This Thanksgiving, make sure to be thankful for the fact that you can continue to eat, well after you've unzipped your pants and stretched your waist size to a number that some may confuse with an area code.

Okay, that may be an exaggeration, but there's no denying it: we overeat on Turkey Day. Don't get us wrong. We Americans overeat every other day, too. Just go to a Golden Corral on a Tuesday night. It ain't pretty.

But on Thanksgiving, we devour our turkey and trimmings with a fervor unencumbered by the daily stress of life that usually accompanies our meals and may play a hand in why we love food as much as we love the people sitting around us at the Thanksgiving table. We engage in gluttony knowing this day is designated for us to chow down like we are all Joey Chestnut and the plate is just a temporary holding cell we have to clear ASAP so there's room when the next batch of culinary prisoners comes in.

So, what exactly is going on in our bodies when we keep shoving sweet potatoes and stuffing down our throats like they're a Slip 'N Slide? This video gives you the science. Consider it brain food to go along with all the other food you barely take the time to chew.

And don't worry about eating too much on Thanksgiving. After all the inevitable "I'm never eating again" mumbo jumbo you'll spew, it'll soon be Black Friday and what better excuse is there for pigging out besides the need for fuel to cope with your fellow shoppers?