How the brain decides what food a person needs to eat

Few of us would start our lunch with chocolate cake. However, for some reason, after the main courses of sweets,

on the contrary, I often want to. The reason for this is the needs of the body. And this is how the brain chooses which foods to eat. Discuss

By lunchtime, the body often lacks protein. Therefore, the brain "reports" this need to a person. But sweets can be a good addition in order to replenish body fat.

A study published in Natureshowed that the processing of sensory information by the brain depends on the state of the animal organism. That is, whether the animal is pregnant, whether it has a deficiency of certain nutrients.

A team of scientists led by Carlos Ribeiro,principal investigator of the Champalimaud Foundation in Portugal, studied the brain of a fruit fly. In particular, they paid attention to a special area – SEZ (subesophageal zone). This part of the brain is responsible for food selection.

As a result of the study, expertsbrain atlas, or appetite map. It consists of 81 areas that cover the entire subesophageal zone. Most of these areas were previously known, but there are new ones. For example, a banana-shaped area stands out from the new ones (receives data from taste neurons that are located in the proboscis of a fly), Borbolet area (plays an important role in stimulating the desire to eat protein foods).

In addition, it turned out that in pregnant females,and in those who were deprived of protein, the motor regions of the subesophageal zone worked more actively than the rest. This means that both of them are in great need of protein.

News stories cannot be equated with a doctor's prescription. Before making a decision, consult a specialist.