Ser felices con lo que comemos puede ser un engaño
Cuando se trata de azúcar podemos encontrarla en todas partes y muy pocos pueden negarse a una probada de ella. Sólo imagina un bocado de chocolate, un poco de nieve y unas dulces galletas. Nuestra boca comienza a saborear. Pero, ¿por qué es tan irresistible algo tan sencillo como el azúcar?
El azúcar es una clase de moléculas llamada carbohidratos formadas por hidrógeno, oxígeno y carbono; soluble en agua y de un sabor muy dulce. Glucosa, fructuosa, sacarosa, maltosa, lactosa, dextrosa, almidón. A lot of kinds of sugar can be found in juices, cereals, snow, soft drinks, chocolates, cookies, even in water. Since we can find it almost everywhere it is important to know how it affects our brain and what consequences it has on our body.
The Reward System
The moment we eat a mouthful of sugar our sense of taste sends signals to our brain indicating the taste of what we are tasting. Our brain at that moment, even if we don’t realize it, is thinking, “Do I like this that I’m eating? Do I want more or should I stop?” When the answer is “Yes, do it!” with that feeling of uncontrolled pleasure, something we call the “Reward System” is activated.
Our reward system is not only activated by food. It is also activated by sexual activity, socializing, drugs and pleasurable experiences in general. Guess what happens when we eat sugar? Our dopamine levels rise, just as they do with heroin, alcohol and nicotine, among other drugs. In other words, we can consider sugar as an addictive substance. This behavior can lead to sugar dependence and overweight.
Obesity and Complexes
The effects of obesity are lethal. Beyond aesthetics and prejudice to overweight people we treat this issue as a medical problem. The incidence of heart diseases such as myocardial infarction, acute pulmonary edema, sudden cardiac death, cardiac arrhythmias and arterial hypertension are closely related to overweight and obesity. Being overweight increases the risk of cancer of the uterus, colon, bladder, kidneys and prostate; it causes stress and lack of sexual appetite. So, maybe overeating sugar isn’t such a pleasant thing after all.