How to control the urge to eat snacks

Key points: Eating small amounts every four hours does not mean that any food will do. Kellee recommends eating low G.I. (glycemic index) mixed carbohydrates, such as fruits, vegetables, and milk. Beans, etc., because these foods can steadily release dopamine, stress hormones and cortisone, helping you stabilize your mood throughout the day and avoid the desire to overeat.


If you don’t eat McDonald’s, ice cream or various snacks, will it make you or your spine tingling? Scientists have good news, here are some ways to stop those cravings.

Now that dessert is here, can you resist the temptation?

If every time you step into a store, you always grab a bag of snacks or a bar of chocolate before checking out, pay attention! You may be addicted to these foods.

Let’s start with the conclusion:

Conclusion 1: When you have a strong desire to eat junk food, try to divert your attention with work or other things.

Conclusion 2: If you feel unbearably hungry, try to eat a small amount every four hours, but you must consume low G.I. foods (low glycemic index).

Some scientists strongly believe that sugary foods and alcohol have a similar reaction to cocaine in the part of the brain that controls pleasure. They believe that such foods release high amounts of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which affects the brain's control of pleasure. The area of ​​pleasurable feelings is also the main cause of addiction symptoms.

According to research results from the University of Texas, it is believed that people who cannot easily absorb dopamine will lead to overeating, which will lead to obesity. Such people are more likely to be tempted to eat because the part of the brain that controls pleasure cannot receive strong enough stimulation, so these people need to eat more food containing food.Sugary foods (need for dopamine) to satisfy his pleasure.

Researcher Eric Stice pointed out that obese people may be less able to absorb dopamine. "They need to eat more to meet the brain's demand for dopamine." Eric said, and he further explained, "When people do not absorb enough dopamine, they They will seek other ways to satisfy themselves, such as eating more food or drugs (drugs), to get the same level of pleasure as others."

As for whether chocolate is addictive, the relevant discussion has a history of nearly four hundred years. Even though most dieteticians believe that chocolate is one of the factors that cause female friends to become addicted, there are still differences in the scientific community.

Will everyone’s favorite chocolate affect the human body?

Mainly focusing on the sugar contained in chocolate, we can know from many research results that this interaction on the brain is quite complex, which also involves imbalances related to behavior and diet.

One theory suggests that when you crave something high in sugar (chocolate), it's your body telling you that it needs it. That is, when you want to eat, it is because your body needs energy.

However, well-known nutrition expert Denise Richards, spokesperson for the Australian Nutrition Association, disagrees. "There's not a single study that shows that overeating is for energy or for specific nutritional needs. These cravings have nothing to do with what your body needs, and that's not proven yet," she said.

The Landmark Group in Australia has studied this type of behavior. They do not look at it from a biological or environmental perspective. They believe that these situations are mainly caused by psychological factors. When you want something, the thoughts in your mind reinforce the image of food (or cigarettes, alcohol, etc.) that you associate with it.

This hypothesis explains why it’s so easy to get distracted from work or other things when you’re craving Ferrero Rocher or Hershey’s.

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Is desire unstoppable...?

In order to reduce this desire, researcher Eva Kemps and her team performed the opposite operation. When the subjects had this desire, they were given more difficult tasks to perform.

The results showed that when asked in this way, the subjects significantly reduced their desire for this type of food. The effect was even achieved by simply asking the subjects to stare at the flashing light spots on the computer screen. In other words, it would be a good idea to divert attention. choose.

Of course, these practices may not be easy for people with weak willpower to achieve, so psychology and food addiction expert Kellee Waters provides a set of easier ways to achieve it, That means eating something every four hours.

"Small food often prevents you from entering a state of hunger, because when you are hungry it disrupts your neurotransmitters and your hormones, making you feel like you need to eat a lot and feel satisfied," she says.

However, eating small amounts every four hours does not mean that any food will do. Kellee recommends that it is best to consume mixed carbohydrates with a low G.I. (glycemic index), such as fruits, vegetables, and milk. Beans, etc., because these foods can steadily release dopamine, stress hormones and cortisone, helping you stabilize your mood throughout the day and avoid the desire to overeat.

Reference: Women’s health & fitness