Why drinking alcohol makes us hungry

Ever come home from a night of drinking and desperately craved French fries or pizza? Researchers say they have found the underlying mechanism: Alcohol makes your brain think you are starving.

"That people get hungry after a night of drinking has puzzled researchers for a long time. After all, alcohol itself is highly energetic: One gram of pure ethanol - the alcohol in beverages - has 7.1 kilocalories. Only fat is richer in energy.

The body normally registers when high-energetic food arrives and cancels any feeling of hunger. With alcohol, though, the opposite happens. As a consequence, alcoholic drinks are doubly bad for losing weight: They have a lot of calories and make you eat even more."