Smile if you want to halt a craving

Smiling might reduce food cravings, while frowning increases them. That’s the suggestion from a study reported in the journal appetite.

according to researchers from the university of Wuppertal, germany, this is due to the so-called facial feedback hypothesis, where facial movements affect our emotions.

Frowning, for instance, can make us feel unhappy. Previous research has shown that paralysis of the corrugator (frown) muscle using injections of botulinum toxin (Botox) can reduce symptoms of depression.

The latest research found that activating the smile muscle, the zygomaticus in the cheek, can improve mood and so reduces food cravings, too.