REVEALED: What sugar really does to your brain

THIS is why sweeteners just won’t suffice as a substitute to sugar, according to research.

 

Scientists have revealed why we might prefer sugar to sweetener

 

Scientists have revealed why it’s so tough to quit a sugar habit - and it goes beyond having a sweet tooth.

Sugary treats activate the reward part of the brain associated with sweetness and the desire for calories. 

It’s the brain’s need for calories and not sweetness making us crave sugar, found the study.

 

Sugar craving: It's all to do with our yearning for calories, says the study

 

The team wanted to explore if the two rewards - sweetness and calories - activated the same parts of the brain, and so fed mice a sugar solution with calories and zero-calorie sweetener. 

They discovered the sweet taste and nutrition (including calories) were processed in different part of the brands. 

Surprisingly, the brain’s desire for calories overrode the desire for a sweet treat. 

 

Even when the sugary drink was laced with a bitter taste, the mice still wanted more

 

In fact, when the scientists made the sugary drink taste bitter, the mice still consumed more of it than the sweeter-tasting calorie-free substitute.

Senior author Dr Ivan de Araujo from Yale University said: “If the brain is given the choice between pleasant taste and no energy, or unpleasant taste and energy, the brain picks energy.

“We show that this area [of the brain] basically commands the behaviour of the animal and allows the animal to disregard any aversions in order to prioritise energy-seeking.”

With the combination of calories and reward, sugar may prove too hard to resist.

  

The researchers hope this study could help understand how to beat sugar cravings

 

Dr Araujo added: “Artificial sweeteners basically produce a weaker response in this reward system compared to sugars.” 

The author hopes the discovery could help encourage new ideas for curbing excess sugar intake.

He said humans have a modern food environment being monitored by an old brain - the part that says all calories are good calories.