The desire for a sweet feast after meals? This is why you always have space for dessert

Do you ever want something sweet even after a big meal? Or are you wondering how you still have a place for dessert, even though you feel full? Scientists now suggest that a phenomenon called “dessert stomach” is associated with the brain.

In the last testScientists examined this phenomenon in mice and found that they were eating sugar, even when they were full. Analyzing the brains, they discovered that a group of nerve cells called pomc neurons caused a desire for sugar.

When the mice ate sugar, these neurons released ß-endorphins, a natural opiate that made them felt rewarded and caused them to eat more, even if they were full. This effect was specific to sugar and not other food products. When scientists blocked this path, the mice stopped eating extra sugar, but only when they were full. Braking ß-endorphin did not affect hungry mice.

Scientists also found that the activation of endorphins began before the mice began to eat sugar as soon as they sensed it. Interestingly, the opiate was also released in the brains of mice, which have never eaten sugar before.

“As soon as the first sugar solution entered the mouth of the mouse, ß-endorphin was released in the” stomach region of dessert “, which was additionally strengthened by additional sugar consumption,” the scientists explained.

When a similar study was conducted in people, scientists used brain scans with volunteers after receiving the sugar solution through the tube. They discovered that the same region of the brain reacted to sugar in people, where there are many opiate receptors similar to satiety neurons.

“From an evolutionary point of view, it makes sense: sugar is rare, but provides fast energy. The brain is programmed to control sugar intake when it is available, “explained Henning Fenselau, leader of the research group at the MAX Planck Metabolism Institute for the Metabolism of the study and the head of the study.

Scientists hope that their discoveries can be valuable for the treatment of obesity. “There are already drugs that block opiate receptors in the brain, but weight loss is less than in the case of an injections of appetite. , “Added Fenselau.