Study: A Substance in Fatty Foods Gets You High

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Fatty foods can make you feel stoned, and then, just like actually being stoned, can give you the munchies, according to a new study.
 

Apparently, fatty foods trigger the body to produce "a natural feel-good chemical" called endocannabinoids, which produces effects similar to pot. That part sounds pretty alright—getting stoned off of French fries?!—but the catch is that these endocannabinoids will then drive you to pig out even more. 

Endocannabinoids were discovered when scientists learned that the human body can actually create its own cannabinoids, which are tiny little molecules that reduce pain and anxiety. For what it's worth, you can also trigger your endocannabinoids by exercising, which isn't as much fun as eating a big bowl of guacomole.

Other News About Fatty Foods....

A study in 2009 showed that eating fatty food took an almost immediate toll on both short-term memory and exercise performance.

Other studies have suggested that long-term consumption of a too high-fat diet is associated with weight gain, heart disease and declines in cognitive function. But this research shows how indulging in fatty foods over the course of a few days can affect the brain and body long before the extra pounds show up.

“We expected to see changes, but maybe not so dramatic and not in such a short space of time,’’ said Andrew Murray, the study’s lead author and a lecturer in physiology at Cambridge University in Britain. “It was really striking how quickly these effects happened.’’

It’s not clear why fatty foods would cause a short-term decline in cognitive function. One theory is that a high-fat diet can trigger insulin resistance, which means the body becomes less efficient at using the glucose, or blood sugar, so important to brain function.

Fatty foods appear to have a short-term effect on exercise performance because the body reacts to high fat content in the blood by releasing certain proteins that essentially make the metabolism less efficient. “It’s thought to be a protective mechanism to get rid of excess fat,’’ Dr. Murray said. “But it was making muscles less efficient at using oxygen and fuel to make the energy needed to run.’’

The findings are particularly relevant to people who may not worry about binging on fatty foods because they exercise regularly.

“Exercise is a good way of burning it off, because you’re burning the calories off,’’ Dr. Murray said. “But in terms of actually trying to put in a good time if you’re running, it will limit your performance.’’

Thanks for reading! What do you think?