Jelly babies, vanilla fudge, cola bottles, or giant strawbs – most people have their favourite sweets. But what actually happens in the body when we eat sweets?
We asked Professor Simon Erling Nitter Dankel, who researches medicine and biochemistry at the Mohn Nutrition Research Laboratory at the University of Bergen.
Dankel explains that one of the first things that happens in the body when we eat sugar is something called the ‘dessert stomach effect’.
The effect is that the stomach expands and empties faster when exposed to sweets.
“There are receptors in the stomach that sense something sweet. It can help relax the stomach, causing it to expand,” Dankel says.
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Dankel explains that the craving for sugar is related to a reward response in the brain triggered by the happiness hormone dopamine.
It is possible to reduce cravings by eating less sugar.
“It has a self-reinforcing effect. The more sweet food you eat, the more you may feel like having sweets,” Dankel says.
