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If you find that you can’t stop snacking on candy and chips, it might not be entirely your fault. You can blame an opium-like chemical in your brain, which compels us to eat sweets and fats, at least according to a study reported by EverydayHealth.

The study, conducted on rats, shows that when a certain part of the brain was stimulated the chemical enkephalin would be released, causing the animals to consume twice as many M&M’s as they normally would. “That's the same as a 150-pound human eating seven pounds of M&Ms in an hour," lead researcher Alexandra DiFeliceantonio said. (Um, were they also watching an America’s Next Top Model marathon? Because we’ve so been there.)

Turns out the impulse to binge-eat sweets and fats comes straight from how our ancestors survived (fats and sweets were scarce, yet life-sustaining foods). The problem is that these foods are no longer scarce, but the urge remains, amplified by our brain boosting amounts of enkephalin.

While the study helps answer questions as to why some people may overeat, the research hasn’t yet cracked the code as to how to reverse the urge. For details on the whole study, head to EverydayHealth.

Source: EverydayHealth
