the city of San Luis Obispo, California at night
Here are a few items I found today:
“Chilling out might be the key to losing the weight you gained over Thanksgiving. New research shows that dieting makes the brain more sensitive to stress and the rewards of high-fat, high-calorie treats. These brain changes last long after the diet is over and prod otherwise healthy individuals to binge eat under pressure.”
“Moms, want your children to eat their greens? Then you have to eat them, too, at least while you’re pregnant. Researchers have found that offspring of mouse mothers fed a diet enhanced with cherry and mint flavors during pregnancy continued to prefer these flavors into adulthood, while mice from mothers fed on a bland diet had no food preference. The rodents with a penchant for mint-cherry food developed larger glomeruli, the region of the brain responsible for processing odor—the first evidence that exposure to odors in the womb alters the way the brain develops. From the fetus’ point of view, this is a good evolutionary strategy; eat the foods that your mother ate because they are probably safe. It is likely that all mammals, including humans, develop their sense of taste in this same way, the researchers report online today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, so expectant moms, be careful the next time you have a hankering for anchovies with chocolate sauce.”
“Low levels of mercury in the diet of male white ibises cause the birds to mate with each other rather than with females. As a result many of the females can’t breed, and fewer chicks are produced.”
10 Comments
anjames · December 2, 2010 at 3:40 pm
The idea about stress causing binge eating is very interesting to me. The article shed some light on why I am able to ignore chocolate for two or three weeks but then am faced with an unavoidable urge to consume everything chocolate that comes my way. So I guess the stress caused by a rigorous diet may in fact be detrimental to the diet itself?
ahhuang · December 2, 2010 at 5:57 pm
“mercury poisoning”
This is very interesting yet disturbing at the same time. It means the ecosystem can be greatly affected. This may seem that this issue won’t affect humans since the mercury cannot affect humans the same way it does to the birds. However, it definitely has a huge impact on the ecosystem; there will be imbalances in the food chain. And since humans are on the top of the food chain, it will eventually affect us.
ahhuang · December 2, 2010 at 6:03 pm
“want your child to eat greens?”
The idea that food preference can be determined during pregnancy is very intriguing; however, I’ve read articles that talked about that preference for salty or sweet food is genetically determined.
I feel a little skeptical with the rat studies. If it were indeed true, then why do some kinds have a big sweet tooth while their mothers prefer saltier ones?
VincentDeo21 · December 2, 2010 at 8:55 pm
“Mercury Poinsoning”
I also think this an interesting finding. I wonder how much mercury has to do with the homosexual behavior. I just read a few articles about mercury. At least in humans, toxicity can lead to neurological damage. I wonder if deficiency would do the same thing. The White Ibises have a diet that normally consists of fish. Many fish are known to be high in mercury levels. Low levels of mercury in these birds could mean that they are now not able to find fish and must choose other supplementary things such as insects and small reptiles. I think changes in nutrition could affect behavior and ultimately breeding success.
kxtran89 · December 2, 2010 at 11:17 pm
The “Why Diets Fail” article is very accurate about what happens to diets. I can see how being on a diet means putting your body through a certain amount of hunger, and hunger drives everyone nuts since your body is not getting what it needs/wants. I feel that I can really relate, because if I was really busy and didn’t have time to eat to my satisfaction I feel easily angered or perhaps as the article points out – sensitive to stress. This article helps me see that the only way for others to lose weight is simply to exercise.
M.Klein1023 · December 3, 2010 at 5:58 pm
“Mercury Poisoning”
More reserach must be conducted in order to draw conclusions regarding mercury poisoning and its effects on humans. It’s possible that the biochemistry involved in the birds and their wavering sexual preferences is not the same in humans. It is potentially good evidence for homosexuality being a result of environmental/physiological factors rather than conscious choice. Maybe advocates for homosexuality as a choice would be interested in volunteering to ingest low doses of mercury to prove whether it has a biological component or not. (Kidding)
M.Klein1023 · December 3, 2010 at 6:06 pm
“Why Diets Fail”
I like this article. Everyone has their own theory about dieting and weight loss, and often times professionals can provide seemingly contradictory information. It is such a complex issue involving biological and social factors. I like this woman’s idea that stress can be considered an influential factor in weight loss because it can apply to both biological and social factors. It probably won’t be successful for everyone in terms of reaching their weight loss goals, but it definitely won’t hurt anyone either. The world would be a much friendlier place if scientists declared a stress-less life the best weight loss strategy.
connormcgill · December 3, 2010 at 11:44 pm
In the article “mercury poisoning makes birds homosexual,” it perplexes me why the mercury would affect the birds in such a way and not humans whatsoever. I wonder what is going on with birds that is not going on in humans to cause this difference.
lwestaby · December 5, 2010 at 1:57 pm
The article “Why Diets Fail” shed a little insight into why I always feel the need to have a snack while studying. Now i know it can be attributed to my stress level and the hormones being released when I’m stressed. What a relief! As far as dieting goes, it makes sense that a person that is dieting would be more stressed than one who is not. When someone is dieting they are constantly worrying about what they are eating and how that will effect their weight. Crazy the things stress can do to you.
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