Can’t stand the delicious food? Blood sugar levels to blame

"I really want to eat a piece of chocolate cake." "Just one more piece of cookie will be enough...!" There probably aren't many people who can resist such desires! Many people think that they cannot resist the temptation of sweets because of their lack of willpower. In fact, the real reason is that our brain center is at work. The latest research in the United States points out that the reason why people often behave impulsively, such as being unable to control their appetite, is actually because the human brain cannot exercise self-control.

Do you often cannot resist the desire to eat snacks or cakes? Research has found that blood sugar levels are to blame! (Photo provided by / Beautiful Ninja)

According to the British news website Daily Mail, blood sugar levels are closely related to self-control ability. A research team from Yale University in the United States proposed that when blood sugar drops, the brain's self-control ability will be lost. Therefore, when blood sugar drops, the brain will release the desire for sweets. For obese people, this tendency is more obvious. As long as the blood sugar level drops slightly, they cannot control their desire to eat.

The research team pointed out that the main reason for this phenomenon may be that the brain is an organ that requires a lot of sugar to burn, and general carbohydrates contain a lot of glucose. But from a health perspective, this is not the case, because carbohydrates can actually be divided into "healthy carbohydrates", such as: fresh fruits, vegetables, brown rice, whole wheat bread, pasta, nuts and beans. "Unhealthy carbohydrates" include white bread, white sugar, biscuits, cakes, potato chips, carbonated drinks, ice cream, etc. These are processed foods containing glucose and fructose.

Professor Sinha conducted an experiment in which he injected glucose into the subjects' veins and performed fMRI brain analysis after controlling their blood sugar. The results of FMRI scans show that when blood sugar levels drop, two parts of the brain's reward mechanism trigger the brain to send out messages indicating the desire to eat.

The most significant reaction is in the prefrontal cortex at the front of the brain. This area is the discrimination area of ​​the brain and has the effect of inhibiting impulsive actions. When blood sugar levels drop, our prefrontal cortex loses the ability to control the brain's impulses, and the irresistible "Eat quickly!" message is sent out.

The prefrontal cortex, which manages self-control, succumbs to appetite, largely because of blood sugar levels. Self-control was lowest when the obese subjects were presented with the high-calorie food. We know from the experimental results that: "Obese people have very weak resistance to the temptation of delicious food, and their self-control ability is significantly reduced when their blood sugar levels drop below the standard." This argument is also made by the co-author of the paper, Kathryn from the University of Southern California. This is the point Dr. Paige wants to emphasize.

What do you think after reading the above arguments? When you are about to succumb to the temptation of desserts, instead of suppressing the desire to eat, it is better to replenish some brain energy, such as snacks containing healthy carbohydrates such as nuts and beans. In fact, three regular meals are the main factors for successful weight loss! In this season full of appetite, don’t just resist the urge to eat. Understanding the workings of the brain can help us easily enjoy a good figure.

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