Do you love big fat burgers? You will now fall for steamed beans. At least that’s the promise made by Susan Roberts, professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in the United States. In the scientific journal Nutrition and Diabetes, the specialist says she has successfully reversed the process ofjunk food addictionfor the benefit of a healthy diet. Make no mistake, the transformation did not happen overnight and the experimentation was undertaken on a small panel.
The test was carried out on 13 volunteers, men and women who were obese or overweight due to poor eating habits. “Repeatedly eating food that is” toxic “to their body has them somehow conditioned to eat badly “says Susan Roberts, author of the study. Eight of the thirteen participants followed a diet program to lose weight. At the start of the experiment and six months later, the brains of all volunteers were observed on MRI. Objective: to verify if it could be repackaged in such a way as to relieve the appetite for junk food in favor of healthy and balanced food choices.
A change in the reward circuit
Obviously it worked! Those who followed the diet showed brain changes in the area associated with reward, learning, and addiction. This region has become more sensitive to low calorie and healthy foods. In other words, this change in the reward circuit was manifested by a greater feeling of satisfaction for a balanced diet, and no longer for fatty and caloric foods.
So if you want to change the way you eat, be patient: it will probably take you six months to stop salivating over your burger and fries.
Do you think we can really reprogram our brains to eat healthy? Express yourself on the forum.
