Scientists might be one stop closer to curing a sweet tooth.
Researchers identified a hormone that suppresses sugar cravings in mice, according to a study recently published in the journal Cell Metabolism.
The findings could eventually help diabetics, the obese and perhaps anyone who indulges in too many sweets during the holidays.
The hormone FGF21, produced by the liver in response to eating high-carb foods like white bread, sends a signal to the brain that dampens down our appetite for sugar, the study reports.
Scientists tested their theory by injecting the hormone into mice then giving them a choice between a balanced diet and a sugar-enriched one.
The mice pumped up with the hormone ate seven times less sugar.
The researchers also genetically modified two sets of mice: one group that didn’t produce FGF21 at all and another that had over 500 times normal levels of the hormone, reported The Telegraph.
The mice without the hormone ate more sugar while the other group ate less.
Unfortunately, the hormone doesn’t suppress the craving for complex carbohydrates like cake or pastries.