What makes you happy? The smell of freshly baked cinnamon
buns? Warm chocolate fondue? A large
bowl of Phish Food™ice cream?
Well, there is a reason for that. All of these desserts have
one thing in common: sugar.
(Image courtesy of Google)
That’s right, sugar is what makes us happy. But do you know
why…?
Sugar has the same affect on our brains as everything else
that makes us happy. Playing our favorite sport, learning, praise,
spending time with friends, having dinner with family, observing art, receiving
emails, you name it. Whatever it is that gives us joy in life does so because
of one chemical, the pleasure molecule, a.k.a. dopamine.
This chemical is responsible not only for pleasure, but also
has many other roles in our bodies. It makes contributions to our consciousness,
mood, motivation, attention, movement, blood pressure, coordination, and unfortunately, addiction.
When a behavior or substance makes us feel good, it triggers
the release of dopamine. And because it makes us happy we want it again and
again, hence, we form an addiction
This same science applies to sugar, or more specifically, refined sugar.
It tastes good, and makes us feel good; therefore, we
continue to crave it.
If you don’t believe
you are addicted to sugar, think again. (Unless, of course, you are one of the
lucky few strong enough to abstain from it completely, then I congratulate--and
also envy--you).
You may think that you could stay away from sweets if you
tried, but it isn’t just desserts and baked goods you need to steer clear from.
No, refined sugar is in EVERYTHING. And it disguises itself in many ways.