Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4 — Thursday, February 6, 2020
Alanna Berger
Zack Blumberg
Brittany Bowman
Emily Considine
Cheryn Hong
Krystal Hur
Ethan Kessler
Mary Rolfes
Michael Russo
Timothy Spurlin
Miles Stephenson
Joel Weiner
Erin White
Lola Yang
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EMILY ULRICH | COLUMN
A sweet tooth’s worst nightmare
C
an sugar make you
dumb? I wish I would
have thought about
this question before studying
for my last chemistry exam.
It was around 9 p.m., and I
was in the newly-remodeled
LSA
building
on
campus.
It was getting to that point
in the night when you keep
re-reading the same problem
over and over again and seem
to retain nothing. I needed
something to wake me up. I
decided to check out the self-
service cafe in the lobby for a
study snack to get me through
the next practice exam. I
was torn between Sour Patch
Kids and dried apple chips.
Faithfully, I chose the Sour
Patch Kids since they had
succeeded in giving me that
late-night sugar boost in the
past.
The brain uses sugar in the
form of glucose as its main
food source. When you have
low blood sugar, your brain
loses its energy to function. I
knew my brain needed some
food, but was I overdosing on
sugar by choosing the Sour
Patch Kids?
According to the American
Heart
Association,
the
maximum daily sugar intake
for men is 36 grams and for
women is 25 grams. We are
all overdosing on sugar. The
2 tablespoons of Nutella that
you spread on your toast this
morning contained 21 grams
of sugar in it; for females, that
is 84 percent of your daily
sugar intake already wasted
on one piece of toast.
According
to
research
performed
by
Fernando
Gomez-Pinilla, a professor
of neurosurgery at the David
Geffen School of Medicine
at UCLA, a long-term high-
fructose
diet
affects
the
brain’s ability to learn and
remember
information.
Gomez-Pinilla studied how a
variety of genes in the brain
can be damaged by fructose.
In Gomez-Pinilla’s study,
rats were trained to escape
from a maze and then divided
into three groups. The first
group drank fructose and
had no Docosahexaenoic acid
(DHA) in their diet. DHA is a
type of omega-3 fatty acid that
is essential in the brain. The
second group drank fructose
water and was fed a DHA-rich
diet. The third group drank
non-fructose water and had
no DHA-rich diet.
When the rats were put
through
the
maze
again,
the rats that drank fructose
water
with
no
DHA-rich
diet took twice as long to
complete the maze compared
to the rats from the other two
groups. The memory of these
rats was clearly impaired by
the fructose in their diet and
lack of DHA; it seems that
fructose
could
lessen
the
effects of DHA.
Another research study on
sugar performed at Aarhus
University in Denmark found
that sugar intake can alter the
reward-processing circuitry
of the brain in a way similar
to addictive drugs. After just
12 days of sugar intake, the
dopamine and opioid systems
in the brain change. The
sugar craving becomes more
like an addiction, making it
hard to replace that late-night
sugary snack with something
nutritious. We are directed
by our brains to seek pleasure
and avoid pain, whether that
be the pain of withdrawal
or the aftertaste of collard
greens. It can be difficult to
resist sugar especially when
it is all around you — from
donut sales in Mason Hall
to jungle juice at parties to
chocolate chip cookies at
Mosher-Jordan
Residence
Hall’s dining hall.
So where do we go from
here? The first option is
substitution. We all get that
sweet tooth every once in a
while, but how we choose
to satisfy the sugar craving
makes
all
the
difference.
Instead of grabbing candy,
try a piece of fruit. This way
you can still get your sugar
fix, but without overdosing
on added sugars. Another
option is incorporating more
DHA-rich foods into your
diet. These include walnuts,
salmon, edamame and kidney
beans. A diet rich in DHA
can counteract the sugar,
increasing
learning
and
memory by strengthening the
synapses within the brain.
For the risk-takers, another
option is to challenge yourself
to a sugar detox.
