Thursday, March 27, 2008

It's not about the sugar

Via 3QD:
"Researchers have found that mice prefer sugary water even if they lack a gene needed to taste it. Although the mice could not taste sweets, reward centres in the brain reacted when the mice drank water spiked with sucrose, but not when they drank water mixed with a low-calorie artificial sweetener. The results, published this week in Neuron 1, suggest that mice can detect calories without relying on their taste buds — a finding that could change our understanding of the sugar cravings that can plague dieters and contribute to obesity.

The presence of a calorie-sensing pathway makes evolutionary sense, says study author Ivan de Araujo, now at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. “The taste system evolved to allow animals to quickly detect what is worth eating versus what is not,” says de Araujo. “But the real reward that they need is not the taste itself but the calories.” "

Ya, well. I only eat stuff thats worth eating. No wonder I shall never ever loose weight. I'm at the same evolutionary level as, you know, mice. And, I have terrible metabolism. Sigh. The calories just track me down.

But then again. Totally worth it. The foodie in me wins.

8 comments:

km said...

I'm at the same evolutionary level as, you know, mice.

The question is, do you lurk behind pantry doors and scurry around the kitchen floor at midnight?

Szerelem said...

Well not scurry around the kitchen floor; but I am known to lurk behind pantry doors and scrounge for midnight snacks in the kitchen

km said...

well, then, this is what you need in your house.

Tabula Rasa said...

or this.

GhostOfTomJoad said...

Apropos the pic...just what is Dal Beeji? Or, even Nagori Halwa?

Szerelem said...

ghost: jeez man, where have you been???!!!!

And quite honestly I haven't tried either of the two items - I think I just found another reason to go back :D

??! said...

I have terrible metabolism
So do I. It keeps me permanently thin.

Szerelem said...

Oh go away >:(