Robert Cohen wrote:
>
> Russell WROTE:
> Can anyone offer a scientific explanation: My body is compensating for
> the drop in Lactose (a sugar) by demanding glucose (also a sugar).
>
> Dear Russell,
>
> You want a scientific explanation as to why we "pig out" on candy?
>
> Happy Valentine's Day!  I'll give it a try.
>
> Heroin addicts are addicted to heroin and cigarette smokers to nicotine.
> Without the drug they "withdraw" with a myriad of symptoms.
>
> Eating is also an addiction.  The pancreas secretes glucagon when it
> reacts to varying levels of glucose in the bloodstream.  The body's
> "thermostat" is located in the brain in a tiny organ located above the
> pituitary (pituitary is just above the roof of the mouth).
>
> That organ, the hypothalamus is about the size of you thumbnail.  There
> are groups of cells in the hypothalamus that are responsible for
> different behaviors.
>
> One group of cells has a glucose receptor.  That group of cells is
> called the ventromedial nucleus.
>
> In animal studies, glucose has been bound to a destructive metal, gold
> and then injected through the lateral ventricle directly into the brain.
> Gold-thioglucose then destroyed the ventomedial nucleui and the
> laboratory animals continued to eat until they became so large their
> feet no longer touched the ground.
>
> Wile we love to eat, eating can be expressed by a series of chemical and
> neuro-physiological events.
>
> Robert Cohen