The Role of Sweet Taste in Satiation and Satiety

Abstract

Increased energy consumption, especially increased consumption of sweet energy-dense food, is thought to be one of the main contributors to the escalating rates in overweight individuals and obesity globally. The individual’s ability to detect or sense sweetness in the oral cavity is thought to be one of many factors influencing food acceptance, and therefore, taste may play an essential role in modulating food acceptance and/or energy intake. Emerging evidence now suggests that the sweet taste signaling mechanisms identified in the oral cavity also operate in the gastrointestinal system and may influence the development of satiety. Understanding the individual differences in detecting sweetness in both the oral and gastrointestinal system towards both caloric sugar and high intensity sweetener and the functional role of the sweet taste system may be important in understanding the reasons for excess energy intake. This review will summarize evidence of possible associations between the sweet taste mechanisms within the oral cavity, gastrointestinal tract and the brain systems towards both caloric sugar and high intensity sweetener and sweet taste function, which may influence satiation, satiety and, perhaps, predisposition to being overweight and obesity.

Critical review evaluating the pig as a model for human nutritional physiology

“…These studies provide two major outcomes: (1) functional imaging in anaesthetised pigs can be implemented to explore brain responses to different food signals, as in humans; and (2) the brain circuits activated by the perception of food signals are similar to those described in the human (for example, frontostriatal areas, amygdala and insular cortex). Studies in human subjects showed that brain responses to energy-providing sugars and sweeteners are not the same in the reward circuit (for reviews, see Low et al (228) and Ochoa et al (229) ), which resembles the results obtained by Clouard et al (225) in pigs. Clouard et al (225) compared congruent v. dissociated oral and duodenal SUC perception, and found different brain responses in the limbic and reward circuits.…”

Physiological mechanisms by which non-nutritive sweeteners may impact body weight and metabolism

“…Second, the relationship between peripheral taste sensitivity, appetite, and intake is not fully understood (for review, see [35,36]), though some evidence suggests that prandial orosensory stimulation may contribute to the regulation of food intake. Studies have demonstrated that increased oral processing time (i.e., the length of time the food stimulus remains in the mouth) and increased orosensory exposure per unit of liquid or semisolid food consumption (i.e., sip or bite size) promotes satiation and decreases total intake [37–39].…”

The Effects of Different High-Protein Low-Carbohydrates Proprietary Foods on Blood Sugar in Healthy Subjects

“…44 These compounds could be useful in the prevention of overweightness and obesity in populations which are less sensitive to sweetness, predisposing them to consume more sugar in order to have the same 'taste sensation' as people more sensitive to sweetness. 71 Nowadays low-calorie sweeteners are important tools in DM management, where the dietary adherence is amongst the most difficult cornerstones 72 , especially for children and adolescents with T2DM who suffer from the perceived lack of normality in their diet and consequenlty desire non-recommended sweet foods. 73 Ready-to-consume proprietary foods, high in good quality proteins and fibers, could improve both, the diet of young people, and the diet of T2DM patients.…”