Sure,
sugar
overdosing
probably
does
not
fully
account for failing an exam,
but I do think there is enough
evidence to convince me to
put down the Sour Patch
Kids and reach for a healthier
alternative next time I’m
struggling to keep my brain
working through a practice
exam late at night.
Emily Ulrich can be reached at
emulrich@umich.edu.
SHAD JEFFREY II | COLUMN
What music will define the 2010s?
W
hen I was younger,
I used to listen to
music from different
decades with family members
based on what they grew up
listening to. The 1950s and ’60s
with my grandparents, the 1970s
and ’80s with my parents, the
1990s and 2000s with my older
sister. It was easy for me to
separate music chronologically,
based on the sounds I heard
alone — my ear had been
trained to differentiate the hard
feedback of the Rolling Stones’
recordings from the soft vocals
of The Eagles, and the upbeat
rhythm of ’80s pop from ’90s
grunge.
With a few more years behind
me,
I’ve
given
more
focus
toward genres of music rather
than simply categorizing music
chronologically.
In
today’s
generation of young people,
with wide access to music
streaming services like Spotify,
Apple Music, SoundCloud and
YouTube, how do we put a label,
a sound or a rhythm to the music
of the 2010s?
Wide and instant access to
music has deeply specialized
the tastes of the generation
who defined the culture of the
2010s, who I will say range
between the ages of 16 and 30
presently, as they came of age
during this decade and had
the most influence on popular
culture.
We
don’t
have
to
choose between a handful of
radio stations to define our
personalities and tastes, we can
explore and delve into any niche
we can find. We’re no longer
dependent on the radio disk-
jockey, American BandStand
or
Billboard
for
discovery.
Ultimately, our music taste
feels less united than in past
generations. Taking a sampling
of the most popular songs from
the last decade is interesting
because the sound doesn’t feel
quite as homogenous as it does
when you look back at a decade
like the 1960s or ’70s. While
different genres were consumed
by different people then as they
are now, it seems the effects
of technology on culture and
music have led us to extreme
specification, and — in some
ways — polarization.
The range of songs that
defined this period are as
diverse as they come, from
“Levels”
to
“Despacito”
to
“Uptown
Funk.”
Reviewing
the list of songs that Billboard
published that “defined the
decade” is fascinating, with
so many genres and different
sounds represented, a future
and hypothetical “Best of the
2010s” radio station could never
exist. An “oldies” station for my
generation would have to be so
widely encompassing that, in an
attempt to appeal to everyone, it
might fail to attract anyone. The
diversity of this generation’s
tastes could never be bottled
into a radio station, and in fact,
most of us don’t listen to the
radio anymore at all.
The increased use of the
auxiliary cord and Bluetooth
technology,
coupled
with
the rise of smartphones and
streaming services, has allowed
people to control their own
vibes in a way that radio or
mix-CDs never could. Each
song and each rhythm is in the
power of the listener and that
has
fundamentally
changed
how we enjoy music collectively.
With so much more to choose
from, we aren’t categorized by
one genre or sound from the
past 10 years, there isn’t one
popular or mainstream sound
to base counterculture and
“countermusic” off of anymore.
There are many arguments
as to how streaming services
negatively
impact
artists
and put less money in their
pockets.
On
the
opposite
side of the spectrum, it has
become significantly easier and
cheaper for artists, especially
new artists, to release music,
market themselves and reach
a niche with the current music
streaming
and
consumption
infrastructure.
Spotify
and
SoundCloud allow you to upload
your music for free and receive
money based on listens, which
represents a sort of “bottom-up”
approach to the music industry
where
new
and
relatively
unknown
artists
aren’t
dependent on major labels or
high-budget studio albums to
see a payday.
It seems we are less united
by a common music taste than
in generations past — but this
shared experience of growing
up
with
and
embracing
technology has separated our
human experience from those
that came before us, and has
created a new shared identity
of experiencing life and culture
in a way that it never has been
before. Our generation has
pioneered the full integration
of life and tech, and it will
be extremely interesting to
see how we are observed and
studied by future generations.
