IT’S A PRIMAL THING
Shanthini Naidoo explores why nobody can say no to sugar
WHY do we eat things we know are bad for us? And by “things”, I mean sugar, often and in large amounts. Author Tom Vanderbilt, in his book You May Also Like: Taste in an Age of Endless Choice, says: “We are born knowing two things. Sweet is good (caloric energy) and bitter is bad (potential toxin).”
In the book, Vanderbilt examines “why we like the things we like, why we hate the things we hate and what our preferences reveal about us”.
He says infants know instinctively that sweetness is the key to their survival, hence the natural inclination to breast milk, which is intensely sweet.
“Liking sweetness is like for life,” he says of the human-survival instinct. Infants seeking energy from raw sustenance would lean towards sugar for this reason.
Why we continue to overeat sugar in adulthood is for similar, primal reasons.
Primitive man overindulged when he found fruit, because it was a rare find and an energy boost.
Human beings today, however, eat five times the amount of sugar they need per day.
In the book, Doctor Gary Beauchamp at Monell University’s Chemical Senses Centre says: “I would say all human pleasure derives from sugar. It is a prototypical thing, a single compound stimulating a very specific set of receptors.”
Vanderbilt explains that salty things, which we find interesting but not addictive, take time to travel to the brain’s emotional and pleasure centres. Sugar, on the other hand, has a direct line to the brain and creates a (temporary) feeling of happiness.
It is the ready availability that allows us to create the sensation whenever we feel like it, even though we know we have had enough. And it spurs addiction.
“In the phenomenon known as sensory specific satiety, the body sends signals when it has had enough of a certain food, enough of those nutrients,” he says.
Unlike monkeys, who get less excited at the mere sight of something they’ve eaten recently, human beings ignore that sensation and over indulge.
Vanderbilt says the other innate senses are a touch of salt, and the feel of fat gliding on the tongue — all of which are important for nutrition but damaging in excess. This is why the battle against sugar will be a psychological, uphill fight.
“Nobody in the world dislikes sweetness, they may only like it less than others do,” he says.
Vanderbilt says the adventurous among us embrace bitterness, such as alcohol and coffee, which we sweeten to make more palatable.
Other factors that influence how much of something we eat include:
Variety. Some studies show we can eat 40% more if there is a variety, like a buffet or many different courses.
Texture. We tire of things that are harder to eat (sorry for muesli and kale). Stringy, gummy or slimy things with unexpected lumps or particles trigger our sense of gagging or choking, so we avoid them unless we consciously decide to try something different — which is why foods like sushi and bubble tea are often acquired tastes.
Sight and appearance. We like things less if we can’t see them. The better it looks, the more we want to eat it, so plating is important. If you want to turn yourself off something, turn off the lights completely or change the lighting. A blue light over meat, for instance, induces nausea.
Sounds. If you listen to your chips and they seem to crunch more loudly, you will think they are deliciously crispier.
Memory. We crave things related to good memories, although studies have found that we can eat small amounts of these foods and be satisfied. The book also says that most often, food is not as good as you remember it.
Culture. We like what we know. In England, spinach is less favoured than peas, simply because the latter is more commonly known.
All of the above explain why ice-cream is irresistible.
“Its texture, temperature and sensory properties change as we eat it. It ping pongs between difference sources of pleasure, buying more time before satiety arrives,” he writes.
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