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We’ve all been there. After devouring a full plate (or two) at dinner and feeling as though we couldn’t possibly eat one more bite, someone brings out the chocolate cake, and suddenly our appetite is back. It’s almost as if the belly finds a hidden compartment to accommodate after-dinner treats — a “dessert stomach,” if you will.
Although there’s no trap door in your stomach that leads to yet another stomach, it’s not just your imagination either. There’s a scientific explanation for why even after eating a fully satisfying meal, you still feel like you have room for dessert.
The idea of a dessert stomach comes from a phenomenon known as “sensory-specific satiety,” says Russell Keast, PhD, professor and food researcher at Deakin University in Victoria, Australia. When we eat one food to fullness (satiety), the pleasure from eating it diminishes — we’ve had enough of that particular food, and it has become “boring” to our taste buds, says Dr. Keast. “We actually want other flavors to keep our senses interested.”
A dessert stomach usually happens after we consume a meal filled with foods that satisfy our salty, savory, sour, and bitter taste buds, but not our sweet ones, says Allegra Picano, RDN, nutrition team member at Henry Ford Health in Michigan. “As a result, we feel that we have more room in our stomach, or a ‘dessert stomach,’ to satisfy these taste buds. It is not that we necessarily do have more room, and we obviously don’t have a second stomach — it’s because our sweet taste buds have not been satisfied,” Picano explains.
Why We’ve Evolved to Eat a Variety of Different Foods
Sensory-specific satiety (SSS) is thought to be an important adaptive behavior. It ensures we’ll likely eat a wide variety of foods and therefore the different nutrients and vitamins we need to keep our bodies healthy, rather than sticking to just one or two of our favorites. (Remember, you can’t live on mac ’n’ cheese alone.)
The downside of this phenomenon is that in the modern Western world, most of us have access to a wide variety of foods nearly 24/7, so we can almost always find some type of new food that will appeal to our untapped taste buds — even when we’ve already eaten more than enough food to keep us nourished, says Barbara J. Rolls, PhD, professor and director of the Laboratory for the Study of Human Ingestive Behavior at Pennsylvania State University.
Does Everyone Have a “Dessert Stomach”?
There likely needs to be more research on SSS to determine how it affects different populations, says Picano. “We do know that people are often born with differing amounts of taste receptors, and some may have more sweet taste receptors on their tongue, causing them to have a stronger preference for sweets,” she says. Theoretically, SSS may have a more profound impact on those people, she adds.
“We also know that our taste buds change throughout the life cycle. This is why a ‘dessert stomach’ may be more pronounced in certain populations, such as children,” says Picano.
4 Expert Tips to Feel Satisfied and Stop Post-Meal Cravings
If you feel like you’ve been tapping into your dessert stomach more than you’d like, there are a few things you can do.
1. Make Dinner a Balanced Meal
Picano suggests first making sure your dinner is a balanced meal with a variety of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, and healthy fats. “When we get a variety of flavors and textures on our plate, we are more likely to satisfy all of our taste buds,” she says.
2. Eat a Few Bites Slowly
Keep in mind that our taste buds can be satisfied with even a couple of bites, says Picano. “If you’re craving dessert, take a few bites of something and eat it slowly and mindfully to really savor it.”
3. Choose Nutritious Foods That Are Also Sweet
Add some sweet foods that are also nutrient-dense to your meal. “Choose foods such as fresh fruit or dark chocolate, or add sweet-tasting spices such as cinnamon to dishes,” says Picano.
4. Limit High-Calorie Snacks
Dr. Rolls suggests limiting the number of high-calorie snacks you keep in the house. “Instead, have foods you enjoy that are nutrient-rich and lower in calorie density. That way, when you have the desire for something different, you’ll find something that is more nutritious,” she says.
