Credit: Petr Kratochvil/public domain
(Medical Xpress)—That lack of 'kick' you feel when drinking diet beverages has a scientific basis: it seems the mouth is able to detect the presence or absence of carbohydrate even when a liquid tastes and smells identical to the real thing.
A new study by Dr Nick Gant's team from the Centre for Brain Research at the University of Auckland provides yet more evidence that the brain knows far more about the foods we ingest that previously thought.
"Liquid solutions used in our study were sweetened artificially but when carbohydrate was present, we saw increased activation in the brain that we don't see when only sweetness is present," he says. "This helps explain the 'kick' people complain is absent in diet beverages or products.
"We may be able to use the experimental platform in this study to help develop functional foods and artificial sweeteners that are as hedonistically rewarding as the real thing."
The study used a unique brain imaging sequence to test the behavioural and neural response of ten participants who performed arm exercises while their mouths were rinsed with carbohydrate, artificial sweetener or placebo solution.
The study found a 30% increase in task-related brain activity when carbohydrate was present even though the liquid wasn't swallowed.
"This study provides further evidence of a "sixth taste sense" for carbohydrate by receptors in the human mouth. The mouth signals that energy is on its way which in turn leads to increased activity in key regions of the brain including those that control movement and vision."
The study findings could also explain why the 'perk up' response noted in athletes after they have drunk carbohydrate is immediate, even though the body hasn't had time to absorb it and convert it to energy.
"Carbohydrates are extremely powerful oral stimuli that have profound and immediate effects on the brain and the mouth is a more capable sensory organ that we currently appreciate," Dr Gant says.
Brain networks that signal between the mouth and the brain are thought to break down in some eating disorders.
"Those responses are absent when nil by mouth patients are fed artificially and this help may explain why artificial nutrition therapy is less successful than ingesting food in the normal way."
Explore further: Carbonation alters the mind's perception of sweetness
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© Medical Xpress 2011-2014, Science X network
Credit: Petr Kratochvil/public domain
(Medical Xpress)—That lack of 'kick' you feel when drinking diet beverages has a scientific basis: it seems the mouth is able to detect the presence or absence of carbohydrate even when a liquid tastes and smells identical to the real thing.
A new study by Dr Nick Gant's team from the Centre for Brain Research at the University of Auckland provides yet more evidence that the brain knows far more about the foods we ingest that previously thought.
"Liquid solutions used in our study were sweetened artificially but when carbohydrate was present, we saw increased activation in the brain that we don't see when only sweetness is present," he says. "This helps explain the 'kick' people complain is absent in diet beverages or products.
"We may be able to use the experimental platform in this study to help develop functional foods and artificial sweeteners that are as hedonistically rewarding as the real thing."
The study used a unique brain imaging sequence to test the behavioural and neural response of ten participants who performed arm exercises while their mouths were rinsed with carbohydrate, artificial sweetener or placebo solution.
The study found a 30% increase in task-related brain activity when carbohydrate was present even though the liquid wasn't swallowed.
"This study provides further evidence of a "sixth taste sense" for carbohydrate by receptors in the human mouth. The mouth signals that energy is on its way which in turn leads to increased activity in key regions of the brain including those that control movement and vision."
The study findings could also explain why the 'perk up' response noted in athletes after they have drunk carbohydrate is immediate, even though the body hasn't had time to absorb it and convert it to energy.
"Carbohydrates are extremely powerful oral stimuli that have profound and immediate effects on the brain and the mouth is a more capable sensory organ that we currently appreciate," Dr Gant says.
Brain networks that signal between the mouth and the brain are thought to break down in some eating disorders.
"Those responses are absent when nil by mouth patients are fed artificially and this help may explain why artificial nutrition therapy is less successful than ingesting food in the normal way."
Explore further: Carbonation alters the mind's perception of sweetness
Medical Xpress on facebook
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Carbonation alters the mind's perception of sweetness
Sep 17, 2013
Carbonation, an essential component of popular soft drinks, alters the brain's perception of sweetness and makes it difficult for the brain to determine the difference between sugar and artificial sweeteners, according to ...
Energy drinks work -- in mysterious ways
Apr 15, 2009
Runners clutching bottles of energy drink are a common sight, and it has long been known that sugary drinks and sweets can significantly improve athletes' performance in endurance events. The question is how?
Researchers find hand to mouth movement in humans likely hard-wired
Apr 01, 2014
(Medical Xpress)—A team of researchers in France has found evidence that suggests that human hand-to-mouth actions are hard-wired into the brain. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Ac ...
Does a diet high in carbohydrates increase your risk of dementia?
Feb 21, 2014
Even small increases in blood sugar caused by a diet high in carbohydrates can be detrimental to brain health. Recent reports in medical literature link carbohydrate calorie-rich diets to a greater risk for ...
Sip on this: Do diet drinks make you fatter?
Sep 03, 2013
Diet drinks are no help in the fight against obesity and may actually encourage over-eating, according to a US academic who recently argued this point in the journal Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism. ...
Recommended for you
Fatty liver disease prevented in mice
21 hours ago
(Medical Xpress)—Studying mice, researchers have found a way to prevent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, the most common cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. Blocking a path that delivers dietary ...
Perfecting the combined MR/PET
22 hours ago
PET (Positron Emission Tomography) is an imaging technique that provides insight into the metabolic and functional alterations related to pathologic process. CT (Computerized X-Ray Tomography) and MRI (Magnetic ...
Molecular 'scaffold' could hold key to new dementia treatments
Jun 03, 2014
Researchers at King's College London have discovered how a molecular 'scaffold' which allows key parts of cells to interact, comes apart in dementia and motor neuron disease, revealing a potential new target ...
Resveratrol supplements cause pancreatic problems in developing fetus
Jun 02, 2014
A widely available dietary supplement that had been considered safe—and that some claim provides anti-aging and other health benefits—caused significant developmental abnormalities in the pancreas of offspring of pregnant ...
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