Why does eating feel so good?

[TechBear_Seattle]

Why does eating feel so good?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Why does eating feel so good? The secret may lie in the head, not in the stomach, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.

Tests on rats show that the appetite hormone ghrelin acts on pleasure receptors in the brain.

The findings may help researchers develop better diet drugs.

"In mice and rats ghrelin triggers the same neurons as delicious food, sexual experience, and many recreational drugs; that is, neurons that provide the sensation of pleasure and the expectation of reward," the researchers write in Friday's issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

The full article can be read at http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061020/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_health_eating

[Occulus]

1. UUuuhhhh... how long has this been obvious?

Seriously.

A good meal makes you feel good.

BIG ol' DUUUH.

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. The news is the MECHANISM through which it happens

If you had read the article, you would have seen that the research shows a similar mechanism for other addictions. There is a good chance this could lead to new diet treatments by interrupting this pleasure-reinforcement cycle.