Dr. Mercola December 20 2008 88,410 views
According to neuroscientists, obesity gradually numbs the taste sensation of rats to sweet foods, and drives them to consume larger and sweeter meals. There is apparently a critical link between taste and body weight.
Previous studies have suggested that obese persons are less sensitive to sweet taste, but little is known about the specific differences in sense of taste between obese and lean individuals. Researchers investigated these differences by studying the taste responses of two strains of rats.
Compared to the lean and healthy LETO rats, the taste responses in OLETF rats mirror those in obese humans. These rats tend to chronically overeat due to a missing satiety signal, and they become obese and develop diabetes. The obese rats also show an increased preference for sweet foods.
The researchers implanted electrodes in the rodents' brains to record the firing of nerve cells when the rats' tongues were exposed to various tastes. The OLETF rats had about 50 percent fewer neurons firing when their tongues were exposed to sucrose, suggesting that obese rats are overall less sensitive to sucrose.
This research bears some resemblance to a previous study, which also concluded that the key to a thinner physique might lie in how sensitive your taste buds are. “Super tasters” who are sensitive to bitter compounds found in broccoli and other foods were found to be about 20 percent thinner than “non-tasters.”
Super tasters also tend to have more papillae, the tiny bumps on your tongue that hold taste buds. This may explain why non-tasters tend to like much sweeter, hotter and more bitter foods (which correspond to foods high in fat) as they simply can’t taste the food as well.
The natural cause and effect of this difference in ability to taste leads super tasters to indulge in healthier foods, while those with less sensitive taste buds eventually suffer from a higher body weight.
But is that really all there’s to it?
Of course not!
Hormone Influences Your Sweet Tooth
In fact, your sense of taste may be little more than the result of a poor diet to begin with, rendering it a symptom, not an underlying cause, for overeating and obesity.
Here’s how this works: The hormone leptin has been shown to target taste receptors on your tongue, thereby increasing or reducing cravings for sweet foods. It is believed that leptin is a sweet-sensing modulator (suppressor), and therefore a contributor to the process that regulates food intake.
It is likely that either a lack of leptin, or your body's failure to respond to the hormone due to defects in your leptin receptors, contributes to the so-called 'sweet tooth' that affects so many people.
It’s already been discovered that animals and humans with low leptin levels, or with defective leptin receptors, tend to become obese. Leptin -- a hormone produced by your fat cells -- is directly involved in weight regulation by signaling your brain when your fat cells are full; instructing your body to reduce hunger, increase fat burning, and reduce fat storage.
So, in addition to increasing cravings for sweets, low leptin levels (or conversely, excessive leptin levels due to leptin resistance) also diminish your feelings of satiety, leading to continued intake of sweet foods.
But, what causes your leptin levels to go haywire in the first place?
If you eat a diet that is high in sugar and grains, the sugar gets metabolized to fat (and is stored as fat in your fat cells), which in turn releases surges in leptin. Over time, if your body is exposed to too much leptin, it will become resistant to it (just as your body can become resistant to insulin).And when you become leptin-resistant, your body can no longer “hear” the messages telling it to stop eating, burn fat, and maintain good sensitivity to sweet tastes in your taste buds -- so you remain hungry, you crave sweets, and your body stores more fat.Leptin-resistance also causes an increase in visceral fat, sending you on a vicious cycle of hunger, fat storage and an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and more.
So in essence, whether or not you have fewer, or less sensitive, taste buds may be inconsequential. That’s NOT the underlying problem. Being leptin resistant is the problem; one that can be fixed, as I’ll explain in just a moment.
Sugar Cravings is an Addiction!
Making matters worse, refined sugar has been found to be far more addictive than cocaine -- one of the most addictive substances currently known! So, if you think quitting tobacco is tough, giving up sugar can be even harder.
And, it’s important to remember that refined sugar is not the only culprit you have to contend with if you’re craving sweets.
Starch, in the form of grains and potatoes, metabolizes into sugar in your body and should therefore also be limited within your diet if you want to lose weight and feel better. Following my nutrition plan is a simple way to automatically reduce your intake of both grains and sugars.
How to Re-Sensitize Your Taste Buds and Restore Optimal Health
All of that said, it’s important to remember that your taste buds are likely not the best indicators of what foods are good for your body.
Many people, especially those who are overweight, have developed a link between their taste buds and their brain that cause their body to produce leptin and insulin, the moment they eat anything sweet. And due to the rise in leptin levels, you keep craving more sugar and grains.
