A full stomach after eating? A dessert always finds its place

You ate well, but your belly is full after the main course? Then there is always dessert. It seems we have a loose stomach for desserts. And it’s true, in a way. We explain.

Expansion of the stomach wall

Our stomach acts like a balloon. If the stomach is empty, it is not so big. When we eat and drink, turn it off. How far the stomach can expand depends on the pressure in the abdomen and how far the stomach wall can expand. 2 Norwegian scientists have studied this. They found 3 factors that cause an expanding stomach. It happens when you see and smell food, what other food is already in the stomach, and the duodenum plays a role. This information is sent to the brain, which in turn sends a signal to the stomach to relax. Many desserts contain sugar or glucose. It has the same effect on the stomach; it relaxes the stomach.

Read also : Is it healthy to eat dessert every day?

thinking about dessert

Marieke de Witt, dietitian and life coach at Food Group Utrecht tells women’s health that just thinking about sweet foods causes the stomach to relax. “You thought you were full from your plate of hot food, but relaxing the stomach makes dessert always suit you. You just have to think about it.” And so actually “creates” a dessert stomach She also says that from infancy, our bodies love sweet and fatty foods. “As a baby, you are fed milk, which is made up of sugar and fat. A special combination from nature and intended to allow an infant to grow rapidly.

Read also : Where does the dessert come from?

Sensory saturation

Earlier in 2022, Anouk Hendriks from Maastricht University investigated why we always have room for dessert. “There’s an explanation for that and it’s called sensory satiety,” she tells MAX News Weekend on NPO Radio 1. By eating, you become satiated through sensory characteristics such as taste, texture, and smell. “The food will bore you a bit. It makes you feel full, but when the dessert hits the table, you still have room because it has a different taste and texture.

Conclusion

Several factors play a part in why we always have room for dessert. Our stomach lining expands just thinking about dessert. We are conditioned to sweets from an early age. And the different taste and texture of a dessert makes our stomachs like to make room for something more. Do you have an appetite for dessert? Discover our different dessert recipes.

(Source: RTL Nieuws, Willem-Wever, Women’s Health, NPO Radio 1. Photo: Shutterstock)