Blame Cravings?

Your inability to put on the brakes when you're chomping something yummy is about more than wimpy willpower. Evidence suggests that we evolved to crave fattening food. Our taste buds have special sets of receptors that pick up flavors associated with calorie-dense foods; even newborn babies are born with desire for sweet things.

Our hairy human ancestors were mostly herbivores- today they're known as vegans- and getting enough calories was a daily struggle. To avoid starving to death, they had to learn to recognize calorie-and-nutrient-dense foods by their taste and texture. As a result, we inherited a powerful hankering for anything sweet ( a sure sign of energy-boosting sugar) or fatty (a guarantee of precious calories).

Now that we're no longer digging up roots, picking berries, and casing woolly mammoths, calorie-dense foods are more curse than blessing. Further proof that Mother Nature is determined to foil your weighlt loss plans: Fat combined with salt or sugar gives your mouth the flavor of sugary, high-fat foods (like ice cream) and salty, high foods (like Doritos) are especially delectable. Seem depressing? Chin up-evlution may have stacked the deck, but ultimately you deal the cards.