Fortunately, there are ways to remedy this problem and put an end to the evil circle. Here’s how:
Modify your diet – A strategic diet that emphasizes good fats, and avoids blood sugar spikes will re-sensitize your cells' ability to hear hormonal messages correctly. But I recommend taking your dietary modifications even one step further. Though increasing healthy fats and limiting sugar and carbs will benefit everyone, understanding your nutritional type is equally important when losing weight. Just as you are unique in all other respects, your body has a unique biochemistry that requires certain proportions and types of healthy carbohydrates, fats and proteins that differs from other peoples' requirements. Learning your nutritional type will help you get started on an eating plan that is right for you (and your taste buds). Reeducate your taste buds -- This is simply a matter of "cleaning" your palate of grains to eliminate your body's learned response to sugar. Once you’ve abstained from grains for awhile, you'll notice that foods will taste better than ever. Battle the physical aspects of your sugar cravings -- Anyone who exercises intensely on a regular basis will know that significant amounts of cardiovascular exercise is the cure for sweet cravings. It always amazes me how my appetite, especially for sweets, dramatically decreases after exercise. I believe the mechanism is related to the dramatic reduction in insulin levels that occurs after exercise. Elevated insulin levels are one of the primary reasons for food cravings and if insulin levels are reduced, many of these cravings simply disappear. Battle the emotional aspects of your sugar addiction -- A great way to help you overcome your food cravings is through the energy psychology tool Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). In addition to sugar being excessively addictive, there is almost always an emotional component to food cravings as well. And while most people are able to find success in overcoming their physical addiction, they are still left with the emotional addiction. This technique eliminates negative emotions that sabotage your health, and replaces them with positives. You can review my free EFT manual to learn this technique.
Modify your diet – A strategic diet that emphasizes good fats, and avoids blood sugar spikes will re-sensitize your cells' ability to hear hormonal messages correctly.
But I recommend taking your dietary modifications even one step further. Though increasing healthy fats and limiting sugar and carbs will benefit everyone, understanding your nutritional type is equally important when losing weight. Just as you are unique in all other respects, your body has a unique biochemistry that requires certain proportions and types of healthy carbohydrates, fats and proteins that differs from other peoples' requirements.
Learning your nutritional type will help you get started on an eating plan that is right for you (and your taste buds).
Reeducate your taste buds -- This is simply a matter of "cleaning" your palate of grains to eliminate your body's learned response to sugar. Once you’ve abstained from grains for awhile, you'll notice that foods will taste better than ever.
Battle the physical aspects of your sugar cravings -- Anyone who exercises intensely on a regular basis will know that significant amounts of cardiovascular exercise is the cure for sweet cravings.
It always amazes me how my appetite, especially for sweets, dramatically decreases after exercise. I believe the mechanism is related to the dramatic reduction in insulin levels that occurs after exercise.
Elevated insulin levels are one of the primary reasons for food cravings and if insulin levels are reduced, many of these cravings simply disappear.
Battle the emotional aspects of your sugar addiction -- A great way to help you overcome your food cravings is through the energy psychology tool Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). In addition to sugar being excessively addictive, there is almost always an emotional component to food cravings as well. And while most people are able to find success in overcoming their physical addiction, they are still left with the emotional addiction.
This technique eliminates negative emotions that sabotage your health, and replaces them with positives. You can review my free EFT manual to learn this technique.
Congratulations on getting your sugar cravings under control, Bryan!
Sugar craving is most often the SYMPTOM of a hidden problem which then adds to the problem in a vicious circle. I knew a woman who was quite obese and hostile, too. She suffered from what as many as 70% of have, and that's a yeast overgrowth.
Chris admitted to me that she ate 6 heavy meals a day and yet still felt hollow. So I did suggested a way to her to get her yeast under control. She did it. It took no effort on her part. And she went from eating 6 big meals down to one or two smaller ones...effortlessly.
Her personality also made a dramatic change. She became cheerful and funny.
Just like Chris, it's our natural tendency to not crave too much sugar and carbs. If we've lost that natural tendency, it can be fixed:
hubpages.com/.../How-to-Flatten-Your-Tummy-and-End-Food-Cravings-EFFORTLESSLY
The best to you.
Kelley Eidem
Together we can cure cancer - one person at a time!
I am a chocoholic, and love salt and other strong flavours - chili, lemon, spices etc.I have never liked bland food, ever. BUT, I am very slim - thin at present after a bout of bronchitis.
I am actually trying to put ON weight, but I'm not sure how to do this without lots of carbs - a no-no it seems. So any advice on what healthy things I can eat that will gain a little weight would be appreciated. I don't (can't) eat huge meals, and I rarely snack between meals, except for nuts sometimes.
