Men\'s Health Malaysia - Jun 2017

72 JUNE 2017

Hamburgers

Tastebuds love

complexity. Towering

fast-food burgers often

have a dozen or more

competing flavours,

all of which combine

to light up your brain’s

pleasure centres.

High-glycemic,

processed buns spike

your insulin, causing

you to overindulge in

empty calories.

Bottled Coffee

These liquid pick-me-

ups contain the

triumvirate of taste:

salt, sugar and umami,

a Japanese concept

translating to “pleasant

savory taste”. Those

flavours, combined

with a smooth mouth-

feel, deliver a sensory

experience that’s far

more rewarding than

black coffee.

Doughnuts

The high-fat, high-

sugar combo is hard to

resist. That’s because

both fat and sugar are

energy-dense and

can tax your brain’s

opioid receptors.

This overload can

trigger a flood of

the pleasurable

neurotransmitter

dopamine. Hence the

sugar “rush”.

Oreo Cookies

Contrast adds intrigue

bite after bite – and

Oreos have it all.

Visually, they offer

both light and dark.

Texturally they are

simultaneously soft

and crunchy. And

flavour-wise, they offer

a sweet, sucrose-

based fill ing between

a pair of just-salty-

enough wafers.

Ice Cream

Casein, one of the

main proteins in milk,

creates morphine-

like molecules called

casomorphins during

digestion. And don’t

underestimate the

intense power of

nostalgia. Because

sometimes it’s just

that simple: eating

junk food makes you

feel like a kid again.

Junk Food

Science

Comfort foods –

and drinks – trick

you into coming

back. Here’s why

you find these five

so hard to resist.