Must. Have. Carbs!

An interesting blog post about why we crave carbs, the simpler the carbs the stronger the cravings. The linked post suggests there is more to food cravings than just carbs.

Points:

• "…food reinforcement works by spiking dopamine in the brain…The question is, how does food increase dopamine levels in the brain?"
• "…food reinforcement primarily occurs when the upper small intestine detects carbohydrate, fat, and protein, causing a spike in brain dopamine levels."
• "The more fat, sugar, starch, protein, and salt your food contains (up to the “bliss point”), the more dopamine your brain releases.  The more dopamine your brain releases, the more your cravings increase.  This is why we crave cookies and bacon but not lentils and plain celery."
• "The human brain is hard-wired to be motivated by calorie-dense foods rich in fat, sugar, starch, protein, and salt, because these things kept our distant ancestors alive and fertile in a difficult world."

The fascinating thing is this goes against today's convention wisdom that carbs are the source of all evil. This quotation from the article reflects how I respond to food: "I don’t know about you, but to me, hard candy just isn’t that appealing.  I have no desire to eat fat-free frozen yogurt.  Candy corn and Tootsie Rolls are barely better than starvation.  Throw some fat into the mix, as in chocolate, ice cream, or brownies, and now you’re talking!  Savory foods like potato chips, bacon, pizza, and ribs are also high on my list."

Maybe the ancients had it right: Moderation in all things. The trick is how to achieve it in the midst of all the temptations.