Julieanne,
Have you looked into what VEGETABLES AND FRUITS are considered to be carbs? The best place to get carbs are from unrefined/fresh foods. Try avocados, nuts, and other high fat foods as well. You might not really need to gain weight, though. Have you spoken with your dr?
"I find that most desserts are too sweet tasting and I no longer crave them. My taste sensitivity to sweets was definitely lowered when I was addicted. Now that I'm no longer addicted, I can taste sweetness at much lower thresholds and other flavors, like sour and tart are more appealing."
I'm like that too. a pint of all natural ice cream will last me three months because it's so sweet I can only tolerate a few bites at a time! But I can eat limes like there's no tomorrow. haha
Julieanne, you may be one of the lucky few who don't seem to get addicted to sweets. However, if you need to gain a little weight, I would eat healthy starchy foods like potatoes or sour dough bread with lots of organic pasture butter, rather than sweets. These starches digest into glucose, without any fructose. It's too much fructose that appears to drive long-term health problems for those who are healthy to begin with. Also, be sure to get enough vitamin D to avoid bronchitis : )
I had a similar experience, Bryan. Refined sugar has definitely proven to be addicting, a la the "super-sizing" of America. A really cool thing that I also found out several years ago was that therapeutic fasting re-sensitizes taste buds. I always read about guys like Bragg and Shelton speaking about it but not until I went through the process myself did I have a clear understanding. When you reintroduce food after an extended fast, it's absolutely phenomenal and the flavor is unparalleled! Hundreds of my patients have noted similar things as well.
I agree. I once lost 55 pounds, over the last 10 years I've put back on nearly 40!!! But I have no one to blame but me, started eating junk and stopped exercising. So now for 2009 I'm back "on the wagon".. after about 3 weeks of a healthy diet, sweet potatoes taste AMAZING,,, and sweets are too sweet. It is a matter of retraining the taste buds.
Dr. Loop, that's an interesting observation that people have renewed taste sensitivity after extended fasting. I have been doing intermittent fasting in the form of a 6-hour eating period and 18-hour fast each day. I end up doing a 24-hour fast Friday-Saturday each week as I shift my eating period 6 hours later in the day for the weekend. This approach has helped me to lose about 20 pounds since July, but I can't say that I notice much difference in taste sensitivity on just a 24-hour fast. But maybe that's because I broke my sugar addiction a couple of years ago and I already have an improved taste sensitivity.
springolife, I definitely DO need to put on weight, I am looking quite 'bony' round the neck and chest. And my doc insists on weighing me whenever I visit.
Bryan, as I said, I am a chocoholic and LOVE sweets! That doesn't mean I give in to the cravings, but they are there. And I take 1,400 IU Vit D every day.
I bought some pumpkin and sweet potato yesterday, I'm going to roast them and keep in the fridge as a snack. It's really hard to know what to do to gain some weight when I am told I have 'fairly high' blood sugar.
I guess I won't get much sympathy from anyone who is trying to lose weight, but being too thin isn't healthy either!
Julieanne, that's funny, because I used to be a BIG chocoholic all my life, but now I have no cravings for chocolate. I do, however, include raw unsweetened cocoa powder with a morning breakfast raw milk smoothie most days. I skipped it yesterday and had no cravings or withdrawal symptoms, so I know I'm not addicted. I've read that raw milk from pastured cows is good for normalizing weight, so if you have access, go for it!
For my breakfast drink, I use about 1 cup of raw milk, about 2 oz of raw cream, about 2 tbsp of raw cocoa organic powder, and 2 to 4 raw egg yolks from fully pastured chickens. I think it's a real Elixir of Life : )
Bryan, that drink sound delicious! But what do you do with the egg whites? Why not include them? I have a raw cacao drink every morning made with oat milk - can't get raw milk here(Oz),it's illegal.
The closest thing to it would be unpasteurised goat milk - about four times the price of cow's milk. I like my oat milk.
I am very glad that you got over your sugar cravings Bryan - oz4caster. A few good years ago I realized that when I started slowly adding water to my juice (to dilute the sugar content) my craving for juice began to decrease. I can now drink just water, and when I try to drink juice I notice that it tastes A LOT sweeter. Dr. Mercola REALLY KNOWS WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT!!!
Ok, this article and most of the comments infuriate me. Everyone thinks they have the answer. Asinine studies like this...well duh, babies are born with a preference for sweets. Breast milk is very sweet. What about us poor suckers who have been doing everything right, no sweets, basically no carbs, controlled candida, got off medications etc etc and STILL CAN'T LOSE WEIGHT. I am sick to death of being called a liar, of hating my body, of being judged by hypocrites that have never dealt with this. Yeah, I want to lose weight for my health, not to please a bunch of hypocrites who think they are better than me!
