My Story - Dr Prabath

It’s been noticed in nature that animals get lured in by what scientists call super normal stimuli. Certain birds have been noted to carry objects similar to eggs, like balls and even giant basketballs, thinking these objects are their egg. It’s like these animals are preloaded to respond to these stimuli without having any control over the response.

We humans can look at these animals with our superior intelligence and think we are better than them. Unfortunately, when it comes to humans, we are just as helpless as these animals whom we look down upon. Think how powerless we are near a cookie jar, ice cream shop, packet of delicious chips, great bottle of wine, etc. 

These responses to junk food are not our fault but are due to fifty thousand years of evolution. Imagine a thousand years ago, when humans were hunter-gatherers, eating every few days and only eating calorie-dense food very occasionally. Due to the scarcity of these calorie-dense foods, humans are designed by evolution to binge on these rich foods, as the chances are that it will be a few weeks before they can feast on them. So, binging on these calorie-rich treats gives humans a survival advantage. But now we live in a world brimming with excess calorie-rich junk food, but our human brain is still running on the program installed thousands of years ago. To make a habit irresistible, you must understand the mother of all desires: Dopamine!