Once you begin to eat potato chips, you may keep eating until the bag is empty. Have you ever experienced this? Why can’t you stop eating these salty chips? Scientists said it is due to a kind of neuron (神经元).
Scientists at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston have found that some neurons can make us want to eat salt.
The neurons take note of whether our bodies are lacking sodium (钠), a main part of salt. Then, they send signals (信号) to our brain to encourage us to eat more salt, according to the Daily Mail.
How do these neurons work?
Scientists did experiments on mice. They found that when mice lack sodium, their body gives off a kind of hormone (荷尔蒙) called aldosterone (醛固酮). This hormone then makes these neurons become active.
More research showed that adding salt to meals makes people enjoy their food more, Time magazine reported. This may cause people to continue eating even if they are full.
Scientists from Deakin University in Australia asked healthy people to eat the same food for lunch for four weeks. The amount of salt in the food was changed each week. At the same time, the scientists measured how much these people ate. They also asked the people how they felt about the meals; for example, if they felt happy or were still hungry after eating.
The results showed that salt made people eat 11 percent more food and calories. When eating low-salt meals, they could control (控制) over how much they ate. “But when we add salt to that food, all of a sudden those controls are gone,” researcher Russell Keast said to Time.
【小题1】We may find it hard to stop eating potato chips mainly because ________.| A．potato chips don’t have much sodium |
| B．potato chips send hungry signals to our brain |
| C．some neurons lead to a love for salty foods |
| D．people’s brains will be more active with more salt |
| A．mice also need salt | B．more salt makes people eat more |
| C．not all people like salty food | D．people are not happy when they eat less |
| A．People should eat more chips. | B．More salt should be taken in to stay healthy. |
| C．Salt can make food more delicious. | D．Low-salt meals can help us stay healthy. |
| A．a road map | B．a math report | C．a science magazine | D．a storybook |
