Picture warm, gooey cookies, crunchy candies, velvety cakes, waffle cones piled high with ice cream. Is your mouth watering? Are you craving dessert? Why? What happens in the brain that makes sugary foods so hard to resist?
Bayangkan biskut yang hangat dan melekit, gula-gula yang rangup, kek yang lembut, kon wafel yang berisi aiskrim. Air liur anda sedang meleleh? Anda mahu makan desert? Mengapa? Apa yang berlaku di dalam otak kita
Sugar is a general term used to describe a class of molecules
dan membuat kita sukar menolak makanan bergula?
called carbohydrates, and it's found in a wide variety of food and drink. Just check the labels on sweet products you buy. Glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose, lactose, dextrose, and starch are all forms of sugar. So are high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, raw sugar, and honey. And sugar isn't just in candies and desserts, it's also added to tomato sauce, yogurt, dried fruit, flavored waters, or granola bars.
Gula ialah sekumpulan molekul Gula ialah sekumpulan molekul yang dipanggil karbohidrat, Ia terkandung dalam pelbagai jenis makanan dan minuman. Semaklah label produk yang dibeli. Glukosa, fruktosa, Glukosa, fruktosa, sukrosa, maltosa, sukrosa, maltosa, laktosa, dekstrosa, laktosa, dekstrosa, dan kanji ialah gula. dan kanji ialah gula. Begitu juga dengan sirap jagung, jus buah-buahan, gula mentah, dan madu. gula mentah, dan madu. Gula bukan saja terkandung dalam gula-gula dan desert, ia juga terkandung dalam sos tomato, yogurt, buah-buahan kering, minuman berperisa,
Since sugar is everywhere, it's important to understand
atau bar bijirin.
how it affects the brain. What happens when sugar hits your tongue? And does eating a little bit of sugar make you crave more?
Gula ada di mana-mana saja. Adalah penting untuk memahami bagaimana ia mempengaruhi otak kita. Apa yang berlaku ketika lidah kita merasa gula? Setelah makan sedikit gula, anda mahu lebih banyak lagi?
You take a bite of cereal. The sugars it contains activate the sweet-taste receptors, part of the taste buds on the tongue. These receptors send a signal up to the brain stem, and from there, it forks off into many areas of the forebrain, one of which is the cerebral cortex. Different sections of the cerebral cortex process different tastes: bitter, salty, umami, and, in our case, sweet. From here, the signal activates the brain's reward system. This reward system is a series of electrical and chemical pathways across several different regions of the brain. It's a complicated network, but it helps answer a single, subconscious question: should I do that again? That warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you taste Grandma's chocolate cake? That's your reward system saying, "Mmm, yes!" And it's not just activated by food. Socializing, sexual behavior, and drugs are just a few examples of things and experiences that also activate the reward system. But overactivating this reward system kickstarts a series of unfortunate events: loss of control, craving, and increased tolerance to sugar.
Anda makan bijirin sarapan. Kandungan gulanya mengaktifkan reseptor rasa manis, sebahagian daripada tunas rasa lidah. Reseptor ini menghantar signal kepada batang otak. Dari situ, ia bergerak ke kawasan-kawasan lain di otak depan, salah satu daripadanya ialah korteks serebrum. Bahagian korteks serebrum yang berbeza memproses rasa yang berbeza: pahit, masin, umami, dan manis. Dari sini, signal itu akan mengaktifkan sistem ganjaran otak. Sistem ganjaran ini ialah laluan elektrik dan kimia di beberapa bahagian otak yang berbeza. Ia sebuah jaringan yang rumit, tapi ia membantu menjawab soalan ini: "Patutkah saya makan lagi?" Anda berasa mesra dan keliru semasa makan kek coklat nenek anda. Itulah tindak balas sistem ganjaran, "Ya!" Ia bukan saja diaktifkan oleh makanan. Bersosial, aktiviti seks, dan dadah ialah beberapa contoh kegiatan dan pengalaman yang juga akan mengaktifkan sistem ganjaran. Tapi pengaktifan yang terlampau akan akibatkan keadaan yang tidak diingini: hilang kawalan, kemahuan, dan toleransi yang tinggi ke atas gula.
Let's get back to our bite of cereal. It travels down into your stomach and eventually into your gut. And guess what? There are sugar receptors here, too. They are not taste buds, but they do send signals telling your brain that you're full or that your body should produce more insulin to deal with the extra sugar you're eating.
Mari kita balik kepada bijirin sarapan tadi. Ia menuju ke perut anda dan akhirnya ke dalam usus. Adakah anda tahu? Di situ juga ada reseptor gula. Ia bukan tunas rasa, tapi ia akan beritahu otak anda anda telah kenyang atau suruh badan anda hasilkan lebih banyak insulin untuk uruskan lebihan gula yang diambil.
