.What if you eat sugary food instead of a good, balanced meal?If you eat sugar rarely or in small amounts, the effect is similar to that of a balanced diet.
However, if you overeat, the dopamine reaction does not balance out.In other words, eating a lot of sugar will continue to be pleasurable.Sugar behaves similarly to a medication in this regard.It’s one of the reasons individuals seem to be addicted to sweet meals.Consider all of the various types of sugar. Each one is unique, but when any sugar is consumed, it sets off a chain reaction in the brain that results in a pleasurable feeling. Too much, too often, and things can get out of hand. So, while excessive sugar consumption can have addictive effects on the brain, a slice of cake every now and then won’t hurt.
conclusion
As you can see, it is not unexpected that sugar is harmful to the brain. The amount of research that has been conducted on this topic is nothing short of remarkable. More and more people are realising that the empty calories found in sweets are more than just “empty calories.” But, like with most things, moderation is key. A little sugar here and there probably won’t do much harm, but too much puts a load on the body, especially the brain. That is why it is critical to understand how sugar affects your brain.