(Derek Beres/ Big Think) — As if losing weight wasn’t hard enough. A new study from researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research reveals that we’re rewarded twice when eating. The first dopamine kick occurs when tasting food; the second, when the food reaches your stomach.
Making this process even more insidious, the more you crave the food, the less dopamine is produced by your stomach, which the researchers believe might lead to overeating.
Previous research has shown that even thinking about food starts the process of salivation by releasing a protein enzyme, amylase, which helps break down food before it reaches your stomach. Interestingly, if you head to your favorite restaurant and they’re out of the dish you’ve been craving, the emotional discontent is real. Your brain has been tricked—well, your brain tricked itself. (…)