The major currency of our reward system is dopamine, an important chemical or neurotransmitter. There are many dopamine receptors in the forebrain, but they're not evenly distributed. Certain areas contain dense clusters of receptors, and these dopamine hot spots are a part of our reward system. Drugs like alcohol, nicotine, or heroin send dopamine into overdrive, leading some people to constantly seek that high, in other words, to be addicted. Sugar also causes dopamine to be released, though not as violently as drugs. And sugar is rare among dopamine-inducing foods. Broccoli, for example, has no effect, which probably explains why it's so hard to get kids to eat their veggies.
Reseptor dopamina adalah penting dalam sistem ganjaran kita. Ia merupakan pengutus saraf. Terdapat banyak reseptor dopamina di otak depan, tapi taburannya tidak seimbang. Bahagian tertentu ada lebih banyak reseptor. Bahagian ini ialah sebahagian daripada sistem ganjaran kita. Dadah seperti alkohol, nikotin, atau heroin akan merangsang dopamina, dan membuat orang mengejar rasa seronok, iaitu ketagihan. Gula juga akan merangsang dopamina, tapi ia tidak sehebat dadah. Gula jarang ditemui dalam makanan yang merangsang dopamina. Contohnya, brokoli, ia tidak mendatangkan kesan, mungkin sebab itu budak-budak kecil tidak suka makan sayur.
Speaking of healthy foods, let's say you're hungry and decide to eat a balanced meal. You do, and dopamine levels spike in the reward system hot spots. But if you eat that same dish many days in a row, dopamine levels will spike less and less, eventually leveling out. That's because when it comes to food, the brain evolved to pay special attention to new or different tastes. Why? Two reasons: first, to detect food that's gone bad. And second, because the more variety we have in our diet, the more likely we are to get all the nutrients we need. To keep that variety up, we need to be able to recognize a new food, and more importantly, we need to want to keep eating new foods. And that's why the dopamine levels off when a food becomes boring.
Bercakap tentang makanan yang sihat, andaikan anda lapar dan makan makanan yang seimbang. Selepas itu, paras dopamina dalam sistem ganjaran anda meningkat. Tapi jika anda makan makanan yang sama selama beberapa hari, paras dopamina akan menurun, dan akhirnya menjadi seimbang. Ini kerana otak kita memberikan perhatian khas Ini kerana otak kita memberikan perhatian khas pada rasa yang baru atau berbeza. Mengapa? 2 sebab: Pertama, mengenal pasti makanan basi. Kedua, jika kita makan pelbagai jenis makanan, kita akan dapat pelbagai jenis nutrisi yang diperlukan. Demi kepelbagaian makanan, kita perlu mengenal pasti makanan baru, dan kita mesti ada keinginan untuk makan makanan baru. dan kita mesti ada keinginan untuk makan makanan baru. Paras dopamina menjadi seimbang
Now, back to that meal. What happens if in place of the healthy, balanced dish, you eat sugar-rich food instead? If you rarely eat sugar or don't eat much at a time, the effect is similar to that of the balanced meal. But if you eat too much, the dopamine response does not level out. In other words, eating lots of sugar will continue to feel rewarding. In this way, sugar behaves a little bit like a drug. It's one reason people seem to be hooked on sugary foods.
kerana kita jemu dengan makanan. Mari kita balik kepada makanan. Bagaimana jika anda tidak ambil makanan yang sihat dan seimbang, tapi anda makan makanan yang bergula tinggi? Jika anda jarang makan gula atau makan sedikit gula saja, kesannya sama dengan makanan seimbang. Tapi jika anda makan terlalu banyak gula, kadar dopamina adalah tidak seimbang. Semakin banyak gula yang diambil, semakin rasa teruja. Jadi, gula adalah serupa dengan dadah. Ia salah satu sebab orang ketagihan makanan bergula.
So, think back to all those different kinds of sugar.
Ia salah salah sebab orang ketagihan makanan bergula.
Each one is unique, but every time any sugar is consumed, it kickstarts a domino effect in the brain that sparks a rewarding feeling. Too much, too often, and things can go into overdrive. So, yes, overconsumption of sugar can have addictive effects on the brain, but a wedge of cake once in a while won't hurt you.
Fikirkan tentang gula-gula yang berbeza tadi. Setiap satunya adalah unik, tapi setiap kali bila gula diambil, ia akan mencetuskan kesan domino di dalam otak yang mengaktifkan sistem ganjaran. Terlalu kerap dan terlalu banyak gula, maka ia menjadi terlampau aktif. Jadi, pengambilan gula yang terlampau tinggi akibatkan otak kita ketagihan,