Patty, if I were you with nothing seeming to work for you, I'd try for a short time, taking real high doses of chromium picolinate. Maybe 800 mcg 3 times a day. If you wanted to add 500 mgs of cinnamon with each meal that would be fine.
Also Dr. Mercola mentions that high doses of vitamin D can help with weight loss. I'd try it for a few days, maybe several days, to see if it had an impact.
If I hadn't done a colon cleanse, I would be sure to do that. Most first timers can lose 10 pounds.
Lastly, I'd take digestive enzymes with each meal.
Also, even though nothing has worked for you in the past, it's important to change what you're telling yourself. Our bodies are very agreeable to the negative stuff we tell ourselves, particularly when there are strong emotions attached to them.
If you tell yourself you are "sick" and "I hate my body" and "I STILL CAN'T LOSE WEIGHT" your body will try to support those emotional statements.
So tell yourself this instead: "I AM IN THE PROCESS OF getting the body I want." The part in caps is critical. We are all in the process of everything. It's a true statement...something you can get behind.
Whenever you hear yourself talking with negative emotions about your weight, your body, or whatever...and you will because habits take time to change...just say "DEFLECT!" and then say, "I'm in the process of getting the body I want."
By combining the nutritional support with the emotional feedback, you're going to feel better. You'll start to feel gratitude, which will increase the "gratitude" receptors in your brain and in your organs.
Amen!!!
Kelley, if you have underlying pituitary/adrenal malfunction, chromium picolinate and a colon cleanse won't help.
Tried it and got very sick.
Patty, You sound like you would benefit from the hcg diet. Check out Pounds and Inches by Dr. Simeon which you can read online or The Weight Loss Cure by Kevin Trudeau. This diet works to repair the hypothalamus which is connected to leptin production. If the hypothalamus is damaged no diet or exercise will work. Chemicals, MSG, excessive yo-you dieting and fasting etc can all be damaging. HCG diet will reverse a lot of this but it's CRUCIAL do to a good detox beforehand since your body will dump loads of fat into your bloodstream and your liver, kidneys and digestive system should be functioning optimally to avoid toxic overload since toxins are stored in fat.
I wish I had never said anything. You have to be rich for the HCG diet #1, #2, it involves very low calorie dieting...not something you can do with adrenal insufficiency and CFIDS. I have also tried chromium and other supplements, I did a colon cleanse just to see...before I knew better and made myself quite ill. I tried various detoxes from a chiropractor, again, could not tolerate. I now know that with adrenal issues and CFIDS you risk making yourself seriously ill doing these things. I have been eating no sugar, grains, starchy veggies, nothing processed, no additives, etc etc for over 18 months. The only fats I eat are butter (well ghee) and coconut oil. I'm doing everything right which was the whole purpose of my comment. You can do it all right and stay fat. I could go on and on, but I think these responses prove my point...everyone thinks they have the answer. Kelley, I've just started working with EFT which is somewhat similar to what you are saying. Thanks...because I CAN do this, lol.
Patty D, you're right, breastmilk is very sweet, but I doubt that it leads to sugar cravings. My 16-month old son, who's still breastfeeding, refuses to eat anything with added sweetener in it. I've tried to get him to taste just a little bit of ice-cream, and seemed disgusted by the sweetness (and it was an organic one, lightly sweetened). Also, he refuses to eat oatmeal with raw honey (prefers it plain with coconut oil). And strange enough, he has a strong preference for food with added Indian spices-even strong cayenne, probably because I've been eating a lot of spicy foods while I was carrying him.
I can understand your frustration. Take a look at www.healthy-active.com. It is about optimizing your metabolism with foods that are good for you. It has been very successful in Germany but not only for weight loss. Many use this program for general wellness. Not every food is good for everyone.The great thing about it is only qualified healthcare practitioners may offer this program. You will not be left alone!
Patty,
This is probably something you haven't heard before, but do you make sure to keep your body warm? If you live in the US, it's really normal to show lots of skin--legs, arms, and even tummy, but this cools your body temperature down. And cooling your body down slows your metabolism. I think I saw that your metabolism is raised about 14% for every 1 degree Celcius your body is warmer. Most people nowadays suffer from a less than optimal body temperature (resulting from air conditioning, stress, foods and beverages that cool your body, too much intake of fluids etc.), which makes their bodies cool and have overall poor circulation. Poor circulation is the cause of pretty much every body imbalance including not being able to lose weight. When you warm up your body, your blod flow improves the rate at which wastes are removed from your bloodstream and refreshed with nutritients, etc.
