Sweet cravings, calories, and weight loss

Did you know that the brain can respond to the calorie content of food, even in the absence of taste?

Scientists have known that when people taste sweet foods, dopamine levels increase in the ventral striatum, a brain region related to reward and reinforcement. Our neural pathways have been established for palatability (the power of a food to make one eat it spontaneously and with gusto) as food is being eaten.

Research about the brain’s dopamine-reward system can explain why people who drink diet sodas still gain weight. A mismatch between artificially sweet taste and zero calorie content can lead to rebound eating because our brain is wired to respond to both calorie content and sweetness.

The researchers from Duke University also found significant differences in dopamine levels during eating, regardless of the ability to taste food. Normal mice showed a rise in dopamine when they gobbled the artificial sweetener solution, indicating palatability even without calories present. Mice without sweet taste released dopamine only during sucrose intake, even though they could not distinguish between the taste of water and sucrose. This confirmed that dopamine can be released by either sweet taste or caloric content.

It may mean that the role of dopamine transmission (the pleasure principle) in overeating and obesity might not be restricted to taste alone – dopamine signaling also can influence behavior by indicating a food’s caloric value.

How do you apply this to your weight loss goal? Wean yourself from sodas, and try to eliminate processed sugar from your diet as much as possible. The second idea is to practice “stimulus control” — which means keep junk food out of the house. Out of sight out of mind. Remember your brain is a calorie seeking missile.