In our brain are activated mechanisms similar to those that “light up” when we assume sex or drugs
Quell irrefutable desire for salty or your mouth that assails us when we feel the smell of bacon frying in a pan. There is a scientific reason that explains why we want so much eat salt.
It is a form of addiction: our brains may be desired salt although our body not only does not need it, but also, as we know, can be damaged. The discovery comes from a team of scientists from the Florey Institute in Melbourne have identified the brain area in which originates the desire for salty and the mechanism that triggers.
The area is linked to the opioid system, the same then correlated to the sense of satisfaction and pleasure that one feels while we have sex, we eat food that we like very much and we exercise. To send this pleasure are natural neurotransmitters that operate an action similar to that of morphine.
You may also like to read another article on Srewang: 8 bad habits to avoid for the health of your heart
To arrive at their results Australian experts have implemented models of gratification and deprivation of salt, realizing like the first trial – which is to reward – involves precisely the release of endogenous opioids, then released directly from the brain. This gratification increases if you are also addicted to opiates, revealing a connection between instinctive behavior and addiction. Instead using naltrexone molecule opioid antagonist that is used to fight drug overdose, the gratification of decreased salt.
The discovery is of great importance because they are now studying some drugs that can suppress the urge of salt, very harmful in doses greater than 10 grams per day for our body. But there’s more. The study showed that the mechanism is similar to the addiction to opiates like heroin and morphine. So the same drugs could also be used to counteract this type of addiction.