board77

Well as one of my former employees said; back in the 50s when you had one bottle of coca-cola (the glass bottle, 50cl) you would be full and not eat anymore. Because back then the sugar used was pure sugar, glucose. What this does is transform into glycogen and then when you need it because you are doing sport or in need of sugar, glycogen will transform back into glucose and be usable by your body.

Today, you have a 50cl bottle of coca and you want more... why? because instead of pure glucose, you have an artificially created glucose-fructose. What this does is that the glucose still transforms into glycogen but the fructose goes directly into fat. And since you have less glucose, your body doesn't feel as full as on sugar only. Plus, like in some brands of crisps (chips) they add this artificial product (can't remember the name) that creates a craving. So you want more however bad it is for you... I see it with my boyfriend. When he starts a pack of crisps, if I don't take it away from him, he'll eat it all... ...

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Seriously. Here in the US it seems like either you're self-destructing or you're a health nut. No in-betweens allowed. You're either burning the candle at both ends or you're a shiftless loser. No in-betweens. Etc. We also like instant gratification maybe a bit too much. And all of that mucks with our collective heads and bodies.

I have a Theory of Everything that says that along with religious and political issues, one of the chief factors people migrated to the US was dopamine receptor issues. Dopamine is, simply put, a neurotransmitter that allows us to feel good about things like sex, food, drink etc. If you have normal receptors, you derive a normal amount of pleasure from eating, screwing, boozing or other "fun" activities. There's a genetic trait that causes the receptors to not work as well, which means to get the same amount of pleasure, you have to indulge more. It's associated with (but not identical to) depression, for obvious reasons.

I'm almost certain I have it, by the way.

My Big Theory is that that trait also contributes to wanderlust, since I think it might keep people from deriving enjoyment from living in a setting with prescribed limits and traditions. If you need more out of life than you are likely to get where you are, emigrating starts looking like an option.