The Director Weighs In on Trigger Foods

We’ve discussed the pitfalls of trigger foods in the past, but recent science may have shed new light on why certain fats may cause us to overeat.  A study supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) suggests that saturated fat found in butter, cheeses, dairy and beef cause animals to ignore appetite-suppressing signals.

According to Dr. Deborah Clegg, study author from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, the culprit is a specific saturated fat called palmitic acid.  Ingestion of these fat molecules may cause the brain to ignore appetite-suppressing signals from the key weight-regulation hormones leptin and insulin.

In short, if the brain is unable to tell the body that it is full, we’ll overeat.

Dr. Clegg goes on to explain that this may be the reason why we tend to be hungrier than normal a day or two after a big “splurge”.

Of course the study was done on rodents, so it is a little too early to blame it all on saturated fat.  But it does add more evidence to the case against trigger foods sabotaging weight control efforts.

Can you name a particular food that would be an even bigger trigger food suspect should this study prove true?

ICE CREAM. With its sticky sweetness already sending us down the path of indulgence, the abundance of palmitic acid could reduce our judgement of satiety even more.

Notice your cravings – ” for sugar, caffeine, attention.  Ask yourself what you really need and why.” Terri Trespicio