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Researchers Why does alcohol cause cravings?
Many people have experienced this situation at least once in their lives. You drink too much alcohol at a party and it does not take long to develop a craving. So we usually eat too much if we have drunk alcohol before. But what is actually the reason that such a hunger for the consumption of alcohol?
Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute in London found that alcohol consumption activates a specific set of so-called hypothalamic neurons. These then seem to trigger the increased urge to eat. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "Nature Communications".
At celebrations or in the company of good friends, many people like to drink a little alcohol. This often leads to a great hunger for greasy food. By the next morning at the latest, we often have a guilty conscience because we have consumed tons of unhealthy food. (Image: WavebreakmediaMicro / fotolia.com) What is the biological reason for cravings after drinking alcohol?
The consumption of alcohol often leads to an increased hunger. The consequence of this is usually that the drinker consumes tons of fast food or other foods. This often leads to stomach ache the next morning. Experts are now looking for a biological reason for the effect.
Neurological connection seems to trigger the problem
Most people believe in a simple explanation for the cravings that arise. This is: drunks just have a lack of self-control. In fact, the researchers found in their study that a neurological compound could be responsible for the problem. Specific brain cells or neurons usually stimulate the urge to eat something. Tests on mice showed that laboratory mice consume larger amounts of food if they were previously given alcohol, the experts explain.
Alcohol activates neurons, which are also activated by hunger
The scientists discovered that the alcohol activates a specific set of hypothalamic neurons. These were related to feeding behavior, say the authors. The neurons can be activated by alcohol as well as by hunger. Alcohol in the brain affects a group of nerve cells. These are located in the area of the brain, which is responsible for the regulation of food intake, explain the researchers.
Alcohol leads to significantly higher food intake in mice
So-called agrp neurons are cells in the brain that promote hunger. Alcohol modulates the action of these neurons to increase food intake. In the experiment, the mice were exposed to a three-day consumption of alcohol. The amount consumed corresponded to about 18 standard drinks. By ingesting the alcohol, the mice consumed significantly more food than the fasted mice from the control group, add the physicians.
Blocking neurons can suppress alcohol-induced food intake
The researchers found that blocking the activity of neurons in some mice suppresses alcohol-induced overeating. Alcohol itself already contains a fairly large amount of calories, about seven kilocalories per gram, the experts say. In addition, alcohol can not be stored by the body. The only way to process the alcohol is to metabolize it for energy. Thus, everything that people eat at the same time with the alcohol or shortly thereafter, preferably stored by the body.
Neurons also influence the choice of food?
It is quite possible that the activation of neurons could also distort the choice of food itself, the researchers say. This might explain why we prefer drunk greasy food.
Further studies with human volunteers are urgently needed
The results found in the mice are not directly applicable to humans. Further studies on humans are therefore necessary to determine the exact effects on the human body, explain the physicians. For example, the mice were injected with the alcohol in the experiment and not given for consumption. The resulting stress could have affected the brain, affecting the study's results.
Many people would benefit from a repression of cravings
The results of a human study could help suppress alcohol cravings in the future and prevent us from waking up feeling guilty after a next morning's celebration because we have consumed far too many unhealthy foods the previous night. (As)