Brain features explain why alcohol and fatty foods are linked
University of Pennsylvania: mice with unlimited access to fatty food drank more alcohol — neural link between fast food and alcohol cravings confirmed.
University of Pennsylvania: mice with unlimited access to fatty food drank more alcohol — neural link between fast food and alcohol cravings confirmed.
Many people experience an irresistible craving for tasty but unhealthy food after consuming alcohol. For this reason, some people head to fast-food restaurants after a night at the club. An experiment with mice at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has shown that at the neural network level, alcohol abuse and cravings for fatty foods are connected.
Scientists studied patterns of liquid consumption (a mixture of water and alcohol) and food intake in three groups of rodents. The first group had constant access to fatty food but was restricted in alcohol (4 hours a day, 4 days a week). The second group ate standard rodent feed but also had limited access to alcohol. The third group was simultaneously restricted in both fatty foods and alcohol.
Researchers gradually increased the alcohol concentration in the water from 10% to 20% over eight weeks of observation. It turned out that mice without restrictions on fatty foods drank more alcohol. The connection at the neural level is indeed real.
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