By Nicole Garneau, PhD
Why Do We Like the Taste of Protein?
A recent study highlighted by a new ad campaign from LiveWell
Colorado found that 1 of every 2 Coloradoans are overweight or
obese. Now consider that Colorado is one of the healthiest states
in our nation, that doesn't bode well for Americans as a whole. So
what is it about how our bodies react to food that could be
contributing to this? A cool blog post from Jonah Lehrer posted
June 23, 2011, on Wired.com discusses the reason sugar and protein
consumption elicits pleasure via two routes- one when we experience
taste via the tongue and one when we digest food. This complex
calorie perception may play a large role in why obesity has
skyrocketed in industrialized nations like the US.
Lehrer writes, "Perhaps the most shocking discovery from this
new science of taste, however, is that the act of eating is not the
only source of gustatory pleasure. Instead, a big chunk part of our
sensory delight - the joy that makes us crave particular foods -
comes afterwards, when the food is winding its way through the
gut."
For me one of the collest parts of Lehrer's blog post is that he
highlights the work of our colleagues at the Rocky Mountain Taste
and Smell Center at the University of Colorado. Their research
is leading the way in the new age of taste perception in the
gut and how this could help us understand more about human
health.
To read the entire post, please visit Lehrer's blog at:
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/06/why-do-we-like-the-taste-of-protein
To learn more about the Rocky Mountain Taste and Smell Center,
visit their new website at:
http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/medicalschool/centers/tastesmell/Pages/tastesmell.aspx
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