Humans are prone to fall for exaggerated versions of reality. Junk food, for example, drives our reward systems into a frenzy. After spending hundreds of thousands of years hunting and foraging for food in the wild, the human brain has evolved to place a high value on salt, sugar, and fat. Such foods are often calorie-dense and they were quite rare when our ancient ancestors were roaming the savannah. When you don’t know where your next meal is coming from, eating as much as possible is an excellent strategy for survival.
Today, however, we live in a calorie-rich environment. Food is abundant, but your brain continues to crave it like it is scarce. The whole focus is on showing value on salt, sugar, and fat although its not advantageous to our health, but the craving persists because the brain’s reward centers have not changed for approximately fifty thousand years. The modern food industry relies on stretching our instincts beyond their evolutionary purpose.
With natural, unprocessed foods, you tend to experience the same sensations over and over—how’s that seventeenth bite of spinach taste? After a few minutes, your brain loses interest and you begin to feel full. But foods that are high in dynamic contrast keep the experience novel and interesting, encouraging you to eat more.
Ultimately, such strategies enable food scientists to find the “bliss point” for each product—the precise combination of salt, sugar, and fat that excites your brain and keeps you coming back for more.
The result, of course, is that you overeat because hyperpalatable foods are more attractive to the human brain. As Stephan Guyenet, a neuroscientist who specializes in eating behavior and obesity, says, “We’ve gotten too good at pushing our own buttons.”
This is the reason we keep putting on weight unknowingly and one day wonder how I become obese.
Now how to take control on our food with calorie control, balanced nutrition and live Healthy Active Lifestyle?
Team Sunrise is here to support you to make the game of healthy active lifestyle easy & exciting, no matter what is your health goals.
You only need to have deep rooted passion & dedication for your goals.