Many people agree that even though they know they are stuffed, they were happy to have dessert. It was considered a miracle in the past however there is now adequate physiological evidence backing it.
According to what senior researcher Arnold Berstad and assistant doctor Jørgen Valeur from Lovisenberg Diakonale Hospital revealed in the latest issue of The Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association, the sugar present in sweet foods stimulates a reflex that leads to the expansion of your stomach.
According to them, if you consume dessert even after you know that you are feeling stuffed, all you are doing is tricking your normal sensation of being full. The human stomach is flexible. When a person eats a big meal in one sitting, the walls of the upper part of the stomach will relax to create space for the food.
That stuffed feeling you get after a large meal is linked to the pressure within the stomach, and this is in turn connected to how much the stomach had to expand to take in the food. According to Berstad, there are three factors that affect the triggering of the relaxing reflex.
One is the sight and smell of the food. It also includes the chewing and swallowing process. The second is the pressure of food against the stomach while the third is the duodenum “tastes” the components of the food.
The information is sent to the brainstem via dedicated nerves. A message is sent out once more from the core of the brainstem which triggers the relaxation effect in the stomach wall.
Sugar usually stimulates this relaxation reflex, thereby decreasing the pressure on the stomach and the sensation of being full. If a dessert is sweet, as they always are, the stomach will happily make room for more food.
This is why it is advised that you take dessert in moderation. The best option is to limit it to having a taste of something sweet. It will make you feel a little less full after the main course so a small bite of something sweet will leave you feeling comfortable.
Unfortunately, it is not easy to restrict one’s self to just a single bite. Berstad said:
“The problem is that you don’t know when to stop eating dessert. The brakes on carbohydrate consumption are five meters further down, at the lower end of the small intestine.”
He also said: “Fat, however, is absorbed higher up in the system and triggers a high-placed brake. It makes you quickly full. If you eat one spoon too much of creamy gravy you risk getting nauseous and vomiting. This surely helps enable many people to eat fatty foods without gaining weight."
Remember, moderation is key even when it's your favorite dessert being served.
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