Have you ever felt the sudden urge to eat an entire pizza or a gallon of ice cream after a night of drinking? There may be a scientific reason behind your late night cravings.
A new study published in the journal, Nature Communications suggests that our stomachs may be less to blame than our brains. In their study, researchers injected mice with alcohol once a day for three days and found that the mice who consumed alcohol ate significantly more than mice without alcohol in their system.
Scientists found that alcohol consumed by mice activated hunger-promoting brain cells called AGRP neurons. Since both mice and humans have these type neurons, author of this study, Sarah Cains says the effect is likely to apply to humans as well.
Obesity rates are on the rise and alcohol intake has also increased, but these two topics are often studied separately. Cain says, "This study ties them together."
