What triggers hedonistic eating?
The following five brain chemicals are the ones that primarily influence our emotions, and they not only provide the foundation for why we eat at certain times, but they're also the key chemicals in many of our current and future weight-loss drugs. To deal with some of the emotions and stresses that lead to eating, you have to remember that the brain chemicals that influence our hunger and our moods are our 'why' regulators of eating.
- Norepinephrine: The caveman fight-or-flight chemical—it's what tells you to tangle with a saber-tooth or high-tail it to the safety of your hut.
- Serotonin: The James Brown of neurotransmitters—it makes you feel good (hyah!) and is a major target of anti-depression drugs.
- Dopamine: The brain's fun house—it's a pleasure and reward system and is particularly sensitive to addictions. It's also the one that helps you feel no pain.
- GABA: This amino acid makes you feel like a zombie and is one of the ways that anesthesia may work to reduce your responsiveness to the outside world.
- Nitric Oxide: The meditation-like chemical—it helps calm you. This powerful neuropeptide is usually a very short-lived gas that also relaxes the blood vessels of the body.
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Hedonistic eating is emotional eating; it is driven by the need for pleasure not hunger. When eating is motivated by pleasure, rather than hunger, in the brain reward chemical signals are activated which leads to overeating. The phenomenon ultimately affects weight and may be a major factor in the rise of obesity.
Hedonic hunger’ refers to the desire to eat for pleasure, and to enjoy the taste, rather than the body’s energy needs. For example, desiring and eating a piece of cake even after a filling meal is generally driven by pleasure and not by hunger. The physiological process underlying hedonistic eating is not fully understood, but it is likely that hormones regulating reward mechanisms in the brain, like the hormone ghrelin, are involved.
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Psychology of Weight Loss
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Important: This content reflects information from various individuals and organizations and may offer alternative or opposing points of view. It should not be used for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. As always, you should consult with your healthcare provider about your specific health needs.