It’s a phenomenon that almost everyone can understand and relate to: You eat a healthy dinner and feel completely full by the time you finish. And yet, just moments later, you inexplicably have enough room and appetite for a yummy dessert.
This miraculous ability to eat dessert no matter how full you feel is even more pronounced in children. Kids who are routinely too stuffed to even contemplate another bite of salmon or broccoli have no trouble at all tucking into a bowl of ice cream.
“This idea of having a ‘dessert stomach’ is very real,” says Allegra Picano, RDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist at Henry Ford Health. Of course, it’s not a literal second stomach. “But introducing a new food—especially something sweet after a savory meal—can override satiety cues and make you feel hungry again,” says Picano.
What Is Sensory-Specific Satiety?
The scientific explanation for why we always have room for dessert is called sensory-specific satiety. “After a while of eating a food, your senses get tired of it,” says Picano. “But when you change it up, your tastebuds get excited again.”
Sensory-specific satiety literally means that you get full (or satiated) from a specific taste, texture of combination of foods. “Chemicals, like dopamine, stimulate the brain’s reward center and make eating pleasurable,” says Picano. Experiencing the same taste for a while stops being as pleasurable, so you feel full. But when a new sensory stimulation arrives—especially in the form of sweets—your brain wants you to try it and provide a new jolt to its reward center.
While we may use this concept as an excuse for eating dessert even when we’re full, it actually serves an evolutionary purpose. “The sensory-specific satiety mechanism forced our ancestors to eat a variety of foods,” explains Picano. “That ensured that they got a variety of nutrients to help them stay healthy.”
Why Eating A Variety Of Foods Matters
Turns out, our ancient ancestors were onto something. Eating a wide variety of foods not only keeps your taste buds engaged, it also keeps you healthy. Filling your dinner plate with an assortment of flavors means you’re also eating an assortment of foods. More variety satisfies your senses and provides more nutrients. It’s a dietary win-win.
This is why experts advise “eating the rainbow” of produce rather than sticking with the same few fruits and vegetables at every meal.
How To Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth In A Healthy Way
One way to handle sensory-specific satiety is to embrace it—in moderation. “If you always want something sweet after dinner, take a small serving,” suggests Picano. “Just enough to satisfy your taste buds’ desire for change.”
Picano also suggests finding ways to indulge your after-dinner sweet tooth with something more nutritious than a typical dessert. Nutrient-dense options such as fresh fruit, a small square of dark chocolate or some nuts with dried fruit all provide that hit of “sweet” that your senses crave as well as the nutrients your body needs.
Eating more slowly and mindfully is an approach that takes your fickle taste buds into account. The first few bites of a new taste are what really light up the reward centers in the brain. So a few bites of dessert—eaten slowly and savored—may be all you need to feel satisfied.
Reviewed by Allegra Picano, a registered dietitian nutritionist for the Henry Ford Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention.
