Funny title, interesting study, maybe this is why humans have such a focus on food and pleasure. In a recent study initially conducted to identify the best body position for swallowing pills (I know, who studies that?) an incidental finding was that a part of the brain, “lit up” in response to pictures of food. It didn’t matter if the pictures were in color or black and white although colored pictures did trigger more “lights.” 

Also interesting, the computer model could tell the difference between food and objects that looked like food, a banana versus a crescent moon, or a blueberry muffin versus a puppy with a muffin-like face. I thought that was funny and so did the researchers! The most interesting part for me was that they found humans responded more to processed foods like pizza than unprocessed foods like apples.  

Obviously more research needs to be done, we can’t walk around saying we ate pizza because our brain lit up but think about it. Maybe, just maybe, there are reasons that we crave foods that are considered “unhealthy” and that we may now have an excuse! Not! Stay strong, forget about the lights in your brain for now, when researchers can really validate the connection between cravings and our brains, then, and only then, can we use it as our excuse! Go grab an apple and be happy! Stay well and stay informed!