This is Alpha, the first-born, when he was 2YO.
This is Beta, the second-born, when he was about 2YO.
This is Gamma, the third-born, when he was about 18MO.
Dessert Stomach
Jun
30
2008
Growing up in my family, I was informed that humans have a separate dessert stomach. I don’t remember when this knowledge was conveyed to me – it is one of those things that everyone just always knew. No matter how much you ate for dinner and no matter if you could not eat another bite of beef/chicken/pasta/insert-other-dinner-item-here, you could always eat some dessert. And this post will show you the science behind the dessert stomach.
After investigating the matter further, I have concluded that, although many people indicate the dessert stomach does not exist, it does exist. This is in stark contrast to the ridiculous notion that some people have a hollow leg where all their food goes. Those who eat a lot, more than would be expected, are said to have such a leg (or two, in extreme cases). For some reason, I have never liked that saying. The stomach doesn’t go anywhere near the leg. It would be absurd to have the digestive tract go down into the leg and then back up. It would have to be early in the digestive process, in order to allow people to eat a significant amount, so the plumbing would be quite crazy.
But the dessert stomach exists; it exists in your brain rather than in your belly. It is a psychological concept known as the law of diminishing returns. It says that more is not necessarily better. For example, 5 cupcakes won’t taste 5 times as good as one cupcake. At the end of your meal, you have consumed enough beef so that the return on taste has diminished. More beef doesn’t taste good anymore. And the same goes for potatoes, green beans, or whatever else you have for dinner. Each dinner item has been eaten and the initial tastiness has decreased, such that you do not want to eat any more of them.
But now dessert arrives. This is a new food group, a new taste that has not appeared in your dinner yet. This is the second part of the law of diminishing returns – in order to be satisfied, you need something new. So your mind tells your body that this should be good, and your body sets aside the feeling of being full – but only for this new taste. And thus: the dessert stomach.
“So they ate and were well filled, And their desire He gave to them.”
– Psalm 78:29
