Until recently, I had never heard of the term "dessert stomach." It's a fairly new term, and upon hearing its definition, I came to the realization that I most definitely have a second stomach dedicated solely to dessert. It is described on Urban Dictionary (incredibly reliable source, I know) as "a secondary organ reserved solely for when the primary stomach is full but you still really want to get that Chocolate Volcano Brownie because it just looks so good."
I've always been a big fan of food, but especially dessert. Whenever my family and I go out to restaurants, I beg to see the dessert menu just to see what the restaurant might have. If I go out with friends, I convince them to split something with me. So it's a win-win situation no matter who I'm with.
The problem with those of us with dessert stomachs is that we still get dessert even though we are full. One particular case in point being today when I went out to Boston's North End with some friends to get hearty Italian food, scarfed down a margherita pizza, and hunted down the nearest place offering dessert shortly afterwards.
Although my pizza was churning away in my stomach, that didn't stop me. Nothing stopped me. I headed straight down the street where I found an amazing bakery that sold specialty cannoli's the size of my forearm. (It's called Mike's Pastry -- if you're ever in Boston I would highly recommend it.) Yes, I was full from dinner, but I also really wanted my chocolate-covered-oreo-powdered-sugar-encrusted cannoli, so I had to make do. Tough life, huh?
Believe it or not, the dessert stomach actually has a very scientific background. According to an article from the Daily Mail, our junk food culture associates these junk foods (AKA desserts) with pleasure, which can override our sensation of being full. Although our bodies have evolved to send us many signals when we are getting full or have eaten too much, the pleasure and signals that come from eating sugary foods make these "full signals" go away. Researches from the article also noted that certain food can be addictive, exhibiting addictive signs found in hard drugs and alcohol.
Think you might be blessed (or cursed) with a dessert stomach? Well, think again! Dessert is always good in moderation and it's always good to treat yo self once in a while! Own that dessert stomach and keep doing you. Remember, life is too short to not order dessert.
