Free Republic

What does Paul mean by belly here? The stomach or appetite, as some translations read, represents our instinctual and base-level desires, our hungers, cravings, and lusts. For the ancients, the belly was the most animalistic part of all humans, and we tend to agree with them, even is subconsciously. After all, how often do you have a gut-feeling about something? Do you ever question whether or not you should just go with your gut? Have you ever felt the fluttering in your gut while in the throes of infatuation? Our gut is our primal nature, working beyond the confines of...

The "diet" in diet drinks may be a false promise for some soda lovers. True, they deliver the fizz and taste of a soda experience, without the calories. Yet, new research shows they also can leave people with increased food cravings. A study published recently in JAMA Network Open adds to the evidence that drinks made with sucralose may stimulate the appetite, at least among some people, and the study gives some clues as to why. "We found that females and people with obesity had greater brain reward activity" after consuming the artificial sweetener, says study author Katie Page, a...

Wanted: one very hangry, very pregnant bat-swinging woman with a serious beef. Cops were still searching Saturday for a mystery woman who became so enraged last month when a Bronx restaurant ran out of Jamaican beef patties, she came back with a baseball bat and smashed up the front window. The batty-for-patties customer appeared to be about eight months pregnant, and had been to the Back Home Restaurant in Morrisania before...

No smoking signs may be driving more people to light up, a psychological study suggests. Scientists say the messages have an 'ironic effect' on smokers that increases their craving for tobacco. Without being aware of it, they react to the signs by thinking of and wanting cigarettes. 'You get ironic effects when you couple information that people perceive with negation,' said researcher Brian Earp, from Oxford University. 'When I say "don't think of a pink elephant", I've just put the thought of a pink elephant in your head. 'A lot of public health messages are framed in a negative way...

A young Tauranga man wants "legal weed" banned, claiming an addiction to it drove him to steal and left him riddled with anxiety. Student Robert Moore, 23, (pictured) says he smoked up to $80 of Kronic each day and claims the marijuana alternative has had damaging psychological and physical effects on him. But Kronic has rejected the claims, saying its products are not addictive and are harmless unless used irresponsibly. The R18 synthetic cannabinoid is made from a mixture of dried herbs and is available at about 20 outlets across the Western Bay. The product usually contains the 1,1-dimethyloctyl homologue...

Torie graciously is letting me use his computer. I want to know why you can't eat just one potato chip, or as Dan Quayle once asked, is it "potatoe?" The Other Harry

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - When it comes to resisting the siren call of sweets and other goodies, genes may make all the difference, researchers say. The answer to whether you can eat just one chip, or say no to that luscious piece of chocolate cake, may be locked deep in your DNA, according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (news - web sites). "Although environmental, psychological and physiologic factors affect appetite and nutrient intake, several studies suggest that behaviors such as food and beverage preferences and nutrient intake are at least partially genetically determined,"...