The variety of music that has
defined the 2010s won’t be able
to be encompassed by a “Best
of the 19-XXs” radio station,
but that doesn’t mean we won’t
remember
the
meaningful
tracks
that
defined
our
generation.
Shad Jeffrey II can be reached at
shadj@umich.edu.
SUNGMIN CHO | COLUMN
The American experience is not universal
N
ominated
for
six
Oscars
last
week,
“Parasite”
became
the
first
Korean
movie
to be nominated for Best
International
Film.
This
reminded the public of an
interview the director Bong
Joon-ho had last October,
in which he said he was not
expecting much from the
Oscars. It may have just been
his humility, but it’s likely his
pessimism was based on the
fact that a Korean film has
never been nominated for the
award. However, it was his
next comment that surprised
many American critics. “It’s
a little strange, but it’s not a
big deal. The Oscars are not
an international film festival.
They’re very local,” Joon-
ho said. He shocked many
Americans by categorizing
the Oscars, long perceived as
one of the most prestigious
film gatherings in the world,
as a local event. It is, in fact,
a local event. The Oscars only
recognize movies “for paid
admission in a commercial
motion picture theater in Los
Angeles County.” I’m not a
film expert, but the reason
I’m introducing this news
byte is to point out that some
Americans often forget that
“American” does not mean
“universal.”
As an international student
born and raised in South
Korea, it’s often shocking
to see how some American
people perceive the world.
In
courses
that
address
United
States
government
and
politics,
instructors
will
sometimes
refer
to
background
knowledge
by
asking students to think about
what they learned about the
Civil War in high school or
the American values they
were taught growing up. They
were not cognizant of the fact
that there were international
students in the class, people
who were unfamiliar with
these
common
American
teachings. These instances
reflect how some Americans,
even those who are well-
educated, are indifferent to
or even unaware of the rest
of the world. While American
universities may claim to be
global centers of knowledge,
Joon-ho describes them as
“insulated worlds” detached
from other cultures.
Although,
it
is
natural
for anyone to feel attached
to
their
country,
I
find
America’s
indifference
toward
foreign
cultures
extraordinary
because
it
starkly contrasts what I was
taught about the world. The
Korean mandatory education
system teaches every student
Korean, English and a choice
of a second foreign language.
Under the equivalent of K-12,
each student is required to
learn English from third grade
and an additional foreign
language from eighth grade,
and the Korean SAT tests all
three languages. This is not
about excessive education,
but rather about recognizing
that not everyone speaks one
language, and it is important
to learn how to communicate
with people from different
countries.
Meanwhile,
minorities
in
the U.S. are still mocked for
speaking languages other than
English in public. An online
critic responded to this with
a burning satire, saying, “ ‘It’s
rude not speaking English in
public places.’ Aw, does it remind
you that you can only speak
one
language?”
Observing,
or even experiencing, such
incidents makes one realize
how provincial perspectives
are responsible for exclusive
society.
Compared to “international
student,”
imagine
how
awkward “domestic student”
sounds. American students
in an American institution
are domestic students, but
to
an
American
listener,
that
way
of
categorizing
might sound strange because
“American” has always been the
default. Every time I walk on
the Diag and see the American
flag, I feel ambivalent. On one
hand, it reminds me of the
rich democratic history I
learn about every day, and
I understand why so many
people
are
patriotic
to
this country. On the other
hand, I wish that someday
studying in the U.S., I no
longer need to come up with
a random Hollywood movie
as
a
substitute
for
my
actual
favorite
movie
for
an icebreaker, which is not
American.
Sungmin Cho can be reached at
csungmin@umich.edu.
Each song and
each rhythm is in
the power of the
listener.
Americans are
indifferent to the
or even unaware
of the rest of the
world.
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The sugar craving
becomes more
like an addiction,
making it hard
to replace that
late night snack
with something
nutritious.
MADELYN VERVAECKE | CONTACT CARTOONIST AT MIVERVAE@UMICH.EDU
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