Tame the Belly, Manage the Brain

Good Morning! Oh My, all your blogs are so wonderful, thank you so much for them. You are all so eloquent, I am intimidated when I think about writing something!
There is a 'Benefits of Quitting' (smoking) on my msn home page this morning which I just read....improvement in health in 20 minutes after stopping, then 12 hours later, then a week etc. It was great for my arsenal. Absolutely, I agree with T about my costs list....my children are more than enough reasons for me to stop!
So here is a synopsis from an article I read about eating and our brains.....Boston Globe, Nov 19.
Eating is as much about our brains as our stomaches. A hormone, gherlin, is released when your stomache is empty and growling and it may help stave off depression. Underfed mice with higher levels of this hormone showed fewer signs of depression and anxiety than their well-fed counterparts, swimming longer when put in water and more adventurous in a maze.
Goes on to say that some people may overeat because their brains simply don't get as much pleasure out of food, so they keep eating in an attempt to feel satisfied. We may have been hard wired like this in the womb. When a mother rat was fed a fatty diet her babies brains were wired with neurons that produce molecules that stimulate their appetite. Even mice that were stripped of their very ability to taste sweetness still preferred to sip sweet calorie laden drinks. Their brain pathways usually associated with tasting something scrumptious were activated when they consumed the sugary drink....even though they couldn't taste it!!
They raise the possibilty that high-fructose corn syrup, which is virtually unavoidable in processed foods, may trigger the brains reward circuitry more strongly than other types of sugars.
There is growing interest in how flavors and tastes impact the brain, because the brain is in control. If you want to understand abnormalities like obesity and anorexia you have to understand what brain practices are going awry.
So some of this may be our nature, but as we all know, we can change that!
Great Weekend and Much Love To Everyone!
Gin