Train Your Brain: How to Scientifically Prevent Overeating in a World of Designed Cravings
The human brain has natural stop signals to prevent overeating, but they often fail now. Why? In 2025, Dr Alexander Nectow at Columbia University discovered the brainstem neurons. These neurons track bit counting and meal spacing, leading to controlled eating. Optogenetic stimulation of these neurons in mice induced slower eating, along with smaller meals.
Dr Alexander Nectow stated that “These neurons don’t just signal an immediate stop, they help the brain slow down eating gradually.” On the other hand, ultra-processed foods suppress these neurons due to rapid swallowing and fast absorption in the gut. UPFs come in layered flavors and soft, delicious textures, which curb the chewing mechanism, resulting in a lack of GLP-1 and PYY hormone activation.
Gut-Brain Circuitry: Microbial Satiety Switch
When we eat food, it undergoes a complex mechanism of digestion and has effects after digestion. Colonic neuropods, neural cells located in the colon, detect bacterial flagellin. Flagellin is a protein found in the tails of certain gut bacteria. This protein activates the TLR5 receptors.
The TLR5 receptors are actually inflammation-inducing cells. However, in the digestion case, they only trigger a neural response through the vagus nerve from the gut to the brain, targeting the brain’s satiety center.
According to the Lead authors, “We’ve discovered a direct neural mechanism for microbiota-host communication that suppresses feeding.”
All foods rich in fiber support this natural phenomenon. On the other hand, UPFs suppress the process, leading to a higher fat gain.
For the proper functioning of your brain signals, you must eat fiber-rich foods. We have to chew each bite multiple times. We should be focused only on the food when eating to keep our brain signaling distraction-free.
Dopamine Loop & Pleasure Restoration
According to Dr. Stephan Lemmel, the majority of obese people lack or have a deficiency of neurotension. This is a brain chemical that signals the pleasure of food, but after losing it, we continue to eat in pursuit of pleasure, even if we don’t experience it or if it is delayed.
Dr stephan said, “Losing the pleasure in eating may actually contribute to obesity. Restoring it helps reduce consumption.”
So it is crucial to restore the neurotensin chemical. There are multiple approaches to addressing it, including gene therapy and dietary supplementation. Most importantly, we have to normalize our dopamine release and levels beyond just eating.
High dopamine levels are quite dangerous not only from an eating perspective, but can also ruin our lives in other ways. Reducing compulsive eating, setting a fixed schedule, and taking smaller chunks of food can help us restore our neurotension and regulate dopamine release.
Behavioral Training: Bite Counting & Meal Pacing
In March 2025, Fujita University of japan conducted research to analyze eating patterns among adults. This research was conducted with 33 people, including both males and females. The researchers gave them pizzas to eat.
The observers noticed that women’s eating speed is lower than that of men.
| Metric | Women | Men |
| Time per slice | 87 seconds | 63 seconds |
| Chews per slice | 107 chews | 80 chews |
| Bites per slice | 4.5 bites | 2.1 bites |
Professor Katsumi Lizuka stated that “Eating more slowly, by increasing chews per bite or using slow rhythmic cues, may help reduce food intake.”
Your Cravings Are Designed, But Your Brain Circuits Can Be Retrained
Today, training your mind is easier than ever. Now science supports you with tools and even synthetic hormones and supplements. You can take probiotics to boost your gut bacteria, which leads to satisfactory weight loss. You can choose PhenQ-like supplements that prompt satiety naturally. Such supplements burn body fat through thermogenesis and block further fat production. They also help stabilize your blood sugar levels. You no longer need to indulge in sudden emotional eating.
