Sun, Nov-05-17, 06:53
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Senior Member
Posts: 3,199
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Plan: High protein, lower fat
Stats: 000/000/145
BF:276, 255 hi wts
Progress: 0%
Location: Michigan U.P., USA
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Watched AHS17 Where do cravings come from? - Stephan Guyenet yesterday.
Quote:
Most cravings are simply dopamine-reinforced motivations. (On a below consciousness level.) When you're hungry, when you're brain perceives it's in an energy depleted state, it's not that interested in low-calorie foods. The amount of dopamine released is proportional to the number of nutrients in the gut.
Concentrated sugar, starch, fat, protein, salt, and glutamate create and maintain cravings. (Modern foods are too refined, too calorie dense and too hyper-palatable.)
The most commonly craved foods are fatty/savory (chips) and fatty/sweet (chocolate).
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His tips to deal with cravings:
Quote:
Limit your cue exposure, such as sight and smell
Focus on simple unrefined foods, such as "fruits, meats, vegetables, oatmeal, yogurt, potatoes and sweet potatoes, which don't have the real high concentration of those nutrients that spike your dopamine and less likely to drive your motivation to an excessive level."
Let yourself forget - "the nonconscious parts of the brain forget and so those reward associations that you've formed, if you don't continue to reinforce those by continuing to eat those foods, they will gradually fade over time and have less and less power over you."
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Some of his examples of "simple unrefined foods" are going to be a problem for some people, was my first thought. Or are they? In their unrefined simple state without accompanying fat? I'm guessing that anyone who has tried The Potato Hack finds potatoes by themselves don't elicit cravings for more and more (except in terms of actual hunger).
Also, he's addressing one specific part of the brain - forgot the name, but he had images of his own functional MRI lighting up while in a hungry state to pictures of brownies versus broccoli - but what about what else is going on in the brain (serotonin, norepinephrine) and the rest of the body (insulin, ghrelin, leptin)?
I know Stephan Guyenet, because he's tangled so much with Gary Taubes, may not be of interest to many here, but I found this an interesting talk.
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