ממתקים-לא הלעלות

זלילה של חטיף מתוק בזמנים של לחץ אולי אינו רעיון גרוע כל כך, כך לפחות אם מסכימים עם ממצאי מחקר חדש בנושא.

צוות מאוניברסיטת סינסינטי גילה כי אצל חולדות שאכלו דברי מתיקה נמצאו רמות נמוכות יותר של הורמוני לחץ.

Glucocorticoid (גלוקוקרוטיקויד - כימיקל ההופך את החלבונים לגלוקוזה) נמצא קשור להשמנה ולהחלשת המערכת החיסונית.

אך החולדות במחקר, שהוצג בכינוס השנתי של האיגוד האמריקני למדע העצבים, גילה כי החיות שהעדיפו את הבחירה המתוקה העלו במשקל.

החוקרים נתנו לחולדות בוגרות ממין זכר גישה חופשית למזון ומים וכן הציעו להם כמות קטנה של משקה סוכר - משקה שהומתק באופן מלאכותי, או מים, פעמיים ביום.

לאחר שבועיים, החולדות הושמו תחת לחץ פיסי ופסיכולוגי.

Rats that had consumed the sugar drink had lower glucocorticoid levels after both tests than those that drank the water.

Those drinking the artificially sweetened drink showed only slightly reduced glucocorticoid levels.

'Not low-calorie'

Yvonne Ulrich-Lai, a psychiatrist who led the study, said: "Glucocorticoids help an individual survive and recover from stress, but have been linked to increased abdominal obesity and decreased immune function when produced in large amounts."

She said the findings could be of use in reducing human stress levels, from physical causes such as illness or injury, or psychological causes such as public speaking or coping with the death of a loved one.

Dr Ulrich-Lai added: "Finding another way to affect the body's response to stress and limit glucocorticoid production could alleviate some of these dangerous health effects."

Dr Ulrich-Lai said sweets, especially those made from sugar rather than artificial sweeteners, might be the answer.

"The sweets we are talking about are not the low-calorie, sugar-substitute variety.

"We actually found that sugar snacks, not artificially sweetened snacks, are better 'self-medications' for the two most common types of stress - psychological and physical."

Over-indulging 'tempting;

Professor James Herman, who also worked on the study, added: "We need to find out if there are certain parts of the brain that control the response to stress, then determine if the function of these brain regions are changed by sugar snacking."

Amanda Johnson. a dietician with the British Dietetic Association, said: "This research is interesting, but we would need to see more research on the mechanisms involved, and on the effects of sugary foods and drinks on stress in humans, before drawing any firm conclusions."

She added: "In the meantime, it's important to remember that there are many factors involved in stress and it is unlikely that simply eating sugary foods will alleviate the symptoms of stress in humans.

"Excessive intake of sugary foods is not recommended; sugary foods do taste great and it can be tempting to over-indulge, which could lead to a high energy intake.

"For optimal health go for a balanced diet that is low in fat, salt and sugar and have plenty of fruits and vegetables, and keep as active as possible."

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SEE ALSO:
Stress can be good for your body
05 Jul 04 | Health
Stress: A blight on modern life
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The joys of snacking
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