We are all taught at some point in our lives that junk food is unhealthy and therefore not to eat too much of it. And yet, we still find junk food very hard to resist. Where did this tendency come from?
Our love of junk food does have an evolutionary link. For early humans, sugar, salt and fat were relatively hard to find, which is why we quickly developed a taste for them (our brains conditioned us to enjoy them so that we wouldn’t hesitate to eat them if the chance arose). But the quantity of these nutrients in nature was low enough for us to remain healthy, getting the right amounts of energy and sodium. Now however, sugar, salt and fat are present in abundance, yet our affinity toward them remains as strong as ever – making for a potentially problematic habit of too much junk food consumption.
Our evolutionary tastes are well known to the food industry, and companies spend millions of dollars in research and development, finding newer, ‘addictive’ combinations of sugar, fat and salt to create highly processed food with minimal nutritional value – essentially food for our mind, not our body
By that, I mean that the goal such foods aim to accomplish is not to provide nutrients to the body, but to make us ‘feel good’. And once junk food brands find the right flavours to accomplish this, they double down with aggressive marketing strategies that push us towards consuming more and more unhealthy food.
Having said that, we are still aware of how bad junk food is for us; and to some degree we can also identify marketing ploys trying to manipulate us towards it. But we still eat it, and it still makes us feel good. Why?
The answer: dopamine. Coming back to the early humans, whenever they came across sugar, fat or salt, their brains rewarded them by releasing dopamine (i.e. the ‘feel good’ hormone), which encouraged them to make a habit of eating such food. Even today the same thing happens – junk food triggers the reward centre of our brain, and it releases dopamine, making us feel happy and satisfied.
But this can have a darker catch – if we do not control our intake of junk food, our brain will keep on releasing dopamine, but when the dopamine levels in our blood become too high, the brain lowers the action of our dopamine receptors, which means we would then have to consume more junk food to reach the same level of satisfaction that we achieved earlier. And this can turn into a dangerous downward spiral towards food addiction.
Once we become addicted to food, we will exhibit behaviours such as sudden cravings, which can then lead to binge-eating, which in turn leads to many other health risks, eventually decreasing our lifespan. Moreover, food addiction is commonly accompanied by other mental issues such as anxiety and depression (the phrase ‘eating one’s feelings’ literally applies here – if you’re not able to produce enough dopamine on your own, you can trigger its release through food).
Now that I have painted a rather grim picture of the perils of gluttony, let me remind you that junk food in controlled amounts, while not good for us, can be relatively harmless. But proceed with caution – with so much junk food so easily available around us, we could fall prey to our own evolutionary behaviour, essentially allowing our brain to do considerable damage to our body.
Works Cited
Ault, Alicia. “Ask Smithsonian: Why Do We Love Junk Food So Much?” Smithsonian Magazine. March 26th, 2015. Web. <https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/ask-smithsonian-why-do-we-love-junk-food-so-much-180954689/> as seen on April 4th, 2021.
Blackmore, Susan. “Why have we evolved to love the taste of unhealthy foods?” Science Focus. Web. <https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/why-have-we-evolved-to-love-the-taste-of-unhealthy-foods/#:~:text=So%20eating%20sugar%20makes%20you,simply%20impossible%20for%20our%20ancestors.> as seen on April 4th, 2021.
Gunnars, Kris. “How Food Addiction Works (and What to Do About It)” Healthline. December 4th, 2019. Web. <https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-food-addiction-works#:~:text=Eating%20junk%20food%20causes%20a,to%20eat%20more%20unhealthy%20foods> as seen on April 4th, 2021.
Steen, Juliette. “This Is Why Junk Food Tastes So Bloody Good” Huffington Post. December 21st, 2016. Web. <https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/12/20/this-is-why-junk-food-tastes-so-bloody-good_a_21632106/> as seen on April 4th, 2021.
As an enthusiast deeply versed in the science of food psychology and evolutionary biology, I can shed light on the intricate connections between our ancestral past and our modern-day cravings for junk food. My expertise is grounded in a thorough understanding of the neurological and physiological mechanisms that underpin our relationship with unhealthy food choices.
The article delves into the evolutionary roots of our inclination towards junk food. Early humans, living in environments where sugar, salt, and fat were scarce, developed a taste for these elements. Our brains, wired for survival, conditioned us to enjoy these nutrients to ensure that we would consume them whenever available. The limited availability in nature kept our intake in check, ensuring a balanced and healthy diet.
However, the modern food landscape is vastly different. Sugar, salt, and fat are now abundantly present, yet our affinity for them remains strong. This phenomenon is exploited by the food industry, which invests significantly in research and development to create highly processed, 'addictive' combinations of these elements. These foods, designed more for our mind's pleasure than our body's nourishment, become a potential hazard when consumed excessively.
The article emphasizes the role of dopamine, the 'feel good' hormone, in reinforcing our love for junk food. Early humans were rewarded with dopamine releases when encountering sugar, fat, or salt, encouraging the formation of habits. Today, the same mechanism persists – junk food triggers the brain's reward center, releasing dopamine and making us feel happy and satisfied.
The darker side of this pleasure-driven cycle is explored, wherein excessive consumption of junk food can lead to desensitization of dopamine receptors. This can result in a dangerous spiral towards food addiction, with associated behaviors such as cravings, binge-eating, and heightened health risks. The article draws attention to the link between food addiction and mental health issues like anxiety and depression.
While the article acknowledges that controlled consumption of junk food may be relatively harmless, it cautions against succumbing to evolutionary behaviors that could lead to substantial damage to our bodies. The works cited provide additional references, consolidating the information from reputable sources like Smithsonian Magazine, Science Focus, Healthline, and Huffington Post, reinforcing the credibility and depth of the insights presented.
