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I wish the article would be a little more specific about what kind of fat they're talking about. Saturated? Polyunsaturated? Raw? Processed? For example, if th

by donaldc 16y ago

I wish the article would be a little more specific about what kind of fat they're talking about. Saturated? Polyunsaturated? Raw? Processed? For example, if they're talking about processed polyunsaturated fat, it's probably a leap to apply the conclusions to raw butter.

electromagnetic 16y ago
It's also contradictory to existing research. They're saying a decrease in dopamine due to high-fat intake is linked to obesity, however high-sugar diets are known to increase dopamine release, which increases the bodies demand for sugars which leads to diabetes and obesity. If it's a choice between the two then to me it's better to be fat than fat and diabetic. You're also correct, polyunsaturated fat behaves wholly different than monounsaturated, or saturated, or hydrogenated. Even if they all have some effect, is one less or more dramatic than another? Finally, is this going to be useful to anyone in planning their diet to control weight or is it just more utter bunk like 'avoid eating carbs'. If I'm avoiding carbs and avoiding fat, I'm left eating ultra-lean-ground-beef and fat-reduced chicken, which means I'm on a ultra-less healthy version of the Atkins. Perhaps these diet doctors can simply say: Don't be a fat ass, exercise and eat a good mixture of protein, fat and carbs because excluding one is quite probably extremely bad for your health.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- prodigal_erik 16y ago
  To me that sounds like the hedonic treadmill rather than a contradiction. Fat and sugar increase dopamine, the extra dopamine reduces the number and/or sensitivity of D2 receptors over time to compensate, and so your baseline declines until you need that extra dopamine hit just to get back to normal. And it sounds more useful for designing drug treatment than diet. If your eating isn't out of control, you don't have much of the problem the article is about.
  - electromagnetic 16y ago
    No fat decreases dopamine, but sugar increases and both cause obesity. Logically, balancing the two would cause no increase or decrease and should lead to a balanced weight, yet the researches don't say this they say people should avoid eating fatty foods or carbohydrate rich foods. I'd be interested to see whether a balance of protein/fat/carbs in equal 1/3 parts by weight or 1/3 parts by calorific quantity provides the least effect on our dopamine levels. I know personally that when I was on a high-fat diet, I lost weight. I've also lost weight since I switched from margarine to real butter (note: you'd be surprised how easy it is to clean baked foods when it's real butter, it took literally 5 seconds to get a bowl spotless with just hot water which normally took about a minute after being soaked in hot water with detergent in it), plus my food tastes a lot less like plastic. I'm sure this has something to do with my working in construction, however I've never been sugar-sensitive. I literally tackled a bag of brown sugar with a spoon as a kid and didn't get a sugar rush, while my wife has gotten a sugar rush off a caramilk bar.
dtf 16y ago
Sausage, bacon and cheesecake? http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100328170243.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100328170243.ht... It's all about the D2 receptors. Cocaine, burgers, prostitutes, Vegas... even WoW: http://www.adventureinterventions.com/pdfs/Dopamine%20Genes%20and%20Reward%20Dependence%20in%20Adolescents.pdf http://www.adventureinterventions.com/pdfs/Dopamine%20Genes%... Our poor brains just weren't evolved for this crazy world.

by donaldc 16y ago

electromagnetic 16y ago

It's also contradictory to existing research. They're saying a decrease in dopamine due to high-fat intake is linked to obesity, however high-sugar diets are known to increase dopamine release, which increases the bodies demand for sugars which leads to diabetes and obesity. If it's a choice between the two then to me it's better to be fat than fat and diabetic. You're also correct, polyunsaturated fat behaves wholly different than monounsaturated, or saturated, or hydrogenated. Even if they all have some effect, is one less or more dramatic than another? Finally, is this going to be useful to anyone in planning their diet to control weight or is it just more utter bunk like 'avoid eating carbs'. If I'm avoiding carbs and avoiding fat, I'm left eating ultra-lean-ground-beef and fat-reduced chicken, which means I'm on a ultra-less healthy version of the Atkins. Perhaps these diet doctors can simply say: Don't be a fat ass, exercise and eat a good mixture of protein, fat and carbs because excluding one is quite probably extremely bad for your health.

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
prodigal_erik 16y ago
To me that sounds like the hedonic treadmill rather than a contradiction. Fat and sugar increase dopamine, the extra dopamine reduces the number and/or sensitivity of D2 receptors over time to compensate, and so your baseline declines until you need that extra dopamine hit just to get back to normal. And it sounds more useful for designing drug treatment than diet. If your eating isn't out of control, you don't have much of the problem the article is about.
- electromagnetic 16y ago
  No fat decreases dopamine, but sugar increases and both cause obesity. Logically, balancing the two would cause no increase or decrease and should lead to a balanced weight, yet the researches don't say this they say people should avoid eating fatty foods or carbohydrate rich foods. I'd be interested to see whether a balance of protein/fat/carbs in equal 1/3 parts by weight or 1/3 parts by calorific quantity provides the least effect on our dopamine levels. I know personally that when I was on a high-fat diet, I lost weight. I've also lost weight since I switched from margarine to real butter (note: you'd be surprised how easy it is to clean baked foods when it's real butter, it took literally 5 seconds to get a bowl spotless with just hot water which normally took about a minute after being soaked in hot water with detergent in it), plus my food tastes a lot less like plastic. I'm sure this has something to do with my working in construction, however I've never been sugar-sensitive. I literally tackled a bag of brown sugar with a spoon as a kid and didn't get a sugar rush, while my wife has gotten a sugar rush off a caramilk bar.

dtf 16y ago

Sausage, bacon and cheesecake? http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100328170243.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100328170243.ht... It's all about the D2 receptors. Cocaine, burgers, prostitutes, Vegas... even WoW: http://www.adventureinterventions.com/pdfs/Dopamine%20Genes%20and%20Reward%20Dependence%20in%20Adolescents.pdf http://www.adventureinterventions.com/pdfs/Dopamine%20Genes%... Our poor brains just weren't evolved for this crazy world.