Once again scientists prove that there's literally no problem in the world that food can't solve!
Well....except for the ones it can't, I guess.
Hey everyone, Laci Green here for DNews.
It's a phenomenon described by the DNews team (and now the mainstream media) as "hangry"
-- that terrifying onset of hunger-induced anger.
You know -- you're really hungry, you haven't eaten all day, and everything is terrible.
Then when you eat, the world is fine again.
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that
low blood sugar may indeed make people touchy.
Lead scientist on the study Brad Bushman said that this is because people need glucose for
self control, and anger is one emotion that humans have a particularly tough time controlling.
He said that angry people are more impulsive, tend to lash out verbally and physically,
and he also aptly noted that anger is the leading cause of homicide...so, there's that.
The study itself is....ummmmm....let's just say his approach is a little creepy.
The guy ordered 200 voodoo dolls and gave them to 100 couples for 3 weeks.
Each night, they were asked to jab pins in the voodoo doll based on how they were feeling
about their spouse.
The participants also had their glucose levels taken.
The scientists found that the lower the blood sugar, the more pins people had put in their
voodoo dolls.
70% of the time, people didn't put pins in at all.....but there were some outliers. 3
people put all 51 pins in the doll at once.
One person did so on multiple occasions.
I hope they checked in to make sure everything was.....goin alright with those ones.....
It kind of confirms something ancient wisdom always told us is true, right?
Being hungry makes you straight unpleasant so please eat something.
However, the study has been heavily criticized by the scientific community.
Because, for one, the author suggests hunger can lead to violence in the publication.
Quite the claim there!
Scientists from Harvard and a Diabetics Institute in Boston are saying that Bushman went too
far -- that there's no good evidence that low blood sugar causes physical violence.
But there is evidence of moodiness, which is where the study may have some validity.
Another criticism is that pins in a voodoo doll isn't a very reliable to measure irritability
and aggression in the first place.
I gotta say....they have a point there...
In the meantime, it can't hurt to take Bushman's advice - when it comes to important discussions
with a lover, do it when everyone's been fed.
And of course, keep your relationship going strong by feeding yourself.
This also has the advantage of keeping you alive.
Thanks for joining me for DNews peeps.
Do you think being hungry affects your mood?
Tell me about it down below and I'll see you next time with more science updates!