SUGARY FOODS & DRINKS INDUCE SUGAR CRAVINGS • - My understanding of the nutrition literature is that we would all do well to consume most of our foods from unprocessed or minimally processed sources, not overindulge, nor be overly restrictive. - With that said, my guest on the Huberman Lab podcast out now is an expert in gastrointestinal physiology, nutrition, and neuroscience, and his laboratory combines that unique training to understand how the specific components of foods, including sugar, essential fatty acids, and even specific amino acids are sensed by neurons the gut called neuropod cells and impact our emotions and behavior, especially around food and eating. - The slide emphasizes a key takeaway from that episode, which is that our gut can sense simple sugars, and it can drive the craving and consumption of more simple sugars by way of a vagus nerve connection to the brain that eventually converges on the dopamine system. Note: he is not referring to nor demonizing fruit or even sugar per se- he just shared the data, so people can better understand at least one basis for sugar cravings. - Personally, I crave proteins. Why would that be? Dr Bohorquez also explained that we have neurons in the gut that can sense specific essential amino acids, and drive the hunger for things like meat. We also discussed how vegans and vegetarians may experience changes in their gut to brain circuits that alter their cravings and food choices, and of course we discussed the role of the microbiome. So it may just be that we crave more of the foods we regularly eat. This hypothesis is being tested by his and other laboratories now. - To access the episode in all formats please go to hubermanlab.com It’s timestamped in detail so you can navigate quickly to the specific topic/s most of interest to you. - Meanwhile, please put any questions in the comments section below this post and as always, thank you for your interest in science! - @hubermanlab @stanford.med @stanford - #neuroscience #science #ciencia #neurociencia #brain #gut #gutsense #vagusnerve #sugar ##craving #subconscious