Inquiry to Discover

I was listening to a lecture by a famous Neuroscientist the other day. Her name is Candace Pert and her lecture was on the molecular signals of pleasure. Pert has been researching this topic for over 30 years and is partly responsible for discovering the body's own opiate receptors, which led to the discovery of the body's own version of opiates, called endorphins.

A large amount of endorphins are released in your brain when you need to be shielded against pain. People have often recalled times when something traumatic happens, like an accident, and they notice only after everything calms down that they have an injury. Endorphins are released during childbirth. Endorphins also cause the extra boost of energy and the blissful feeling that runner's get when they have run to a certain level of exhaustion- the runner's high.

It was interesting to learn from Dr. Pert,  that there are opiate receptors in the gut. That wonderful feeling after eating is not just a matter of the food tasting good but also because of the drug-like feeling of pleasure caused by endorphin release.

So the bad news is that along with all the cues from the outside urging us to overeat (commercials, billboards, other people), along with the ease of obtaining good-tasting calories from one of gazillions of fast-food restaurants- our own bodies may become addicted to that wonderful feeling of fullness.  No wonder that obtaining and maintaining a healthy weight is so very difficult!!!

Fortunately, Dr. Pert finished the lecture with some more insightful information. She talked about the role of the medial prefrontal cortex or mPFC in overcoming hormonal cues.  The mPFC is in the front of the brain (right above the nose and behind the forehead). This part of the brain is unique to humans and used for the planning of behavior, the assessment of risk, goal attainment and many other important cognitive skills.  Dr. Pert spoke of studies that showed that the mPFC is activated during quiet focused attention, like meditation and contemplative prayer. Furthermore, activating the mPFC in a quiet focused way serves to calm down the surge of hormones, like endorphins and in addition improve one's ability to bring focused attention and intention to other behaviors....like eating.


So, the  bottom line is that when you practice quieting the mind you are also quieting the hormones in the body... and the more you practice it the better you will get at keeping your mind on task. This ability for mind to win over body will prevent  giving in to urges to eat impulsively, or eating when not hungry, or eating when feeling, lonely, tired, angry or bored. 


Healthy lifestyles include many different and bountiful ways to feel pleasure besides eating food. We are all scientists, to a certain degree, charged with discovering our own paths to health and wholeness. Every single day presents an opportunity for a new discovery once you commit to the inquiry of knowing and appreciating yourself.     Quieting the mind is a good first step.