Sugar is everywhere. We can find it in almost everything we consume, from ice cream to bread. So, how does sugar affect our brains?
Dr Nicole Avena has created an amazing animation for TED-Ed that explains how sugar causes dopamine levels to rise, resulting in a sugar rush and eventually leading to cravings.
You take a bite of cereal. The sugars it contains activate the sweet taste receptors, part of the taste buds on the tongue. These receptors send a signal up to the brain stem and from there it forks of into many areas of the forebrain, one of which is the cerebral cortex.
Avena also discusses how our increasingly sugar-filled food is turning consuming food into a sort of drug addiction, as we crave sugar highs.
How Sugar Affects Your Brain | Dr Nicole Avena
