NEW YORK (Dispatches) -- Scientists have discovered a new connection between the gut and the brain that drives our desire for fat.
Researchers at Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute studying mice, realized that fat sensors in the intestines that stimulate the brain and drive food desires.
They found that glucose activates a specific gut-brain circuit that communicates to the brain in the presence of intestinal sugar. Calorie-free artificial sweeteners, on the other hand , do not have this effect, explaining why most probably diet sodas can leave us feeling unsatisfied.
Dr Charles Zuker of Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute says that the overconsumption of cheap, highly processed foods rich in sugar and fat is having a devastating impact on human health, especially among people of low income . He believes that if people better understand how these foods steal the biological machinery underlying taste and the gut-brain axis, the more opportunity they will have to intervene.
The study raises the possibility of interfering with this gut-brain connection to help prevent unhealthy choices and address the growing global health crisis caused by overeating.