Reading time: 4 minutes

Todays’ menu:

1) Why do we keep eating even when we're full?

2) Uncorking the truth: the mystery of wine headaches

3) Ultra-Processed Foods: The Silent Threat to Your Health, Even Without Weight Gain

😋 Why do we keep eating even when we're full?

🐌 Pace yourself

Have you ever felt full, but still kept eating?

Peer pressure and social conditioning play a role. But a new study in mice investigated how biting into food is central to appetite regulation.

In short:

1. When biting into food, taste receptors quickly send information to the gut saying “prepare for what’s coming”

2. The gut starts making digestive juices in preparation for the food’s arrival

3. As digestion progresses, the gut sends signals to the brain saying “I am full now. Time to stop”

4. The brain then send signals to the mouth saying “please stop eating”. This happen in the form of lower pleasure from eating

This feedback loop ensures that as the meal progresses, we naturally slow down our eating pace and consume less overall.

However, this process is not always flawless and most of us continue eating.

The researchers discovered that the communication between the mouth and the gut is relatively rapid, taking only few minutes.

But the communication between the gut and the brain is much slower. This can hold back the ‘break button’ (a.k.a. satiety) for a longer period of time.

🥊 Punchline

So it is the delay in communication between the gut and the brain that’s slow. This is a physiological phenomenon that we need to work with to optimize appetite control. Two strategies that help with appetite control are:

1. Delay the start of your meal: Avoid immediately diving into your meal as soon as it is ready. Take a few minutes, even just one minute, to allow your gut to prepare for the incoming food and your brain to start registering the upcoming digestion process. This ensure the gut has enough time to start the communication with the brain

2. Eat slower. This allows enough time for the gut to tell the brain that “you are full” (before you go for a second helping)

Given the hype around weight loss drugs, a deeper understanding of appetite control would promote research and investment into designing weight-loss regimens designed to that effectively suppress appetite during meals.

If you know anyone who believes this 🤣, forward this email to them!

Empower them with valuable nutrition knowledge!

🍷 Uncorking the truth: the mystery of wine headaches

😵‍💫 It’s just temporary

My mum loves wine. It’s her favourite drink.

However, her social gatherings with friends is usually cut short because headaches start soon after the first glass.

Recent research has identified certain plant compounds present in wine as potential headache triggers.

These compounds are known as quercetins and are naturally occurring antioxidants found in various fruits and vegetables, including grapes.

However, quercetins in red wines can interfere with alcohol metabolism.

Once absorbed into the bloodstream, quercetin undergoes transformation, hindering the breakdown of alcohol

As less alcohol is broken down, more builds up causing flushing, headaches and nausea.

Interestingly, quercetin levels can vary significantly between different types of wine. Several factors, including sunlight exposure, fermentation processes, fining techniques, and aging, influence quercetin content. Some wines contain up to five times more quercetin than others

🥊 Punchline

Now you know why some people experience headaches after consuming red wine. They can blame quercetin, a naturally occurring antioxidant found in grapes. And the possibility that they are more sensitive to it than others.

But we still know little about wine-induced headaches. We don’t know what makes some people more susceptible to them. It is possible that quercetin to a greater extent inhibits alcohol metabolism in these individuals, or they may be more sensitive to the symptoms of alcohol accumulation in the body. Either way, cheers in moderation 🥂

If you know anyone who enjoys a nice glass of red wine, forward this email to them!

They may learn something new!

🍟 Ultra-Processed Foods: The Silent Threat to Your Health, Even Without Weight Gain

🤨 A complex issue

Not a day goes by without headlines about processed foods. This one though is worth mentioning.

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) go through multiple processing to improve taste, convenience and shelf life. This makes them palatable, but also quite unhealthy.

This study wanted to look at the effects of UPFs on the oesophagus, food pipe connecting the mouth to the stomach.

By examining the dietary and lifestyle habits of over 450,000 adults over a 14-year period, researchers found a significant association between UPF consumption and an increased risk of mouth, throat, and esophageal cancer.

In detail, eating 10% UPFs was associated with 23% greater risk of these cancers, regardless of weight gain.

Cautioun though! UPFs are complex foods, so we don’t know what’s behind this association. It could be:

·       The addition of numerous additives during processing

·       Chemical alterations induced by the processing itself

·       Contamination with harmful substances during manufacturing

Importantly, that data collection for this study commenced in the 1990s when UPF consumption was relatively low. If replicated today, the findings might even paint a more alarming picture

🥊 Punchline

The novel finding is that UPFs can lead to adverse health outcomes even in the absence of weight gain. This challenges the previous thinking that UPFs primarily contribute to ill health through weight gain.

It has to be admitted though. UPFs can have a place in someone’s diet, such as for single parents facing financially and time limitations cook.

If you know anyone who enjoys a bit too much processed food, forward this email to them!

And finally!

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To your health!

Paolo

Hungry for more reading?

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