NEW STUDY ON HOW TO AVOID EATING “BAD” FOODS WHEN YOU HAVE A
CRAVING
For many people, weight control is a battle against cravings for fats and sweets. The cravings may be difficult to deny because when sweets or fats are consumed the body produces “pleasure chemicals” called opioids. And while experts say that there is no cure for food cravings in the forseeable future, they may have taken a step toward just such a solution recently.
In a study at the University of Michigan, researchers injected nine women with the drug naloxone, which is also used to prevent heroin from being absorbed by the brain when people have taken overdoses. The drug, known as a “pleasure killer” stopped cravings for fats and sweets.
Researchers say naloxone worked in their test because it effectively blocks opioids from delivering their message of pleasure to the brain. Once the message of pleasure has been eliminated, the craving ceases to exist.
To confirm their initial findings, the researchers reversed the experiment. Another group of women were injected with “extra” pleasure chemicals with the drug butorphanol. The women injected with this drug reported an increase in pleasure when eating fats and sweets.
Even though naloxone was successful in blocking food cravings in the controlled study, it is not available to the public for that purpose. Scientists say its effects are only temporary and wouldn’t make much of a difference. However, continuing research using the information uncovered in the University of Michigan study could lead to an eventual solution to food cravings and a significant victory for many people battling weight problems.
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