John Myers
Sweet treats — that not only sounds strange, but most people would rather do without the small snacks. There are plenty of videos online of babies making faces when they bite into a lemon or lime for the first time. That doesn’t happen with sweet porridge.
Evolutionarily speaking, it makes perfect sense that we humans are all so into sweets. Our cells need energy and this is mainly provided by sugar – and it is known to be sweet. So when our ancestors climbed out of the cave into the forest and looked for something to eat, when they saw berries their brains signaled them: Yummy! More of that!
Of course there were no Stone Age cookbooks back then. Again and again a person could suffer from hunger and be tempted to eat anything. But what if the berries were poisonous? The bitter taste that many toxic substances have in common immediately reported to the brain: Keep your hands off it!
So our body knows what it naturally needs. For this very reason, children’s foods taste less sweet than adults’. Small children have a great need for energy during their growth phases, the brain alone devours a large part of the entire energy after birth. When arms and legs grow and the world is explored for the first time, the body needs sugar.
However, since simple sugars used to be scarce and sweets were limited to only fruit, fruits and maybe honey, sugar wasn’t a big problem for mankind. Today, however, there are added sugars in many foods you wouldn’t expect — from ready-made pizzas to pickles and sauces.
But the hidden sugars work in the brain. And so a sweetened dish tastes better than one without any sugar. Certain ratios of sugar and salt also strengthen the cravings effect, so it’s no wonder that the whole bag is suddenly empty.
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