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Article: Snacking could signify low serotonin; MIT expert traces junk food quest to brain's reaction to stress; offers healthy response.(VARIETY)
- Article from:
- Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
- Article date:
- June 13, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Star Tribune Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Judith Wurtman sees them everywhere.
Overstuffed office workers who grab snacks from vending machines in the late afternoon. Housebound first-time mothers snacking an additional 30 pounds onto their bodies. Stressed-out, grumpy dieters, who lost 30 pounds and on their way toward restoring the 30 pounds with sweets, hamburgers and french fries.
What's wrong with these people?
It's not lack of self-control or bad genes. They are obeying a powerful signal from their serotonin-starved brains: Feed me more carbohydrate.
"When they are under stress, many people reach for carbohydrates - and it doesn't matter if they are simple [sugar] ...