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The Reason You Have A Sweet Tooth After Dinner By Ashley M. Jacobs Sept. 13, 2025 9:00 am EST

When dining out, dessert feels like a must. No matter what anyone else at the table wants, that molten chocolate cake always seems to call your name. You may chalk it up to a love of chocolate (and lava cake), but it turns out there's a scientific reason behind it. It's called "dessert stomach," and it's a real phenomenon rooted in evolution. Even after we're full, our brains are wired to light up at the sight of sugar.

A study by the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research found that mice, after being left to eat their fill, will eat sugar even if they're stuffed. When the mice saw or tasted sugar, neurons in their brains released ß-endorphin (beta-endorphin), a natura

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