Are Humans Hard-Wired To Love Carbs? Scientists Think So

Who doesn't love savory, creamy pasta with garlic bread? Maybe muffins, fried rice, or baked potatoes are your speed. Science seems to suggest that many of our favorite foods are carbohydrates. Carbohydrates, or carbs, are a main source of nutrients in our diet and are found in fruits, vegetables, milk, grain, and seeds, with the three most common sources of carbs being sugar, fiber, and starch. The Mayo Clinic suggests that carbs are part of a balanced diet, as they're what the body breaks down to create glucose, which helps give us energy.

Not only is there a health factor, but humans tend to love the taste of carbs. A salivary gene called amylase was detected in humans over 800,000 years ago, according to the Smithsonian, meaning humans were able to digest carbohydrates before inventing agriculture. Even hunter ancestors who had a high-protein meat diet had this enzyme, so the implication may be that carbs aided human development. Some people have more of these amylase genes than others, too, meaning that one person may crave the sweetness of carbs while another doesn't have that same craving. So, it makes perfect scientific sense to love Texas Roadhouse bread rolls.

While carbohydrates are good in balance, there is a reason some people may overindulge. Carbs can boost serotonin levels in the brain in a way that protein doesn't, according to PubMed. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that affects mood, sleep, and gastrointestinal functions. This is why some people have an upset stomach when they're depressed or anxious, and it's why they might snack on carb-rich foods for relief.

Surveys have discovered that the most common American comfort foods tend to have carbs — pizza, burgers, ice cream, and baked mac n cheese, for instance. These are likely to have a nostalgic positive association factor. They're often celebration foods eaten with friends or loved ones, or they're things our caregivers made when we were kids. Combined with serotonin production, it's easy to understand why people flock to carb-rich foods. Sales for comfort food items increased during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic — a time when people had to isolate or may have lost loved ones due to illness.

Food is fuel. The connection between food and physical health is well established, and fields like nutritional psychiatry are drawing the lines between food and mental health, too. Carbs may be happy foods that give us the energy to thrive, but they do their job best in moderation and under the guidance of health professionals. They're just nutrients trying to do their evolutionary job.