Science Says Diets Are Hard to Stick to Because They Might Make Your Brain Eat Itself

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Sam Dean, Bon Appétit

We're no fans of starvation, but every once in a while, measures must be taken to ensure that we rein in the lardand eat healthfully. Try as we might, there's always that moment of weakness followed by a long slide back into bacon-packed mornings and donut-filled nights.

A report published today in Cell Metabolism (mmhmm) might have an answer for why it's so hard to stick to our diets: Starved brain cells eat themselves, and then try to fight back!

Yes, when food is denied, hungry bodies actually start eating their own brain cells, specifically those located in the hypothalamus. (That's the part of our brain that regulates basic stuff like sleep, body temperature, and hunger.) The brain then retaliates, sending out even stronger hunger signals in the form of fatty acids and testing even the strongest of wills.

In their experiment, though, the researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine were able to block that brain eating--and thus, the the super-strength hunger signals--in mice. Et voila!The critters got the best possible results from their diets: less fat, lower appetite, and better metabolisms.

The research also revealed that since the brain's "help me eat some real food!" signals take the form of fatty acids, fat-rich diets might just make you more hungry. All the fatty acids in the bloodstream could set off the same hunger response. So, yeah.