How sugar affects the brain - Nicole Avena

Kako šećer utiče na mozak - Nikol Avena (Nicole Avena)

Prevodilac: Jelena Jaranović Lektor: Mile Živković

Picture warm, gooey cookies,

Zamislite tople, mekane kolače,

crunchy candies, velvety cakes,

krckave bombone,

vazdušaste torte,

waffle cones piled high with ice cream.

kornete pune sladoleda.

Is your mouth watering?

Ide li vam voda na usta?

Are you craving dessert?

Želite li dezert?

Why?

Zašto?

What happens in the brain that makes sugary foods so hard to resist?

Šta se događa u mozgu

što slatku hranu čini tako neodoljivom?

Sugar is a general term used to describe a class of molecules

Šećer je zajednički naziv

koji opisuje celu klasu molekula

koji se zovu ugljeni hidrati

called carbohydrates,

and it's found in a wide variety of food and drink.

i nalaze se u mnogim vrstama hrane i pića.

Just check the labels on sweet products you buy.

Pogledajte oznake na slatkišima koje kupujete.

Glucose, fructose, sucrose,

Glukoza,

fruktoza,

saharoza,

maltose, lactose, dextrose, and starch

maltoza,

laktoza,

dekstroza,

i skrob

are all forms of sugar.

su vrste šećera.

So are high-fructose corn syrup,

Kao što su i kukuruzni sirup,

fruit juice, raw sugar, and honey.

voćni sokovi,

smeđi šećer

i med.

And sugar isn't just in candies and desserts,

Šećer nije samo u bombonama i slatkišima,

it's also added to tomato sauce,

dodaje se i u paradajz sos,

yogurt, dried fruit, flavored waters, or granola bars.

jogurt,

suvo voće,

aromatizovane vode

i table od žitarica.

Since sugar is everywhere, it's important to understand

Budući da je šećer svuda

važno je razumeti kako on utiče na mozak.

how it affects the brain.

What happens when sugar hits your tongue?

Šta se događa kada šećer dodirne vaš jezik?

And does eating a little bit of sugar make you crave more?

I da li će unos malo šećera

učiniti da želite još?

You take a bite of cereal.

Uzmete zalogaj pahuljica.

The sugars it contains activate the sweet-taste receptors,

Šećer koji sadrže

aktivira receptore za slatko

part of the taste buds on the tongue.

koji se nalaze na jeziku.

These receptors send a signal up to the brain stem,

Ovi receptori šalju signal uz moždano stablo

and from there, it forks off into many areas of the forebrain,

odakle se rašire

u mnoge delove velikog mozga,

one of which is the cerebral cortex.

između ostalog i u cerebralni korteks.

Different sections of the cerebral cortex process different tastes:

Različiti delovi cerebralnog korteksa

obrađuju različite ukuse:

gorko,

bitter, salty, umami,

slano,

umami

and, in our case, sweet.

i u našem slučaju, slatko.

From here, the signal activates the brain's reward system.

Odavde, signal aktivira

moždani sistem za nagrađivanje.

This reward system is a series of electrical and chemical pathways

Sistem za nagrađivanje predstavlja niz

električnih i hemijskih putanja

across several different regions of the brain.

duž nekoliko različitih delova mozga.

It's a complicated network,

To je komplikovana mreža,

but it helps answer a single, subconscious question:

ali pomaže u odgovaranju na jedno, podsvesno pitanje:

should I do that again?

Da li da jedem slatko ponovo?

That warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you taste Grandma's chocolate cake?

Taj prijatan i topao osećaj

kada okusite bakin čokoladni kolač -

That's your reward system saying,

to vaš sistem za nagrađivanje kaže:

"Mmm, yes!"

"Mmmmmm, da!"

And it's not just activated by food.

Ali, taj osećaj ne izaziva samo hrana.

Socializing, sexual behavior, and drugs

Druženje,

seks

i droga

are just a few examples of things and experiences

su samo nekoliko primera

stvari i aktivnosti

that also activate the reward system.

koje aktiviraju sistem za nagrađivanje.

Ali prečesto aktiviranje ovog sistema

But overactivating this reward system kickstarts a series of unfortunate events:

može dovesti do niza nepoželjnih događaja:

loss of control, craving, and increased tolerance to sugar.

gubitka kontrole,

žudnje

i povećane tolerancije na šećer.

Vratimo se na naš zalogaj pahuljica.

Let's get back to our bite of cereal.

On odlazi u vaš stomak

It travels down into your stomach and eventually into your gut.

i stiže do želuca.

And guess what?

I, pogađajte?

There are sugar receptors here, too.

I tamo postoje receptori za šećer.

They are not taste buds, but they do send signals

To nisu receptori za ukus,

ali i oni šalju signale

telling your brain that you're full

govoreći mozgu da ste siti

or that your body should produce more insulin

ili da telo treba da proizvede još insulina

to deal with the extra sugar you're eating.

da bi se izborilo sa dodatnim šećerom koji jedete.

