Another Addiction Added

by Chewy

     Of all the things we can form an addiction to, sugar has to be one of the more pleasant dependencies. So it never comes as any surprise to me when a new study concludes that our cravings for chocolate, cake, cookies, etc are in fact enslaving addictions. In past blogs I have contemplated the vagus nerve and the hormone gherlin and sugar’s  impact on both. Real chemistry folks. If that wasn’t enough proof of the drug like quality of sweets, along comes ANOTHER study that deals with pleasure centers in the brain.

     Researchers at the Oregon Research Institute hypothesized that if something gives pleasure like a drug, creates cravings like a drug and requires more of said substance over time to reach same effect like a drug, then it must be just as addictive as drugs. Here’s the scientific explanation of this phenomenon: over time, the constant stimulation lowers the “density of specific versions of cellular receptors for the brain chemical dopamine.” This results in the blunting of the ability to enjoy.  Unthinkable!

     The study included 151 adolescents of healthy weight. They were questioned as to their recent eating habits and how much specific foods were craved. Brains were scanned in an MRI machine while being shown a cartoon featuring a milkshake. Those who had consumed the most ice cream over the recent past weeks had lowered activity in the reward centers of their brains. Kyle S. Burger (researcher) explains that “over consumption of these foods down regulate reward processes. That may, in turn make you eat more” as you strive to create the same pleasure you once did. This could legitimately explain why that ½ cup of ice cream before bed has turned into a full quart with ½ gallons looking more appealing as time passes and ultimately ending in the purchase of a Baskin Robbins franchise.

      So can foods REALLY be addictive? Yale psychology PhD candidate, Ashley Gearhardt, agrees that “hyper-rewarding foods cause changes in the brain akin to what we see with tobacco and alcohol.” However, she concludes that the case for food addiction “is not open and shut.”. Burger goes on to state that he personally does “not say food is addictive.” but then goes on to add that “high sugar food can elicit neural responses during consumption that parallel those seen in drug addiction.”, i.e. addictive -like properties.

     These studies prove to me that the human body, both physically and mentally, is a complex thing that requires endless examination and that these assessments often end in more questions asked than answered. Will this study change my indulgence in confections? Not one iota. But if you hear I am scouting to buy a bakery, candy shop, or ice cream store, you may want to organize an intervention!

Happy Days Are Here Again

by Chewy

First the vagus nerve and now this. Researchers from Tel Aviv University have found that dessert, as part of a balanced 600 calorie breakfast that includes proteins and carbohydrates, can help dieters to lose MORE weight and keep it off longer. I’m positively giddy with excitement!! This is either a well executed and secret maneuvering of data by the sugar council or a hand to the heart actual scientific fact proving you can have your cake and eat it too. Either way, I’m buying into this until proven false….and by that I mean at least 20 additional studies refuting their findings. Don’t want to jump to any conclusions.

     Prof. Jakubowicz explains that attempting to avoid sweets altogether results in a psychological addiction to these foods in the long term. How true, how true. Many an evening I have been watching TV only to find myself face to face with some ooey-gooey, creamy, caramel, chocolate, sugary creation advertised for the sole purpose of seducing me to visit some back alley Krispy Kreme or the seedy darker side of the grocery dessert aisle. That’s not cocaine, it’s powdered sugar! Apparently, the trick is to indulge your sweet tooth in the morning which results in control of sugary cravings through out the day. They have finally convinced me that breakfast is the most important meal. Here are the amazing figures: Over a 32 week long study, participants who added cookies, cakes or chocolate to their breakfast lost (and this is nothing short of miraculous to me) an average of 40 lbs. MORE than the group that avoided these foods. Move over Jenny Craig, Weight watchers and Adkins, Mama’s got a new plan to follow!

     Here’s how it works. Our morning meal provides us with energy for our daily tasks, aids in brain function and jump starts our metabolism, which is crucial for weight loss. This meal also regulates ghrelin, a hormone that increases hunger. The level of ghrelin rises before every meal but is suppressed most effectively at breakfast time. This may seem a bit simplistic on my part, but if they can make antihistamines to suppress histamines, why can’t they make antighrelins to suppress hunger? Ohhhhh, that’s what the chocolate is for. And that is one of the items they gave half the study participants. Both groups had the same daily caloric intake with one group consuming a small, low carbohydrate, 300 calorie breakfast and the other a 600 calorie meal, high in protein and carbohydrates plus dessert. The first half of the study saw equal weight loss. But the second half saw the profound  additional 40 lb loss difference stated above.

     Though eating the same daily amount of calories, “the participants in the low carbohydrate diet group had less satisfaction and felt that they were not full” and their cravings  for sugars and carbs were more intense, eventually leading to the “big cheat”. The other group experienced few if ANY cravings through out the day.

     The conclusion is: curbing cravings is better than deprivation for weight loss success.