Drinking and smelling delicious food, you can't control your appetite, be careful to gain weight

Drinking a cool beer is one of the great pleasures of summer! It's not just men who love drinking. Many women also often drink beer to cool off or enjoy themselves in the hot summer. However, drinking may not be a good thing for women who want to lose weight, because foreign studies have found that alcohol will increase the sensitivity of women's brains to the taste of food, causing people to eat more food unknowingly!

A US study found that drinking alcohol increases girls’ appetite and makes them eat more! (Photo taken from the Science Daily website)

Japanese barbecue should be paired with beer, and Taiwanese hot stir-fry should also be paired with beer! Having a couple of drinks in the hot summer seems to have become an irresistible temptation. However, for people who want to control their weight, high-calorie beer must be consumed in moderation, especially for women who care about their figure.

Study finds drinking increases food intake in girls

The US website Science Daily pointed out that a study conducted by the Departments of Medicine and Neurology at the Indiana University School of Medicine found that consuming alcohol makes women's brains more sensitive to food aromas, causing women who drink to eat more calories. The study was published in the July issue of Obesity, a journal published by The Obesity Society.

Alcohol and food aroma experiments found the correlation between drinking and diet

The researchers invited 35 non-smoking, non-vegetarian, and properly-weight women to participate in the experiment to observe the effects of alcohol and placebo exposure before meals. Then, they used food aromas and non-food aromas to test the brain's response, and used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to observe changes in blood oxygen concentration-dependent contrast (BOLD). After the observation, the subjects were allowed to enjoy lunch.

Drinking in moderation is harmless, but alcohol is high in calories and low in nutritional value, so people should avoid drinking too much.

The study found that when subjects were exposed to alcohol, most ate more at the following lunch, compared to a placebo. In addition, the researchers found that when the subjects smelled food, the response in the hypothalamus of the brain was stronger than when they smelled non-food odors. Therefore, researchers believe that the brain can control how much food to eat, and if the influence of alcohol is added, people may unknowingly overeat.

Alcohol is high in calories and low in nutrients. Drinking too much can easily lead to weight gain.

In fact, using alcohol to stimulate the appetite is known as the "aperitif effect." However, this study found that this effect is not entirely caused by the mouth, which is the first contact with alcohol, and the intestines, which digest and absorb alcohol. The brain also plays an important role in regulating food intake.

On the other hand, alcoholic beverages are foods that contain "empty calories", meaning they have low nutritional value but high calories. Therefore, drinking high-calorie beer, coupled with its "aperitif effect", will naturally increase calorie intake and cause weight gain.

Martin Binks, a professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Texas Tech University, pointed out that the connection between alcohol and eating has been oversimplified before. This study shows the complexity of the process involved and further research is needed in the future.

Drinking in moderation is good for your mood and healthy

The public is reminded that whether men or women, they should not drink too much. Drinking in moderation can help to boost mood and be healthy. In addition, beer itself is a high-calorie beverage, so if you want to stay slim, it’s better to drink less!