Thread Good food is addictive

dbzeag

Wants to kiss you where it stinks
Jun 9, 2006
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http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2010/03/the-dangers-of-ding-dongs/38132/

But research just published by Scripps Research Institute associate professor Paul Kenny and graduate student Paul Johnson provides yet another reason to indulge with caution: Ding-Dongs, it turns out, are addictive.

In all fairness to Hostess, it's not just Ding-Dongs. The cream-filled chocolate snack cakes were just one of the "high-fat, palatable foods" that Kenny and Johnson used to test if obesity in rats could alter the neurological chemistry of their brains the same way that cocaine or heroin use did. And the answer they discovered was: yes, it can.

In the brains of rats (and humans), a neurotransmitter called dopamine is released by pleasurable experiences. So the initial intake of highly palatable foods (or use of a drug like cocaine) releases dopamine, stimulates something called the dopamine D2 receptors, and causes a good psychological feeling. But what Kenny and Johnson found was that as their test rats ate more and more of the high-fat food, and became obese, the resulting regular overstimulation of the D2 receptors caused the brain to compensate -- just like it apparently does in the case of cocaine users. The D2 receptors became less sensitive. So what began as impulsive behavior became compulsive behavior: the rats had to keep overindulging in the high-fat food just to keep their D2 receptors stimulated enough to avoid feeling bad.

What a lazy cop-out this is. As if the genetic predisposition excuse wasn't overused, this will surely be.

I can't wait to see on the wrappers of Big Macs: Might be physically addictive and should not be consumed by pregnant women or the elderly.
 
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2010/03/the-dangers-of-ding-dongs/38132/



What a lazy cop-out this is. As if the genetic predisposition excuse wasn't overused, this will surely be.

I can't wait to see on the wrappers of Big Macs: Might be physically addictive and should not be consumed by pregnant women or the elderly.

Although the data may be *used* as a cop out, that doesn't change the science. Makes sense too. Our ancestors needed to be programmed to eat high calorie foods...
 
Although the data may be *used* as a cop out, that doesn't change the science. Makes sense too. Our ancestors needed to be programmed to eat high calorie foods...

Not really.

Doing something enjoyable may make you want to do it again, and often.

SCIENTISTS TO THE RESCUE!