What makes us overeat?

Have you ever wondered why sometimes even if you've eaten a lot already, you do not feel full yet?   I watched the documentary film "Forks over Knives" and it shocked me to know how we could easily abuse our bodies if we don't understand this.  Here goes -

Our stomach has a range of receptors that tells us how much food we've eaten.

The first kind are called the stretch receptors - basically, these measure the volume of the food in our stomach.   The second kind of receptor is called the density receptors - these help determine the caloric density or the richness of the food.

Once the receptors sense that the stomach is full, they send signals to the brain that we are full.

Now here's the shocking part.

When we eat 500 calories of plant-based food like vegetables and fruits, the stomach gets full (leftmost stomach below in green color).  So both stretch and density receptors trigger signals to the brain that we've eaten enough.

Now guess how much does 500 calories of processed food fill up the stomach?  Just half of it (middle stomach in violet color)!   And how much does 500 calories of oil or fat fill up the stomach?  Just 1/5 of the stomach (the rightmost stomach in yellow color)!   In both cases, the brain is deceived that we need to eat more.  So now you know how easy it is to mindlessly eat more than 2,000 calories in one seating!  Yikes!

Anyway, the documentary film "Forks over Knives" is very educational.  It shows scientific proof that eating whole foods, plant-based diet can prevent disease and even reverse chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes and even cancer.  The film showcases the research of Dr Campbell, a nutritional scientist from Cornell University, and Dr. Esselstyn, a top surgeon at Cleveland Clinic.

For more info, you can check out http://www.forksoverknives.com/synopsis/.