Chemical in Your Food Makes You Binge Eat, Scientists Say

French fries, chicken tenders, oven-baked pizza and toasted bread all have something in common—they are all impossibly moreish.

Scientists have now found that this moreishness may come down to a naturally occurring chemical inside the food's structure. In a new study, published in the journal eLife, researchers from the Buck Institute for Research Aging in Novato, California, discovered that these chemicals, found in cooked and processed foods, can increase hunger and test our willpower to make healthy dietary choices.

The culprits here are a group of molecules called advanced glycation end products, or AGEs, which form when sugars combine with proteins and fats during baking, frying, grilling and toasting. "A large number of data suggests that foods rich in AGEs increase food intake in humans," Pankaj Kapaji, professor at the Buck Institute and senior author on the paper, told Newsweek. "Using AGEs to create addictive flavors is very popular in the food industry and is largely unregulated."

But AGEs can also be found in foods we would consider healthy. "The brown color that occurs during cooking, which makes food look and smell delicious is a result of AGEs," Muniesh Muthaiyan Shanmugam, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Buck Intsitute's Kapahi laboratory, and the lead author of the study, said in a statement.

While these chemicals may smell and taste enticing, they can also wreak havoc on the human body. "AGEs have been linked with several age-related diseases including diabetic complications, insulin resistance, and Alzheimer's disease," Kapaji said. "Importantly AGEs increase inflammation increasing the risk of several diseases and accelerating aging. "

They may also make us hungry. In this latest study, Kapaji and his team monitored how a build-up of AGEs in tiny nematode worms would affect the animals' behavior. And, even in these tiny worms, high concentrations of these molecules can result in increased food intake and food-seeking behaviors, as well as neurodegeneration.

"Our study emphasizes that AGEs accumulation is involved in diseases, including obesity and neurodegeneration," Kapahi said. "We think that overall, limiting AGEs accumulation is relevant to the global increase in obesity and other age-associated diseases."

Of course, highly processed fast foods contain a bouquet of other drool-inducing compounds too, like salt and fat. But what can we do to minimize our consumption of these compounds?

"The method of cooking is key here," Kapahi said. "Foods that are cooked in dry heat, like barbecue, oven or toast have more AGEs [...] versus steamed or boiled. In general plant-based foods have lower AGEs if not cooked excessively. Studies show raw foods can be beneficial to lower insulin resistance and it is hard to consume the same number of calories if you eat raw food."

Kapahi and his team have also recently developed a supplement called GLYLO designed to lower AGEs in our body. The researchers also hope to extend their work into mice to further understand the impact of AGEs on our bodies and brains.

"We are naturally attracted to delicious food, but we could be more mindful that we do have the ability to make healthy choices when we eat," said Shanmugam.