Researchers have found a hormonal explanation for why drinking alcohol tends to lead people toward salty snacks, chips, pizza, and other savory foods. The mechanism involves a hormone called FGF21, which alcohol appears to amplify, triggering a drive for protein-associated flavors.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Sydney, drew on data from the Australian National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey to examine patterns of food consumption on drinking days compared to non-drinking days. The findings were reported by Healthline.
Researchers found that for every standard drink consumed, savory food intake went up while sweet food intake went down. The body traditionally links savory and umami flavors to protein-rich foods, and FGF21 is part of the hormonal system that regulates protein appetite.
"Many people will recognise the experience of having a few drinks and suddenly craving something salty, like chips, French fries, pizza or other savoury foods. Now we have a better understanding of the hormonal dynamic at play, which may be driving overconsumption of ultra-processed foods," Amanda Grech, lead study author and a researcher at the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney, said in a press statement.
The problem, researchers say, is that the modern food environment has broken the link between savory flavor and actual protein content. Many ultra-processed foods are engineered to taste savory or umami-rich but deliver little protein. The researchers describe these products as a kind of protein decoy, foods that signal protein to the body without delivering it.
When the body does not receive the protein it was seeking, it compensates by continuing to eat. That leads to higher total consumption of energy, carbohydrates, and fats, without satisfying the underlying craving.
"Our study suggests that when dietary protein is diluted, people compensate by eating more overall to satisfy the increased protein appetite induced by alcohol," David Raubenheimer, senior study author and a researcher at the Charles Perkins Centre, said in a press statement. "In this way, alcohol may contribute to overeating particularly when ultra-processed, low-protein savory foods are readily available," he continued.
The findings connect to a broader body of research linking alcohol consumption to negative health outcomes. The study adds a specific physiological pathway to explain one pattern that has long been observed but not fully understood: the tendency to reach for salty, crunchy, low-nutrition foods after drinking.
The researchers note that the widespread availability of savory ultra-processed snacks makes this dynamic particularly relevant in contemporary food environments, where options that taste protein-rich but are not are easy to access and often consumed in social settings where alcohol is also present.
