/Video/How Sugar Affects the Brain?

How Sugar Affects the Brain?

Imagine warm, soft cookies, crunchy candies, or smooth cakes. Just hearing this makes your mouth water, doesn’t it? Are you craving sweets? Why is that? What happens in the brain that makes sugary foods so irresistible?

Sugar and Its Effect on the Brain

Sugar is a general term used to describe a group of molecules called carbohydrates, found in various foods and beverages. Glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose, lactose, dextrose, and starch are all forms of sugar. Additionally, sugar is present in corn syrup, fruit juices, honey, and even in products like ketchup, yogurt, dried fruits, flavored water, or granola bars.

When you eat sugar, the sweet receptors on your tongue are activated, sending signals to the brainstem and then to different regions of the brain, including the cortex. This signal activates the brain’s reward system – a series of chemical and electrical pathways in the brain – helping you feel satisfaction and encouraging you to repeat that behavior.

Is Sugar Addiction Real?

The brain’s reward system doesn’t just respond to food. It is also activated by other actions like social interactions, sexual behavior, and even drugs. When this system is overstimulated, it can lead to loss of control, cravings, and increased tolerance to sugar.

Sugar stimulates the brain to release dopamine – an important neurotransmitter. However, when you consume too much sugar, the dopamine response doesn’t decrease as it does with other healthy foods. This explains why eating a lot of sugar makes you feel increasingly satisfied and reluctant to stop, similar to drug addiction mechanisms.

The Impact of Sugar on Diet

If you regularly consume healthy food, dopamine levels will gradually decrease over time. This is because the brain has evolved to pay special attention to new or different tastes to ensure you receive enough nutrients from various food sources. However, with sugar, dopamine levels do not decrease, making you feel the continued desire to eat more.

Therefore, consuming too much sugar can lead to addictive effects on the brain. But don’t worry, an occasional sweet treat won’t harm you. The key is to control your sugar intake to avoid falling into the cycle of addiction.

Sugar is everywhere in our daily lives, and every time you eat it, your brain triggers a series of reactions that produce a sense of satisfaction. However, consuming too much sugar can be addictive and negatively affect your health. So, be mindful of the amount of sugar you consume each day.

This content is edited from the video “How Sugar Affects the Brain?” on the TED-Ed YouTube channel. You can select Vietnamese subtitles to fully understand this information.

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