Under stress, many people begin to eat sweets, and this improves well-being..

Researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia have now discovered the cause of this phenomenon..

In the course of their new work, scientists discovered receptors for stress-activated hormones that are located on the taste buds, responsible for the perception of sweet, salty and bitter tastes..

A science team led by Dr. Rockwell Parker published his discovery in a recent issue of Neuroscience Letters.

According to researchers, stress increases the secretion of hormones of the adrenal cortex - glucocorticoids (GC). These hormones activate glucocorticoid receptors located in various cells of the body..

Activation of intracellular receptors causes them to move to the cell nucleus, where they initiate the synthesis of the desired proteins.. Activation of glucocorticoid receptors is known to affect taste preferences, which has been proven in experiments on humans and rodents..

It is also known that stress can greatly influence our product choices.. Stress leads to emotional overeating - the desire to unnecessarily eat sweet, high-calorie foods, that is, "

But why is this happening? The Monella Center team decided to check if glucocorticoid receptors are present on the taste buds of the tongue. If they really are there, then it was necessary to find out whether these receptors activate stress, forcing us to look for sweets.

Stress activates tongue GC receptors In experiments on mice, researchers found that glucocorticoid receptors on the tongue are in the same cells that contain taste buds. The highest level of GC receptors is found in Tas1r3 cells, which perceive a sweet taste and umami.

Experiments with these cells showed that stressed mice have a 77% higher level of GC receptors in the cell nucleus than their calm relatives. Researchers say our perception of sweet taste is directly influenced by stress-activated glucocorticoid receptors.

“Taste is the initial criterion for evaluating potential food. If stress affects taste, then it also disrupts our interactions with food.. In particular, the perception of sweet taste is disturbed.. Our results offer a molecular mechanism to help explain why some people eat a lot of sweets when they are stressed, ”Parker writes..

Researchers Know Stress Boosts Salty Food Cravings.

But in the course of their work, scientists did not find glucocorticoid receptors in those cells that are responsible for the perception of a salty and bitter taste. Parker says stress can affect another link - processing salty taste signals right in the brain.

By the way, similar cells are located in the intestines and pancreas, so scientists suggest that stress can affect receptors in these organs, altering the metabolism of carbohydrates and other nutrients.. One of the authors of the study, Dr. Robert Margolskee, proposes a series of additional work to answer this very important question..

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