It happens like clockwork. I’m comfortably full and should probably quit. But, hearing the call of dessert, I magically find room for more. Profiteroles get me every time. Tiramisu too. If there’s soufflé on the menu, I’m having it. And why ever say no to pavlova?
“Dessert stomach” is the phenomenon where, despite feeling full, we somehow make room for pudding. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute in Cologne recently discovered this response is rooted in the brain, where a group of nerve cells (POMC neurons) switch from signalling fullness to craving something sweet in anticipation of the feel-good opiates triggered by sugar.
Baked Alaska at Nela, London © Indiana Petrucci
The deluxe dessert platter at Zuma, New York © Courtesy Zuma
“The response could be activated by even just hearing about dessert as your server hands you the menu,” says Sarah Ann Macklin, nutritionist and author of Healthy Shouldn’t Be This Hard. “If you’re used to following a main with dessert, your brain is already anticipating that sweetness, but even those not used to having dessert may experience the craving.”
