Double-Whammy From Fatty Foods

(CBS)  Once you get started eating ice cream, do you feel like you could eat the whole carton? Or maybe polish off that second deluxe cheeseburger?

Turns out there may be a medical explanation for binge eating.

On "The Early Show" Wednesday, CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton reported on new research suggesting the answer may lie in certain saturated fats that, in essence, trick the brain into eating more.

The study, done at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, found that certain fats interact with, and actually change, your brain chemistry, Ashton said.

The fats at fault -- particularly palmitic acid, found in milk, butter, beef and cheese -- tell the brain to ignore hormones involved in the regulation of food intake. So you wind up eating more.

And the research shows it can take anywhere from three to five days for the brain to wash out misleading signals spurred by the fats and start responding properly to the weight regulation hormones again.


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