The Sweet Truth: Why We Can’t Resist High-Fat, High-Sugar Foods

Craving sweets? It could be your brain’s fault. A new study published today says that sweets can change our brains to the level we can’t resist high-fat or sugary foods.

But what is the reason behind our affinity towards unhealthy and fattening foods? And how does this inclination develop within the brain?

According to research from the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Cologne, in partnership with Yale University, foods that are high in fat and sugar have the ability to alter our brains.

This is why we find it difficult to resist chocolate bars, crisps, and fries when we come across them in the supermarket.

Sharmili Edwin Thanarajah, the lead author of a study, says that “our tendency to eat high-fat and high-sugar foods, 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.”

Even if we only consume small amounts of these foods on a regular basis, our brains become accustomed to them and begin to crave them more in the future.

To verify this theory, the researchers conducted an experiment where they provided one group of volunteers with a small pudding containing high amounts of fat and sugar daily for eight weeks, alongside their regular diet.

On the other hand, the second group was given a pudding with an equivalent number of calories but with lower fat content. The brain activity of the volunteers was monitored both before and during the eight-week period.

Unknowingly, our brain develops a preference for snacks that are high in fat content. The group that consumed the high-fat and high-sugar pudding displayed a significantly heightened response in the brain towards such foods after the eight-week period. Specifically, the dopaminergic system, which is responsible for motivation and reward in the brain, was notably activated.

“Our measurements of brain activity showed that the brain rewires itself through the consumption of chips and co,” remarks lead author Marc Tittgemeyer.

“It subconsciously learns to prefer rewarding food. Through these changes in the brain, we will unconsciously always prefer the foods that contain a lot of fat and sugar.”

Throughout the study period, the participants did not gain additional weight compared to those in the control group, and their blood parameters, such as cholesterol and blood sugar levels, did not show any significant changes. Nevertheless, the researchers anticipate that the preference for sugary foods may persist beyond the study’s conclusion.

“New connections are made in the brain, and they don’t dissolve so quickly. After all, the whole point of learning is that once you learn something, you don’t forget it so quickly,” adds Marc Tittgemeyer.

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