Brain Scans Suggest 'Food Addiction' Might Be Real

[slimvictor]

New brain scan research supports the notion that some people have a food "addiction," with foods like white bread or potatoes helping to spur their craving to eat.

Researchers used functional ("real time") MRI to observe the brain activity of 12 overweight or obese men during the crucial four hours after they ate a meal, a period that experts say influences eating behavior during the next meal.

The participants' blood sugar levels and hunger were also measured during this time.

The men's "meals" were two milkshakes that had the same calories, taste and sweetness. The only difference was that one milkshake contained high-glycemic index carbohydrates and the other had low-glycemic index carbohydrates.

High-glycemic index carbohydrates -- which are quickly transformed into sugar in the blood -- are found in highly processed foods such as white bread and white rice. Low-glycemic index carbohydrates are found in items such as whole wheat products and sweet potatoes.

The researchers found that consuming carbohydrates like those found in processed foods can cause excess hunger and stimulate areas of the brain involved in reward and cravings, regions that also play a role in addiction, according to the study published June 26 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

cont at
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/...t-food-addiction-might-be-real?src=RSS_PUBLIC

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

Slim I think people who practice critical thought such as us already knew this. In fact, I knew this as a ten-year-old fat kid. And anyone who has any sense of emotional intelligence as well as some idea of societal values aught to understand that those who are overweight not only feel the stress of their addiction whenever someone so much as looks at them, but, depending on the nation, feel it acutely; at least with heroin you can wear long sleeves.

Studies such as these are for drones who have no idea what sociology is, and for corporations which must be secured in a wheelchair and subsequently pushed through the door of plain logic to admit what my fat, ten year-old ass went through and what I was communicated to by 95% of people daily, that I was sub-human, immoral, ugly, a sinner.

Being a racial minority yields similar judgement. Can't imagine being a fat, black woman. In fact, if I was born a black female I would've been an addict of whatever I could get my hands on to numb out the fact that I was damned before I came out of the womb.

Hey though slim, how do they feel about obese people over there (Japan, right? (you don't have to tell me the country, I'm just curious)). I was under the impression that due to isolation for many years, Japan is particularly racist. I know a woman who's Japanese; she has a half-black son who she doesn't want to visit his geographical inheritance because of how racist people apparently are over there. I think I just barfed.

 

[slimvictor]

Yeah, I also have long believed that food addiction is just as real as any other addiction.
Also seen how badly people treat those who are overweight.
In Japan, not so many people are overweight (compared with the US), so it is hard to say exactly...
There is some racism here that is institutionalized, and I have seen signs on storefront windows - No Foreigners.
And yet nearly everyone is kind and gentle where I live (which is far from Tokyo!).
Then again, I am not black...
I would say that most younger people are pretty open-minded, but that they probably haven't been exposed to people other than Japanese very often. Those who have been abroad usually are not racist.
Just like anywhere - some wonderful people, some real shitheads, most somewhere in between.

 

[Clocktower]

Yeah, I think the "might" in the title is misleading. Note the focus not just on "food" but on carbohydrates and sugar. Those are drugs like any other, and they've been known to be addictive for a long time.