Summary of the article: Brain Addiction To Fast Carbs Is Real, Imaging Study Shows by Nordqvist , C.
Summary
This article proves that the consumption of high-glycemic foods, such as most white bread, most white rice, bagels, parsnip, pretzels, corn flakes, glucose, maltose, and potato, trigger a specific function of the brain that controls cravings for food and the want for reward. This directly correlates to addictions to food products many people around the world have. The research concludes that people with substance abuse have very similar brain activity when compared to people who have addictions. An example is you dangle a tasty milkshake in front of somebody who is addicted to eating, what goes on in his/her brain is not very different to what happens in the brain of an alcoholic if you tempt him/her with an alcoholic beverage. This brain activity is reinforced by the consumption of high-glycemic foods since it is well known that " foods with higher index values (high-glycemic foods) raise blood glucose faster than foods with lower glycemic values. This stimulates the nucleus accumbens, a region in the brain involved in addictive behaviors."
Personal Opinion
I find this article very interesting and informative. For instance, I find myself craving white bread but I always assumed it was due to the simple fact that I like the way it tastes. Thanks to this article, I get the logical view of it and now realize that the consumption of white bread in my system tricks my brain into wanting more of it. An interesting thing about this is that it can be similar to drugs in terms of having some creates a craving difficult to resist. The article seems to provide conclusive evidence to support the thesis, " Highly processed carbohydrates can trigger the same brain mechanism associated with substance addiction." Overall, I agree with the view of the article.
Impacts
The information in this article can impact and/or affect three main groups in society; citizens, students, and professionals.
Relevance to Biochemistry
This article highlights how the food people consume can affect the brain which directly correlates to macromolecules such as lipids. Lipids, especially trans fats, can be very addicting. In addition to lipids, this article can also relate to polarity and cell membranes because the food the body consumes must pass through the membranes of brain cells in order to trigger the addiction that high-fat, high-calorie foods can cause. Lastly, this article relates to enzymes because lipase breaks down lipids in the body. This, intern, requires ATP which our body receives for other foods and organs in the body.
This article proves that the consumption of high-glycemic foods, such as most white bread, most white rice, bagels, parsnip, pretzels, corn flakes, glucose, maltose, and potato, trigger a specific function of the brain that controls cravings for food and the want for reward. This directly correlates to addictions to food products many people around the world have. The research concludes that people with substance abuse have very similar brain activity when compared to people who have addictions. An example is you dangle a tasty milkshake in front of somebody who is addicted to eating, what goes on in his/her brain is not very different to what happens in the brain of an alcoholic if you tempt him/her with an alcoholic beverage. This brain activity is reinforced by the consumption of high-glycemic foods since it is well known that " foods with higher index values (high-glycemic foods) raise blood glucose faster than foods with lower glycemic values. This stimulates the nucleus accumbens, a region in the brain involved in addictive behaviors."
Personal Opinion
I find this article very interesting and informative. For instance, I find myself craving white bread but I always assumed it was due to the simple fact that I like the way it tastes. Thanks to this article, I get the logical view of it and now realize that the consumption of white bread in my system tricks my brain into wanting more of it. An interesting thing about this is that it can be similar to drugs in terms of having some creates a craving difficult to resist. The article seems to provide conclusive evidence to support the thesis, " Highly processed carbohydrates can trigger the same brain mechanism associated with substance addiction." Overall, I agree with the view of the article.
Impacts
The information in this article can impact and/or affect three main groups in society; citizens, students, and professionals.
- Citizens are affected by this article because they are the consumers of these products. Unlike the cigarette industry, food products with high-glycemic characteristics do not warn consumers that what they are ingesting creates an addiction. The advantages to the information in this article is that people who buy these products are now aware that the food they buy makes them addicts. The disadvantage for these ideas is that it doesn't matter how many read this article, majority of the readers with addictions will still be addicts because, like in the cigarette industry, the target market is already hooked to the product.
- Students are affected by this article because it provides some new insight to how calories, blood sugar levels, and carbohydrates can trigger the part of the brain in charge of addiction. The advantages to the information in this article is that students now have a better grasp on these topics and a better understanding of how bad certain junk foods like chips and candy can be as addicting as drugs. With this new found knowledge, students have the opportunity to tell friends and quit their addictions together. The disadvantage for these ideas is that students only get the information of how one can become addicted to these high-glycemic foods but the article gives minimum information on how the actual stimuli in that part of the brain works. In conclusion, the knowledge received from the article is limited but awareness of the issue increases.
- Professionals are also affected by the article because this helps them make profit. For instance, anybody in the business of selling products that can cause an addiction will focus on this article for information in order to increase profits. For example, many professionals would take this information in order to improve their product, some would try to reduce the addiction but most would try to increase it in order to "hook" consumers to their product. As a result, addicted consumers would spend more money on the product which increases profits for the organization.
Relevance to Biochemistry
This article highlights how the food people consume can affect the brain which directly correlates to macromolecules such as lipids. Lipids, especially trans fats, can be very addicting. In addition to lipids, this article can also relate to polarity and cell membranes because the food the body consumes must pass through the membranes of brain cells in order to trigger the addiction that high-fat, high-calorie foods can cause. Lastly, this article relates to enzymes because lipase breaks down lipids in the body. This, intern, requires ATP which our body receives for other foods and organs in the body.
Reference
Nordqvist , C. (2013, June 27). Brain addiction to fast carbs is real, imaging study shows. Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/262603.php