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I've noticed a few anecdotes here regarding carb-cravings on a relatively lower-fat paleo diet. Looking around the academic lit, there seems to be at least one viable and rat-confirmed explanation for this (which would also help explain appetite disregulation on the SAD, and the success of Taubes-paleo LC for appetite regulation). Potentially, this could also mean prolonged lack of sexual activity exacerbates carb-cravings.

I'm wondering (1) whether the diet-> oxytocin -> satiety connection has been addressed before by any paleo-types and (2) whether this sounds like a viable explanation or not.

I'm an economics student who was pre-med in undergrad, not a neurophysiologist..

Simplified story: So oxytocin (OT) is the famous love hormone. Has all kinds of nice effects, among them a marked decrease in appetite, i.e. increase in satiety and specifically a significant increase in carb-specific satiety. Oleoylethanolamine (OEA) is a nuclear receptor agonist lipid that, among other things, systemically stimulates oxytocin in the brain-stem and hypothalamus. OEA is itself regulated by diet and dietary fat intake specifically stimulates OEA's production (which occurs in the gut) as well as other related satiety-stimulating agents. Finally, oxytocin synthesis is inhibited by dietary sugar intake.

So dietary fats reduce carb-cravings via oxytocin+ stimulation. Sugar exacerbates them via oxytocin inhibition. To eliminate carb-cravings, eliminate sugar (maybe go VLC, substitue with stevia or something?) and up the dietary fat intake. Make sense?

Not sure how dietary protein might factor into this.

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 Interesting theory; nice linkage. As one of the purveyors of an increased fat = reduced carb cravings anecdote, it makes sense, at least on first runthrough. I always assumed insulin was the main player in those cravings, but that's because it's the chemical I've got the most familiarity with, thanks to Mr. Taubes. – Rose Aug 6 2011 at 1:34
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 Great question. I never connected oxytocin with cravings, but women who breast feed (producing copious amounts of oxytocin which aids mother child bonding) tend to loose weight quickly after pregnancy as opposed to those who do not breast feed. – Kathi Aug 6 2011 at 7:42
Right, that would fit into an oxytocin story of bodyfat retention through decreased carb satiety. Might also be associated with PDD, maybe the bodyfat-depression cycle thing in general. – whakahekeheke Aug 6 2011 at 21:37
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 Cool! You may have explained why chocolate is a great substitute for sex (when sex isn't available, haha!) – Dragonfly Aug 8 2011 at 21:16
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 It would be a fun experiment to audit a group of volunteers' grocery receipts comparing "dry spells" vs. more amorously active times. – Happy Now Sep 20 2011 at 20:55
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2 Answers

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What about eating a tonne of fat and then craving sugar... (i have stopped craving refined carbs though...)?

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 I've never experienced this personally. If I eat carbs (typically refined flour or sugar vs. starchy tubers and the like) I crave more carbs, fat doesn't even seem appealing. On the other hand, if I eat a lot of pure fat (coconut butter/oil, marrow, etc.) I hit a wall and even the idea of eating more seems really unappealing. Nut butters (especially combined with cocoa powder) are slightly more prone to overconsumption, but only by a small margin. – FED at LiveCaveman.com Oct 18 2011 at 21:19
Is sugar not a refined carb? – Kasra Oct 26 2011 at 22:01
I am a card-carrying binge eater, so you shouldn't be surprised that there is no quantity of fat or any other macronutrient that turns off my cravings. The only thing that ever stopped me when I was out of control was the physical inability to swallow another bite. I'm happy to report, though, that I'm in pretty good control right now--which means that I think of food constantly but take no action. – Nance Nov 6 2011 at 1:45
Update: To my delight, I now have a specific remedy for my cravings--not saying it would work for anyone else. If I crave sugar, I drink a fizzy bottle of water kefir (relatively low in sugar) and the cravings disappear rather than getting worse as they would if I ate carbs. – Nance Dec 23 2011 at 18:28
In the past, I've stopped sugar cravings with nothing more than bacon. Had to control my automatic response in trying to reach for something sweet and get some bacon from the fridge and cook it instead. So it worked for this n=1. – raydawg Jan 4 2012 at 18:34
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Not familiar with Oxytocin but it sounds viable to me. From what I understand, carbs can also stimulate appetite by causing leptin resistance. I've noticed that personally when I eat a meal that is a very high percentage of protein by calorie I tend to crave other non protein foods, mostly carbs. Haven't searched for a mechanism to explain that. Probably partly due to proteins effect on insulin sensitivity but I feel that there might also be another mechanism in place to keep us away from rabbit starvation.

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