What are the similarities between sugar and drugs?
Source:
still from the film "Charlie and the chocolate factory"
Have you ever had something that you were sad and you were trying to get rid of depression, eating chocolates, cakes and other foods with high sugar content? Surely you have read about to cure depression in many scientific articles. Indeed, in the course of numerous studies have shown that sugar affects the pleasure centers of the human brain the same as drugs. However, there are scholars who refer to the results of this study with great doubt and believe that sugar may not so much affect the human brain. One of them is Professor Michael Winterdale from Aarhus University in Denmark. He and his colleagues decided to finally dispel the myth about similar properties of sweets and drugs, but the results of their research surprised even them.
About research and its results were described in a scientific journal . According to Michael Winterdale he had no doubt that sugar somehow affect the brain and human behavior. However, to compare sweets with the drug he was treated with great skepticism. In an attempt to dispel this myth, he and his colleagues conducted an experiment on pigs. The choice fell on these animals because if they had chosen people, the results could be impacted by extraneous factors. For example, subjects could eat foods that would be banned in the course of scientific work.
How sugar affects the brain?
The Essence of the conducted experiment consisted in the fact that they are in for 12 days were given to pigs for two liters of sugar water a day. At the beginning of the study and at the end of the brains of the animals were scanned using a tomographic apparatus. Despite the assumption of scientists about the weak influence of sugar on the brain, strong changes were observed already after the first day "sweet diet". Sugar really is strongly influenced by the so-called pleasure centers, highlighting the dopamine and opioids. These substances are known to cause in people a sense of happiness.
Eventually, scientists agreed that the same changes in the brain seen in people with cocaine dependence. However, the researchers noted that the same effect can be achieved when dealing with people and learning new skills. But most people tend to have fun as quickly as possible, and therefore prefer to just seize their grief sweets.
The example of the pigs we saw that natural able fun sort of social interaction take a back seat when they have access to a large quantity of sweetened water, explained Michael Winterdale.
With all this, scientists believe that these experiments, it is important to involve people. But it is much difficult task, because participants will need to be monitored closely. They will be contraindicated for certain types of products, and it is from them will be required to eat a certain amount of sugary foods a day. And these requirements are not all ready people.
Thus, a common feature between sweets and drugs proved only in animal. The probability that the human brain does not react to large amounts of sugar in the same way as for drugs remains.
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