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High-Glycemic-Index Foods Turn on Brain Regions Linked to Overeating
High-glycemic-index foods, like white bread and children’s cereals, stimulate brain regions associated with reward and cravings and increase the drive to eat. In a report in the latest American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers at Boston’s Children’s Hospital fed high-GI and low-GI meals to 12 young men and then tracked the activity of various brain regions. The high-GI meal turned on the brain regions involved in reward, craving, and hunger.
References
- Lennerz BS, Alsop DC, Holsen LM, et al. Effects of dietary glycemic index on brain regions related to reward and craving in men. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013;98:641-647.
