Researchers have identified the neurons in the brain that respond to sweet and bitter tastes, and have found that sweet tastes activate specific sweet neurons in the mouth and the brain. Studies have also shown that subjects prefer sweet tastes to other tastes, and can be made to perceive sweet tastes even when drinking bitter water.
Our bodies have neurons in our stomach that sense the presence of sugary foods and signal to the brain, causing us to crave more of it even if we cannot taste it. This means that even savory foods can contain sugar, leading to cravings we may not realize we have.
The Coolidge effect shows that rodents regain their ability to mate when presented with a new partner, while the miracle fruit experiment can reveal how much sweetness is present in non-sweet foods.
Studies have shown that taste, food value, and the impact of food on the brain's metabolism are key drivers of our food choices, and that changing the taste associated with certain substances can influence our food choices. Activating neurons through the ingestion of sugar triggers the brain to pursue more of that taste, even if it's not associated with a pleasant taste.
The podcast explores whether there is a taste of no taste and discusses how the taste and visual systems work.
The role of salt intake in human health is widely misunderstood. While many people assume that salt intake only affects blood pressure and heart health, new research shows that salt hunger is a real phenomenon and that the correct kind of salt intake can have a positive impact on health in different ways.