Kim Hyun-bin began his journalism career at Arirang TV from 2012 to 2017, specializing in defense, foreign affairs and the economy. In 2018, he joined The Korea Times, covering society and business, and is currently responsible for embassy affairs.
Junk food has same effects on brain as drugs
By Kim Hyun-bin
By Kim Hyun-bin
The sweet smell of freshly baked doughnuts, hamburgers, pizza, and golden crisp French fries have become the symbol of 21st century junk food. No matter how good they taste in the moment, these types of foods are the source of numerous chronic diseases due to their lack of nutrients and high calories. The addictive nature of junk food can also easily change taste preferences.
According to a report by the U.S. Scripps Research Institute, there is a strong similarity between junk food and hard drugs ― such as cocaine and heroin ― as they share the same addictive biochemical mechanisms, which makes it extremely difficult to quit.
The report states that the mechanisms that drive people into drug addiction are behind the compulsion to overeat, pushing people into obesity. Junk food and drugs stimulate the same brain pleasure centers, according to the report.
Researchers at Scripps used rat models and found that obesity coincides with a progressively deteriorating chemical balance in the brain's reward circuitries. As the brain become less and less responsive, rats quickly develop compulsive overeating habits, consuming larger quantities of high-calorie, high-fat foods, eventually becoming obese.
They say the changes in the rats' brains when over consuming are very similar to that of patients addicted to cocaine or heroin.
The scientists fed the rats easy-to-obtain high-calorie, high-fat foods like sausage, bacon, and cheesecake. Soon after the experiments began, the animals began to bulk up dramatically. After a while the rats completely lose control over their eating behavior. They continue to overeat even when they anticipated receiving electric shocks.
The researchers said the rats always went for the worst types of food, taking in twice the calories as the controlled rats. When they changed to a nutritious diet, the rats simply refused to eat. The sudden change in their diet preference was great enough that the rats starved themselves for two weeks after the junk food supply was cut off from them.
Junk food could lead to earlier death
The problem with junk food is that it gives continuous danger signals to our body. There have been scores of reports that over consumption of junk food will lead to weight gain and is the cause of many chronic diseases, cancer, and early death.
There is also a high possibility our body's immune system can change from consuming unhealthy food such as fast foods.
The Journal of the American Medical Association published a study last month, which shows people with diets heavier in ultra-processed foods and junk foods are more likely to die earlier.
Over 44,500 adults took part in the study for eight years from 2009 to 2017.
After analyzing each person's data on what they ate, they found that unhealthy foods were consumed mostly by people of younger age, lower income, lower educational level, higher body-mass index, and lower level of physical activity.
The study shows that the risk of early death increased 14 percent if the consumption of ultra-processed rose 10 percent. Over the course of the study period, 602 of the participants died.
However, the study cannot be 100 percent accurate, as the results were derived from participants' self-reporting of their diets.
“Further prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings and to disentangle the various mechanisms by which ultra-processed foods may affect health,” the researchers wrote.
Healthier foods than junk food
Most experts agree that healthy eating doesn't need to be complicated. Unfortunately, there are endless options for one to choose from.
For starters, stick with a few healthy eating basics that most health professionals advise and promote to sustain a long and healthy life.
People should have all kinds of colorful fruits and vegetables rather than avoiding all types of grains by believing carbohydrates automatically lead to weight gain.
For a healthy diet, people should not eat smaller portions of whole grains ― bread, brown rice and pasta ― but rather add foods that are rich with healthy fats such as salmon, nuts, olive oil and avocados.
Experts advise to eat less sugar and read food labels. Stay away from sugar-containing products such as soda, desserts and candy, and not so obvious granola bars, juice drinks and cereals.