Only 5 Days, Fast Food Can Change the Way the Brain Works
YOGYAKARTA - The effects of fast food on the brain can appear much faster than you imagine. In just five days, consuming high-fat and sugar foods can affect the way the brain works, even before weight changes occur, explains Harvard School of Public Health professor William A Haseltine, Ph.D. reported Psychology Today, Thursday, April 2. This shows that the impact of fast food is not always visible from the outside, but can work directly inside the body. Therefore, understanding the effects of fast food from the start is important to maintain your brain health.
Recent research has found that a high-calorie diet of ultra-processed foods can change the brain's response to insulin in a short time. Insulin not only plays a role in regulating blood sugar, but also helps the brain control hunger and satiety. When this response is disrupted, the brain becomes less sensitive to satiety signals. As a result, you can feel like eating more even though your body's needs have been met.
Interestingly, this change can occur without any obvious physical signs. Weight may not have increased, and blood sugar levels still look normal. However, behind it, the brain has begun to adapt to an unhealthy diet. This condition makes fast food seem to "reset" the way the brain responds to food, especially in terms of satiety and appetite.
In addition, the effects of fast food can also affect the reward system or reward system in the brain. Foods high in sugar, fat, and salt are able to provide a very pleasant sensation, so that the brain is driven to want it again. Over time, ordinary food can feel less satisfying because the brain is used to stronger stimuli. This is what makes someone tend to choose fast food over healthier foods.
What you need to be aware of, this effect is not always immediately gone even though you have returned to a healthier diet. Some changes in the brain, especially those related to memory and self-control, can last longer. This can affect your eating habits in the future, including increasing the desire to eat high-calorie foods. In other words, the impact of fast food can leave a "trace" that affects your decision in choosing food.
Not only that, in a short time, consuming fast food can also trigger changes in metabolism, such as increased fat in the liver without visible symptoms. This is a reminder that the body does not always give clear signals when changes occur in it. Therefore, relying on physical appearance alone is not enough to assess whether your diet is healthy.
In the end, the effects of fast food are not just about calories or weight, but also about how the food shapes the way your brain works. In just five days, changes can occur and affect how you feel hungry, full, and satisfied when eating. By understanding the effects of fast food, you can be smarter in choosing daily meals and maintaining a balanced diet for the health of the brain and body as a whole.