Various ways of warming up your body including drinking warm ginger tea everyday or taking a warm bath with a clove of crushed ginger in the water, and even if you can't find ginger, just taking a long warm bath everynight (about 30 minutes) and sweating is very effective. Always dress warmly and avoid cold beverages and coffee which has a cooling effect. And as much as possible avoid cold foods, instead warm them up or ingest them with salt or ginger. Sugar also cools your body. Avoid air conditioning as much as possible. Massaging is also very effective, your can give yourself a massage everyday--especially the bottom of your feet. And don't forget exercising.
Warming up your body should increase your metabolism and restore your body's optimal functioning.
I have similar problem with obesity, caused probably by NEUROPATHY, which I have got due to a sever infection IN my SPINE and using the medicine GABAPENTIN. Before I started use it, I weighted 60kg (132 lbs) and after some months my weight went up to 158.4 lbs and after one year I weight (also now)176 lbs or more, my weight is changing, but not very much.
I have this problem, that ANYTHING works probably because my damaged nervous system. I stopped take Gabapentin - but too late, I am still fat (I am 155 cm tall, means SHORT). I am not able to exercise, I hardly can go or stand, I use my 2 legs and 2 hands to go upstairs, I am not able to use only my leg. What I have to do? What can Dr Mercola say to me?
I do about the same like You Patty D. Men - if I was "normal", I would go down in weight by using "Fat diet", i.e. 1g protein to 2.5 gram fat(animal)to 0.5-0.8 gram carbo. I know many people who went 18 kg down on this diet. Do you want know more, go to http://homodiet.netfirms.com/. If you could Swedish, there is also a blog of a Swedish doctor, who discover this method as well and lost 18 kg never being hungry. If I do not go more up than I do, it is also because I use this proportion in my diet, but unfortunately sometimes I cannot avoid more carbo than 0,8g (for my wanted weight I should eat only 60 gram protein, ca 150 gram fat and only ca 50 gram carbo per day) and immediately my weight go up. At least read about this diet (called optimal nutrition) on the site I gave you. God luck, Anna in UK
I don't know who I'm angrier at: the people who proposed this study or the agency that funded it. "There is apparently a critical link between taste and body weight"? Wow, stop the presses!This is just another example of Bubbe psychology: research results your grandmother could have told you without a federal grant. We all know people who eat beyond the Fill line, simply because something tastes so good. My father, may he rest in peace, was one.The best exercise for weight loss? Using your arms and legs to push your chair away from the table.
Back in our beginnings, sugar (from fruit and honey) was probably only available during a small slice of the year, so gorging on sweet food may have assisted us to get through the rest of the year by helping to lay down fat reserves. We had the rest of the year to 'recover'.
Unfortunately for us, it is now available in many more forms, and all year - but the body's wisdom still tells us to get it while we can.
For many, this is true. I have known people who weighed in excess of 300 lbs and would eat junk food OFTEN and A LOT OF IT. Add to that lots of alcohol and you have a terrible diet high in calories and saturated fats. However, there are some (like myself) that this is not true. I eat very small portions and struggle just to finish that. I don't gain weight, but I don't loose it either. So it's not fair to lump everyone overweight into the category of 'no self control.' And as Ferlie pointed out, there are some who have a problem beyond their control. My mom, for instance, says she is ALWAYS hungry. she also has a good diet, but her hunger never seems satiated. That is beyond her control, and she just goes hungry all day knowing that she has actually consumed enough calories. Most would not have that kind of self control!! But, she is still over her ideal weight even without refined foods and sweets.
Some here accuse WHAT I eat as the culprit, but honestly I can't imagine ANYONE on that kind of diet reading these articles. The readers here are genuinely concerned about having a healthy life. And some of us are, in deed, over weight!
Discipline is a four letter word. Can't expect people to exercise self control and stop porking down.
springolife
There are many reasons to retain fat, and only one of them is calorie intake.
Per Jon Gabriel, the body usually interprets stress as one of two things - risk of starvation or predator to escape/fight. The first results in fat retention despite low calorie intake, the second results in fat reduction in spite of excessive calorie intake.
There are also many ways to deal with this, but basically you can seek help to change the way you react to stress (eg hypnotism) or you can work on changing your body's interpretation of the stress.
Whilst some of Jon's approach has me scratching my head, perplexed, what I have read mostly makes a lot of sense at many different levels.
Jon managed to lose a lot of weight, and without the usual sharpei-like skin folds.