Sweet snacks could be best medicine for stress

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Sweet snacks could be best medicine for stress

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=33687

Researchers from the University of Cincinnati (UC) have found that

eating or drinking sweets may decrease the production of the stress-

related hormone glucocorticoid--which has been linked to obesity and

decreased immune response.

" Glucocorticoids are produced when psychological or physical

stressors activate a part of the brain called the 'stress axis,' "

said Ulrich-Lai, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the department

of psychiatry. " These hormones help an individual survive and recover

from stress, but have been linked to increased abdominal obesity and

decreased immune function when produced in large amounts.

" Finding another way to affect the body's response to stress and

limit glucocorticoid production could alleviate some of these

dangerous health effects. "

The laboratory findings were presented during a poster session

Tuesday, Nov. 15, at the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting in

Washington, D.C.

Dr. Ulrich-Lai and a team of researchers from the department of

psychiatry showed that when laboratory rats chose to eat or drink

sweet snacks their bodies produced lower levels of glucocorticoid.

She said that sweets--especially those made from sugar, not

artificial sweetener--might do the trick.

" The sweets we are talking about are not the low-calorie, sugar-

substitute variety, " said Dr. Ulrich-Lai. " We actually found that

sugar snacks, not artificially sweetened snacks, are better 'self-

medications' for the two most common types of stress--psychological

and physical. "

Psychological stress could involve things such as public speaking,

being threatened, or coping with the death of a loved one. Examples

of physical stress are injury, illness, or prolonged exposure to

cold.

During the study, researchers gave adult male rats free access to

food and water and also offered them a small amount of sugar drink,

artificially sweetened drink, or water twice a day. After two weeks,

the rats were given a physical and psychological stress challenge.

Following both types of stress, rats that had consumed the sugar

drink had lower glucocorticoid levels than those that drank the

water. Those drinking the artificially sweetened drink showed only

slightly reduced glucocorticoid levels.

Dr. Ulrich-Lai noted that although her team was not studying the

health effects of the sweetened drinks, they did not notice a body-

weight increase in the rats consuming the sugar drinks.

Herman, PhD, co-author, professor and stress neurobiologist in

the department of psychiatry, said the next step will be to determine

how these sweetened drinks are decreasing glucocorticoid production.

" We need to find out if there are certain parts of the brain that

control the response to stress, then determine if the function of

these brain regions are changed by sugar snacking, " he said.

Co-authors also included Dennis Choi and Ostrander, PhD,

both of UC's psychiatry department.