At one time or another many of us have felt so hungry that we could continue to eat for hours. There are actually some people that suffer with a serious issue called binge eating, which is quite different than an occasional time of feeling incredibly hungry. It’s estimated that 5 to 10% of the population deals with binge eating. Women are much more likely than men to suffer from this.
Binge eating is something that can happen often and can be uncontrollable. Many people use food as a coping issue to deal with problems and issues in their life. They continue to eat and eat even though they may feel completely miserable.
According to Science Daily, researchers at the USDA/ARS Children’s NutritionResearchCenter at Baylor College of Medicine have determined that the hormone estrogen can inhibit binge eating in female mice. This occurs when the estrogen triggers the brain’s serotonin neurons, which causes the binge eating to stop or slow down. The findings from the study were recently reported in The Journal of Investigational Medicine.
Dr. Yong Xu the assistant professor of pediatrics and the senior editor of the recently produced research states that “Previous data have shown that women who have irregular menstrual cycles tend to be more likely to binge eat, suggesting that hormones in women play a significant role in the development or prevention of the behavior.”
He also says that previous data has supported the same for women regarding estrogen and binge eating. When estrogen was low, binge eating became more frequent. When it was high, it was inhibited. In this study, Xu and his colleagues found that mice were affected by the estrogen and there was a strong association with the binge eating which is comparable to that in humans.
“We can speculate that in women who develop binge eating who also happen to have irregular menstrual cycles, it is probably because their estrogen function is somehow damaged, which is what leads to the development of binge eating,” said Xu.
The mice in this study were injected with a mixture of estrogen and a peptide called GLP-1.
The reason for this is because past studies have indicated that long term straight estrogen therapy increases the risk of breast cancer. They believe this mixture is a much safer option. Also, Dr. Xu found these injections were activating the part of the brain associated with binge behavior. He believes this study shows estrogen and GLP-1 working together to decrease binge eating.
If you suffer with an eating disorder or any other type of issue that you feel you would like to discuss, please contact our Gainesville or Lake City office to schedule a women’s health visit with one of compassionate and experienced physicians.
