Scientifically/biologically, why do we often crave something sweet after we’ve eaten salty things? It is just a learned response?
In: Biology
It is mostly simple pavlovian conditioning to the fact that current Western society typically has a dessert after a big meal.
Other societies and in other times our society would have sweet foods at different times and we would come to expect and even prefer those foods at those times.
Sweet foods are often high calories for low volume. Easy to keep eating them even when you’re low on space.
If you skip sugar for long enough the cravings get less and you no longer expect it. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be finding room for fats at that point. Dark choc, (real cream) ice-cream, olives, greek yogurt etc are all great later in the night.
Conditioning. This is a learned behavior, there isn’t a reason other than we have trained our bodies to crave it because that is how we have been taught meal progression works and we’ve been given food our whole lives to make it true.
Dessert is a common practice in many European countries the Middle east and North Africa. And through the Western world. This argueably has nothing to do with biology. And in different cultures the idea of something sweet after a meal does not exist.
For example, from what I remember, in Traditional Chinese culture there is no “dessert” after the meal. Though I guess you may get some tea with fresh fruit if you want. Also worth noting, from what I hear in Chinese cuisine good desserts are usually not terribly sweet like in Europe the Middle East and North Africa, but rather desserts have a delecate sweetness and sugar is more of a spice then a star of the meal (well minus candies made from pure sugar)
[https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/3180169/why-are-best-desserts-not-sweet-according-hong-kong-palate](https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/3180169/why-are-best-desserts-not-sweet-according-hong-kong-palate) https://www.reddit.com/r/AskFoodHistorians/comments/hlxa8b/why_are_there_no_desserts_in_chinese_cuisine/#:~:text=While%20a%20end%20of%20meal,cookies%20%2F%20fruits%20with%20the%20check.
Although, as other comments pointed out, this is likely due to conditioning, there could be a physiological explanation for this.
As you eat you are sending signals to your brain that it should be full (Chewing, food entering stomach etc) As your brain understands these signals it starts to release insulin to grab all the sugar from the food you ate. This creates an insulin high. However, the sugar takes a while to be digested from the food you ate, so the insulin takes a while to act.
If you ate too much, your brain will release a LOT of insulin to manage everything you ate. It will also signal that your body might work a lot to digest everything that came.
This can give you craves for something that has instant sugar and can instantly be fed to all the insulin that is roaming your body
Although, as other comments pointed out, this is likely due to conditioning, there is a physiological explanation for this.
As you eat you are sending signals to your brain that it should be full (Chewing, food entering stomach etc)
As your brain understands these signals it starts to release insulin to grab all the sugar from the food you ate. This creates an insulin high. However, the sugar takes a while to be taken from the food you ate, so the insulin takes a while to act.
If you ate too much, your brain will release a LOT of insulin to manage everything you ate. This can give you craves for something that has instant sugar and can instantly be fed to all the insulin that is roaming your body
I e read that sugar slightly expands the stomach so it makes us feel more comfortable after a meal.
I crave something salty AFTER something sweet. Why is that, then?
These are all wrong. Sugar is incredibly calorie dense. One of the most dense food there is. Fat is another. That’s why we love fat and sugar. It’s beneficial to us, if you think of us as beings who are intended to survive. Not thrive. Just survive. We seek the most beneficial food in the short term. That’s instinct.
It takes learning and training to get your body to crave “healthy things” because they don’t provide us with a direct tangible benefit like sugar and fat do.
The medical term for the desire to eat something sweet after a meal when you’re already full is hedonic hunger. This term describes the desire to eat for pleasure rather than physical hunger.
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