Food rich in fats and carbohydrates particularly strongly stimulates the reward center in the brain, which can lead to overeating unhealthy foods such as chips or creamy cakes, a new study has shown.
“Probably under the influence of mother’s milk, we strongly react to food rich in carbohydrates and fats and consider it particularly satisfying because it is crucial for survival,” explains Marc Tittgemeyer from the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Cologne, who conducted the study in collaboration with Yale University.
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Apart from mother’s milk, there is no food in nature that is simultaneously so rich in both fats and carbohydrates, scientists note.
The team of experts showed that both fatty and carbohydrate-rich foods activate the release of dopamine in the brain responsible for the feeling of pleasure, although in different ways. Fats and carbohydrates in combination enhance this feeling of pleasure by suppressing the feeling of fullness.
“That is why we do not stop eating even when we are full,” says Tittgemeyer.
To examine people’s preferences for different types of food, scientists pitted 40 volunteers against computers, with food as the reward in the game.
The food offered in the computer game was either rich in fats like cheese or rich in carbohydrates like pastries or both.
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To obtain specific food, participants had to compete against the computer. Scientists found that participants competed much more for food that was rich in both fats and carbohydrates.
During the computer game, scientists monitored the brain activity of volunteers using magnetic resonance imaging.
The readings obtained were consistently in line with the game results – the area of the brain where the reward center is located was most strongly stimulated by food that had a high content of both fats and carbohydrates.
The results of the research were published in the journal Cell Metabolism.
