Recent studies on rats have revealed a real addiction to refined sugars, with alterations in the reward circuit similar to those displayed by drug addicts (we refer to addiction in the medical sense of the word, as defined in the mental disorders diagnosis handbook DSM-IV-TR). Even more surprising: among the animals supplied with a choice between drinking sugared water and…
In most mammals, including humans, the perception and the appreciation of sweet taste (as opposed to other tastes: salty, bitter, spicy, etc.) is an innate capacity. It depends on receptors located on the tongue. The stimulation of these receptors by sweet-tasting foods or beverages generates a sensation that most of us find intensely pleasurable. Nothing wrong with that, except that…