Can Sweet Snacks Reduce Stress?
Here’s good news for those of us with a sweet tooth. University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers 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.
<
blockquote>”Glucocorticoids are produced when psychological or physical stressors activate a part of the brain called the ’stress axis,’” said Yvonne 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. 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.”
“Finally, someone who agrees with me about sweets.” 
[Read the full Can Sweet Snacks Reduce Stress? article at EurkAlert]
