Sweets change our brains
23.03.2023 10:53
Chocolate bars, chips and fries - why can't we just ignore them in the supermarket? Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Cologne, in collaboration with Yale University, have now proven that foods with a high fat and sugar content change our brain: If we eat even small amounts of them regularly, the brain learns too to continue to want to consume exactly these foods.
Why do we like unhealthy and fattening foods so much? How does this preference develop in the brain? “Our tendency to eat foods high in fat and sugar, the so-called Western diet, could be innate or develop as a result of being overweight. “But we think that the brain learns this preference,” explains Sharmili Edwin Thanarajah, lead author of the study.
To test this hypothesis, the researchers gave a group of test subjects a small pudding that was high in fat and sugar every day in addition to their normal eating plan for eight weeks. The other group received a pudding that contained the same number of calories but less fat. The subjects' brain activity was measured before and during the eight weeks.
Our brain learns to prefer high-fat snacks
The brain's response to high-fat and high-sugar foods was greatly increased after eight weeks in the group that ate the high-sugar and high-fat pudding. The dopaminergic system was particularly activated, i.e. the region of the brain that is responsible for motivation and reward. “Our measurements of brain activity have shown that the brain rewires itself through consumption of fries and the like. It subconsciously learns to prefer rewarding foods. Because of these changes in the brain, we will unconsciously always prefer foods that contain a lot of fat and sugar,” explains Marc Tittgemeyer, who led the study.
During the study period, the test subjects did not gain more weight than the test subjects in the control group and their blood values, such as blood sugar or cholesterol, did not change. However, the researchers assume that the preference for sugary foods will continue after the end of the study. “New connections are made in the brain, which do not dissolve so quickly. The point of learning is that once you have learned things, you don’t forget them so quickly,” explains Marc Tittgemeyer.