Pizzas, pasta, bread, carrots, pastries, cakes… With all these foods Who doesn’t like carbs?

Yes, it’s clear we love carbs, but What exactly lies behind this love? It’s certainly not just about taste…

Carbohydrates are a source of energy and dopamine.

Carbohydrates, the food group that provides the body with the quickest and easiest energy, are converted into glucose when digested, which in turn turns into glucose for our muscles and body. source of energy for our brains It happens. Since our brains primarily prefer glucose, consuming carbohydrates makes us feel good.

Additionally, high-carb foods can increase the release of dopamine in our brain. Associated with feelings of happiness and reward Thanks to this hormone, processed carbohydrates in particular (which quickly increase dopamine) provide psychological pleasure.

We cannot ignore its addiction.

Some carbohydrates, especially sweets, pastries and bread, cause blood sugar levels to rise and fall quickly. desire to eat again It can create an addictive effect by inducing it.

We shouldn’t skip the taste part either. Such as pizza, chips, dessert; with carbohydrates containing fat and saltsounds very nice And we want to eat constantly.

The research also found that our love of carbohydrates may have evolutionary roots.

Research into humans’ love for carbohydrates and their ability to digest them from an evolutionary perspective has revealed a protein called “Salivary Amylase (AMY1)” that breaks down starch. converted into glucose and measures digestive capacity by increasing the number of copies of the gene that gives starchy foods their characteristic taste.

The study found that copies of the AMY1 gene first started multiplying about 800,000 years ago, just before the split between humans and Neanderthals. happened a long time ago reveals.

With adaptation, variations in this gene increased to adapt to environmental changes and new diets, and genetic plasticity increased, especially as starch consumption increased. It was beneficial during the agricultural period.

The number of AMY1 gene copies has increased in Europe over the past 4,000 years as agricultural diets became starch-dominant. People with more copies of AMY1 It gained a greater reproductive advantage by digesting starch more effectively.

Thanks to this research, our love for carbohydrates is not just a modern habit, linked to evolutionary adaptation understood.

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