How to Use the Double Dopamine Effect to Reduce Cravings

Why are certain foods so easy to overeat? Some foods we can enjoy in a reasonable amount and feel satisfied. But with other foods, it’s like we’re a bottomless pit. We just want to keep going—even though we know we’re overindulging.

Registered dietitian nutritionist Natalie Stephens joins me to talk about some new research on how our brains and bodies respond to pleasurable foods and how we can avoid overeating without having to avoid foods that we enjoy.   

Natalie Stephens: This is a great time to have this conversation because we’re in the holiday season and there are so many more opportunities to overindulge. It’s tempting to take one of two approaches. 

First: Live it up. Which really means, eat as much as yummy food as you can. And why not? There are so many delicious foods you don’t want to miss out on. 

Then there is the more virtuous route. You limit yourself because you don’t want to suffer the consequences. You don’t want to see the scale number go up. If you don’t run out of willpower, you will feel very proud of yourself. 

Monica Reinagel: And both strategies have drawbacks. If you decide to just abandon all restraint and “live it up,” you’ll probably have some damage to undo when it’s all over. 

But when we focus on limiting or restricting, it can create a sort of psychological hunger that builds up until we fall off the bandwagon. And then … well, we all know what happens. 

So, what are we to do? Can we still win in what feels like a lose-lose scenario between health and happiness?

The double dopamine effect

Natalie:  The pleasure that we experience when we eat is a result of a dopamine release. And there is some newer research on how our bodies produce dopamine in response to eating. 

There is a second release that is triggered when food reaches the stomach. This dopamine release is more related to the nutritional value of the food.

You might assume that all the pleasure comes from taste because that’s all we get excited about. Indeed, our brains produce dopamine when we taste food—especially sweet, salty or high-fat foods. But that isn’t the only source of dopamine (or pleasure) we get from eating. There is a second release that is triggered when the food reaches the stomach. This dopamine release is more related to the nutritional value of the food. 

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