Obesity, heart failure, hypertension, diabetes and even cancer. Junk food is today accused of all ills. And today, scientists even say that it can have consequences on how the brain works.
When we swallow crisps, hamburger or donuts, different areas of our brain get in motion.
Our brain caught in a vicious circle:
First of all, our reward system is activated. Our brain releases dopamine ... in high doses. She gives us that sense of well-being we know well. The trouble is that our brain, feeling overwhelmed, may tend to create new dopamine receptors. Result: to achieve the same level of pleasure, we will need to eat more and more fast food.
Under the action of sugar, it is then our hippocampus that ignites. However, the hippocampus is the seat of the feeling of satiety. When he is attacked, he has nothing left but to send us signals of hunger. Again, a real vicious circle!
Junk food attacks children's brains:
The prefrontal cortex plays a major role in controlling our impulses. And it matures only around the age of 20 years. However, experiments carried out on rats show it, consuming excessive sugar can alter the development of the prefrontal cortex. Adults who have drunk plenty of sodas in their childhood and adolescence may therefore have difficulty following the rules.
Between stupidity and sadness:
Junk food can also make us idiots, literally. Because swallowing cheeseburgers and brownies all the time hinders the plasticity of the brain, essential for creating new memories and learning.
And junk food, whatever we say, finally makes us sad. How? By reducing the production rate of new neurons by the hippocampus. Research has indeed established a link between a small number of young neurons and neurological diseases such as depression. Because eating fat and sweetness momentarily cheers us up, we tend to eat more and more fat and more and more sweet. A behavior that, in fact, makes us even sadder. A vicious circle more to put to the credit of junk food!
Fight the effects of junk food:
The good news is that the trend can be reversed. By eating more fruits and vegetables, rich in antioxidants, we fight the inflammation initiated by junk food. Fatty fish and avocados, on the other hand, boost the production rate of new neurons. And physical exercise has a positive effect on the neuroplasticity of the brain.