The sugar diaries- Why do we love sweets so much?

Who doesn't likes sugar? We are genetically programmed to love all things sweet!

When we go out for dinner and fill ourselves with all that we can with no space to breathe, somehow, we still manage to gulp down that soft Gulab Jamun or a piece of apple pie. 

Every mother knows that her child can finish an ice cream tub just after he or she finish eating lunch. 

We accept sweets even when we are not hungry at all.

How does a magic section open in our tummies just for desserts?

Our ancestors were scavengers with rare access to sweets. The sweet foods, like fruits and some tubers, provided quick energy and were favored over others. The foods that were bitter could be toxic and hence disregarded in favor of the sweet ones.

Today we have no need to scavenge food, but the brain's mesolimbic dopamine system functions the same way it did with our ancestors.

The brain is a glucose hungry organ and releases a happy hormone called Dopamine whenever we eat sweets. The feeling of happiness produced by this hormone is why we keep hogging on sweets till our stomach aches. Dopamine also increases our craving for sugar, and we are caught in the loop like fish in the net. Research has shown that eating high sugar diet alter the inhibitory factors and thus make it harder for us to resist the cake displays in the windows (particularly when we are stressed).

This trick is used by the processed food industry, which uses sugar to enhance the flavor of its products. In fact, chefs in many restaurants add sugar to their dishes to give them a signature finish.

Apart from making us eat more, what else does sugar do?

We will discuss that in the next post of the sugar diaries. 

Till then, be happy, be curious.