Sugary snacks ease the painful gut-busting during the holidays

Norwegian researchers have discovered a cure to ease that painful gut-busting feeling brought on by over indulging during the holidays and without cutting down on the feasting.

The researchers’ advice is to have a sugary snack.

“A sweet taste can allow the stomach to hold more, and we can eat a little more without experiencing discomfort,” Dr. Arnold Berstad of Lovisenberg Diakonale Hospital in Oslo said in a report by the New York Post.

In a paper published this month in The Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association, Dr. Arnold Berstad and Dr. Jorgen Valeur said sugar appears to stimulate the vagus nerve, which controls digestion, speech, breathing and other functions.

The tickled nerve signals the stomach muscle to loosen up and allow a bit more food to fit in, reports the New York Post.

At the same time, the looser stomach muscle let the food already eaten to settle comfortably.

However, Dr. Arnold Berstad said the effects only last “long enough to influence the current meal but maybe not more”.

Sugary treats can relax the stomach so much that it doesn’t feel full even when it really is, which experts say could explain why it is easier to overindulge when it comes to dessert.