The major currency of our reward system is dopamine,

Osnovna jedinica

vašeg sistema za nagrađivanje je dopamin,

an important chemical or neurotransmitter.

važna hemikalija ili neurotransmiter.

There are many dopamine receptors in the forebrain,

Postoji mnogo receptora za dopamin u velikom mozgu,

but they're not evenly distributed.

ali nisu ujednačeno raspoređeni.

Certain areas contain dense clusters of receptors,

Neki delovi imaju gušće receptore

and these dopamine hot spots are a part of our reward system.

i dopaminski "centri"

su deo našeg sistema za nagrađivanje.

Drugs like alcohol, nicotine, or heroin

Droge poput alkohola,

nikotina

ili heroina,

send dopamine into overdrive,

oslobađaju preveliku dozu dopamina,

leading some people to constantly seek that high,

navodeći neke ljude da stalno žele taj osećaj

in other words, to be addicted.

odnosno, da budu zavisni.

Sugar also causes dopamine to be released, though not as violently as drugs.

I šećer izaziva oslobađanje dopamina,

ali ne tako agresivno kao droge.

And sugar is rare among dopamine-inducing foods.

Šećer je redak primer hrane koja izaziva dopamin.

Broccoli, for example, has no effect,

Na primer, brokoli nema nikakav uticaj,

which probably explains

i to je verovatno razlog

why it's so hard to get kids to eat their veggies.

zašto je teško naterati decu da jedu povrće.

Kad već govorimo o zdravoj hrani,

Speaking of healthy foods,

let's say you're hungry and decide to eat a balanced meal.

recimo da ste gladni

i odlučite se za zdrav obrok.

You do, and dopamine levels spike in the reward system hot spots.

Jedete, i nivo dopamina poraste

u centrima za nagrađivanje u mozgu.

But if you eat that same dish many days in a row,

Ali ako jedete isto dug period,

dopamine levels will spike less and less, eventually leveling out.

nivo dopamina će bivati sve manji i manji,

dok na kraju ne prestane da se luči.

That's because when it comes to food,

Ovo se događa jer je za hranu

the brain evolved to pay special attention to new or different tastes.

mozak naučio da obraća posebnu pažnju

na nove i drugačije ukuse.

Why?

Zašto?

Dva razloga:

Two reasons:

first, to detect food that's gone bad.

prvo, da bi prepoznao pokvarenu hranu,

And second, because the more variety we have in our diet,

i drugo, jer što je veća raznovrsnost

naše ishrane,

the more likely we are to get all the nutrients we need.

veća je verovatnoća

da ćemo uneti sve potrebne hranljive materije.

To keep that variety up,

Da bismo jeli raznovrsno,

we need to be able to recognize a new food,

moramo biti sposobni da prepoznamo novu hranu,

and more importantly, we need to want to keep eating new foods.

i još važnije,

treba da želimo da jedemo novu hranu.

And that's why the dopamine levels off when a food becomes boring.

I upravo zbog toga dopamin nestaje

kada hrana postane jednolična.

Now, back to that meal.

Hajde da se vratimo na taj obrok.

What happens if in place of the healthy, balanced dish,

Šta se događa ako umesto

zdravog, izbalansiranog obroka,

you eat sugar-rich food instead?

pojedete hranu punu šećera?

If you rarely eat sugar or don't eat much at a time,

Ako retko jedete šećer

ili ne jedete mnogo odjednom,

the effect is similar to that of the balanced meal.

efekat je sličan kao i da ste pojeli izbalansiran obrok.

But if you eat too much, the dopamine response does not level out.

Ali ako jedete mnogo,

lučenje dopamina se neće smanjiti.

In other words, eating lots of sugar will continue to feel rewarding.

Drugim rečima, ako unosite mnogo šećera

i dalje ćete bivati "nagrađeni".

In this way, sugar behaves a little bit like a drug.

Ovo je zato što se šećer ponaša malo kao droga.

It's one reason people seem to be hooked on sugary foods.

I to je razlog zbog koga se ljudi navuku

na slatku hranu.

So, think back to all those different kinds of sugar.

Razmislite o svim onim različitim šećerima.

Each one is unique, but every time any sugar is consumed,

Svaki je poseban,

ali svaki put kada je bilo koji unet

it kickstarts a domino effect in the brain that sparks a rewarding feeling.

on pokreće efekat domina u mozgu

koji donosi osećaj nagrade.

Too much, too often, and things can go into overdrive.

Premnogo, prečesto,

i možete preterati.

So, yes, overconsumption of sugar can have addictive effects on the brain,

Dakle, da, preterani unos šećera

može stvoriti zavisnosti u mozgu,

but a wedge of cake once in a while won't hurt you.

ali parče torte s vremena na vreme vam neće škoditi.