We ALL overeat from time to time.
And hey, if you indulge in something you know isn’t “good for you” every once in a while, don’t beat yourself up about it — you’re in good company.
We’re only human, after all. And the truth is, an occasional treat doesn’t do any real harm.
But a new animal study has revealed ONE hidden factor that can flip the switch from treat to treacherous in a blink of an eye.
This sneaky diet disaster can cause you to pack on the pounds.
And if you’re a stress eater who turns to comfort foods when times get tough (like me) you’re going to want to keep on reading.
Scientists recently made a stunning discovery. One that could help explain one of life’s greatest – and most frustrating – mysteries.
And that is why your friend can pig out and never seem to gain an ounce. But YOU, on the other hand, just LOOK at a doughnut and you gain five pounds.
Well, it turns out it’s NOT your fault!
In fact, you can blame it on STRESS. Because according to researchers, gulping down high calorie foods when you’re feeling frazzled can cause you to gain MORE weight than when you’re feeling Zen.
Stress puts you on the fast track to FAT
Here’s how they figured it out…
For the new study two groups of mice were put on the EXACT same diet.
But instead of typical mouse chow they got high-calorie food that was packed with junk fats and added sugars.
In other words, it would be like you or me gorging on pizza, fries, and milkshakes.
Group one was treated to a stress-free spa-like lifestyle. While the group two mice were forced to tough it out in a stress-filled environment.
And to everyone’s surprise – despite eating the exact same diet – the tense mice in group two gained weight MUCH FASTER than the relaxed rodents.
But the scientists believe they figured out WHY the frazzled mice were getting fatter faster.
Squash stress and gain less
Your body makes insulin after you eat.
The hormone instructs your cells to let the glucose in your blood inside… where it can then be used for fuel. And at the same time it sends a message to the hypothalamus in your brain saying it’s time to stop eating.
When you’re chronically stressed your system naturally creates extra insulin. But in the study when stress was combined with the high-calorie junk-food diet something strange happened.
The brains of the stressed mice started pumping out massive amounts of a molecule called NPY.
That’s a big deal for a few reasons.
- First, a spike in NPY makes the body far less efficient at burning calories for energy.
- Second, no matter whether you’re a human or a mouse NPY flooding your system can trigger a massive case of the munchies. And it’s COMFORTING CARBS that your brain is craving.
- And finally, NPY can keep you from feeling full, so you overeat.
In other words, you end up burning less calories, eating more junk food, and feeling famished.
So it’s easy to see why the stressed out mice packed on the pounds so much faster than the calm critters. And why the same can happen to US when we’re battling chronic stress.
Don’t let stress turn YOU into a two ton tubby.
Regular exercise and deep breathing can help short-circuit stress. And all natural stress-busters such as astaxanthin and the probiotic Bifidobacterium longum can help send stress packing so you feel BETTER and gain LESS.
She is an advocate of self-education and is passionate about the power of group knowledge sharing, like the kind found right here on HealthierTalk.com. Alice loves to share her views on holistic and natural healing as well as her, sometimes contentious, thoughts on the profit-driven inner workings of traditional medicine.
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