There was a recent study published by The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School that I found fascinating. They discovered that eating certain kinds of fats affect the chemistry of your brain. These fats, like those found in movie popcorn and ice-cream, turn off the chemical signals the brain uses to tell itself that it is no longer hungry (the hunger regulation hormones, Leptin and Ghrelin). So what the researchers found is that binge eating high-fat foods, causes you to be even hungrier for the next several days, leading to more overeating, which then continues the cycle.
“Normally, our body is primed to say when we’ve had enough, but that doesn’t always happen when we’re eating something good,” said Dr. Deborah Clegg, assistant professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern and senior author of the rodent study appearing in the September issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
“What we’ve shown in this study is that someone’s entire brain chemistry can change in a very short period of time. Our findings suggest that when you eat something high in fat, your brain gets ‘hit’ with the fatty acids, and you become resistant to insulin and leptin,” Dr. Clegg said. “Since you’re not being told by the brain to stop eating, you overeat.”
Dr. Clegg said that even though the findings are in animals, they reinforce the common dietary recommendation that individuals limit their saturated fat intake. “It causes you to eat more,” she said.
What is not known at this point is how long the effect lasts in humans. So I suggest the following experiment: cut out all saturated fats from your diet for 3 days and try eating 40g of fat or less for same 3 days and then honestly evaluate your hunger level. I’m willing to bet you’ll experience a little less craving for ice-cream and fries than you did before.
6. October 2009 at 6:25 pm
A dr. also once told me that your taste buds renew themselves every 30 days or so. He said that if you stop eating lets say a cheese burger for 30 days that your taste buds will “forget” what it tastes like and your brain will stop craving it. I dont know if that is a fact or just something he told me to encourage me, but It Works! I cant really eat anything at Mc donalds now since the band…with all the bread and loads of meat…but before we would eat there at least 2 times a week. But since we dont eat there very often…maybe once every couple of months and usually I get a salad…I dont crave the burgers there anymore. I get a salad and usually it lasts me for lunch and dinner. So is that for real? Do your taste buds renew themselves and “forget” what things taste like over time?
6. October 2009 at 7:15 pm
The aspects of taste are likely much more complex than that. Taste buds, like many cells in the body, undergo replacement as the “old” cells die and new ones take their place. There is a very complex interaction between substances that attach to the taste bud (food, drink or anything with taste) and the nervous system to create the actual sensation of “taste.” Taste buds can influence other taste buds and different chemicals in food, drink, or pollutants, can influence taste. It is very complex!