 |
| Feeding America (Sterling Communications) |
There are certain “hunger hormones” known as ghrelins in the human body.
When these ghrelin gremlins get going, it means that you’ll soon be searching for a quick fix – be it junky or healthy.
Wisdom on the street says that only a calorie-laden choice will truly satisfy these gremlins. However, a recent study by research psychologist Alia Crum suggests otherwise.
Crum, who has a history of investigating the placebo effect, wondered whether food labels could influence the ghrelin hormonal response. She therefore took the exact same milkshake, poured it into two different containers, then labeled each container in very different ways.
Alix Spiegel of NPR reports that one label read “Sensishake… zero percent fat, zero added sugar and only 140 calories.” The other read “Indulgence” and indicated “enough sugar and fat to account for 640 calories.” Spiegel adds:
In truth, the shakes had 300
calories each.
What ended up happening was that ghrelin levels dropped
about three times more when people thought they were consuming the indulgent shake as when others thought they were consuming the sensible shake.
So perhaps the “proof” is no longer just in the pudding…
Perhaps it’s on the pudding label as well.
Resources
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/04/14/299179468/mind-over-milkshake-how-your-thoughts-fool-your-stomach
Copyright April 14, 2014 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment