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Monday, July 14, 2003Dr John Hoebel and colleagues at Princeton University in New Jersey based their theory on a study of rats. They found that rats fed a diet containing 25% sugar are thrown into a state of anxiety when the sugar is removed. Their symptoms included chattering teeth and the shakes - similar to those seen in people withdrawing from nicotine or morphine, according to researchers. Dr Hoebel said he believed high-fat foods stimulate opioids or 'pleasure chemicals' in the brain. "The implication is that some animals - and by extension some people - can become overly dependent on sweet food," he said. Oh, but wait. That's just a theory, and a theory based on findings in this type of study on rats. It should be noted that the symptoms of rat anxiety occurred after they deprived the animals of food. Deprive any animal of food long enough and they'll get anxious. The BBC does quote a researcher whose study is supposedly published, although not available yet online judging by their links: Ann Kelley, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin Medical School, the behaviour of rats after the were given sweet, salty and fatty foods. She found a link between the brain's pleasure chemicals and a craving for this type of food. She stimulated the rats' brains with a synthetic version of the natural opioid enkephalin. This caused rats to eat up to six times their normal intake of fat. In addition, Dr Kelley identified long-lasting changes in rats' brain chemistry - similar to those caused by extended use of morphine or heroin. Dr Kelley said: "This says that mere exposure to pleasurable tasty foods is enough to change gene expression and that suggests that you could be addicted to food." Let's see, eating tasty food is a pleasure. Yes, we knew that. Getting high makes one eat more. Yes, we call that the "munchies." Getting high a lot alters your brain chemistry. Yes, we knew that. But does eating tasty food make you (or rats) high, and does it change the gene expression? No evidence of that based on the study synopsis provided by the BBC. Of course, that won't stop the trial lawyers from using it to turn a quick buck. UPDATE: Another thought. Why are they doing this study in rats? The addicting properties of sugar or fast food could easily be tested in humans. Just feed people a diet high in sugar or fast foods and then take it away and see what happens. Of course, we all know why this isn't done. There would be no physical signs or symptoms of withdrawal comparable to heroin. Thus, no results to publish. posted by Sydney on 7/14/2003 06:32:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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