The Brain: The Real Pleasure Organ

Thinking Requires Energy

Glucose is the form of sugar that travels in our bloodstream to fuel the mitochondrial furnaces responsible for our brainpower. Glucose is the only fuel normally used by brain cells. Because neurons cannot store glucose, they depend on the bloodstream to deliver a constant supply of this precious fuel.

This blood sugar is obtained from carbohydrates: the starches and sugars we eat in the form of grains and legumes, fruits and vegetables. (The only animal foods containing a significant amount of carbohydrates are dairy products.) Too much sugar or refined carbohydrates at one time, however, can actually deprive our brain of glucose, depleting its energy supply and compromising our brain’s power to concentrate, remember, and learn. Mental activity requires a lot of energy.

Our brain uses energy to think and to tell the body what to do. It uses more energy than any other organ of the body. The more you think the more energy you use. Do not be a lazy thinker. You must eat the right food if you want to think to your highest level. The brain will let you know when you are not being good to it. Not only will you not feel good, you will not act so great either. This need for energy, at times, will cause your mind to tell you things you do not need to hear, such as, I want some more even when you have had enough. And this not just with food, other pleasures can cause this as well.

The brain is the real pleasure organ. And it tells us when we are hurting and in pain, which we will do most anything to stop. But find it difficult to say no to what feels good. We were designed that way for a reason. Without pleasure, there would be no us. We would not do as much as we do to make more of us. As we know, though, too much of a good thing is not good. This is when pain shows up with its role to let us know that something is wrong.

It reminds me of a song from back in the day that goes like this: Do it Do it, Do it to you are satisfied, whatever it is go ahead and Do it. Back then, it was hard to know when you had enough, more always seemed just about right. It is not—should not— be so hard today; we know much more now than what we knew then. That is, when we use our mind wisely.