Your Gut Has Taste Buds!
Written by Michele Vieux
Did you know that you have the same type of taste buds in your gut as you do in your tongue?
The only difference is that the nerve endings in your tongue (taste buds) are hooked up to your brain’s pleasure centers where sweet tastes trigger the release of feel good brain chemicals like endogenous opiates. In your intestine, however, they’re hooked up to your pancreas where they trigger the release of insulin [1].
Insulin will sabotage your efforts to lose weight. Chronically high insulin is a major problem. Other than just weight gain around the middle, it leads to insulin resistance, elevated blood sugar, fatty liver, high blood pressure, and more.
Sweets from meals and beverages stimulate the sweet-sensing proteins in the gut taste cells (mainly in the small intestine) which promotes secretion of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), an intestinal hormone that plays a key role in promoting insulin secretion and regulating appetite [2].
I often get asked about alternative sweeteners to sugar. Clever marketing can make it seem like zero calories means zero weight gain (or negative health consequences) but that’s not necessarily true. Artificial sweeteners, which were once thought to influence only the tongue, also trigger changes in the gut, literally [2]. Anything sweet can trigger insulin release, which can interfere with body composition goals when not in check. Just a little food for thought as you pick and choose your way through what to eat and if it’s a cheat.
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Resources
[1] Your Gut Has Taste Receptors; Science Daily; August 21, 2007
[2] Neuroscience: Hardwired for Taste; Nature International Weekly Journal of Science; June 20, 2012
Michele,
I have been trying to locate primary scientific papers that correlate diet or zero calorie drinks to weight gain or just an inability to get lean. Did you run across anything other than source #2 noted in your excellent article?
So there are no alternatives to sugar that are not as bas as sugar? Is that correct?
There are a few – like erythritol and stevia – that are naturally occurring and don’t illicit a blood sugar or insulin response.