Study Explains Why Stress Makes Us Sweet-Toothed

Stress makes you crave for sweets and desserts, finds a study.

People tend to binge on sweet treats, chocolates and ice creams when overtaxed with worries or feeling low. Experts from the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia unraveled mechanisms triggered by stress hormones that make us yearn for sweet tasting food when stressed. They found 'glucocorticoid' (GC), a stress hormone released when we are stressed, activates oral taste cells that are receptive to sweet, umami and bitter tastes.

Their study employed a mouse model to examine the effects of stress on food metabolism and choices. It was observed that taste receptors cells contain GC receptors but its highest concentration was seen in Tas1r3 taste cells that are related to sweet and umami taste sensitivity. The GC receptors work step by step, targeting cells in the taste buds that are sensitive to sweets, then activated receptor complex moves, or translocates to the cell nucleus. The genetic expression and protein assembly in the nucleus are impacted by this process.  

Stress induced a 77 percent upshot in GC receptors in nuclei of taste cells of mice that were stressed than mice from the control group. This indicates an association between stress and sweet perception and intake.

"Sweet taste may be particularly affected by stress," said M. Rockwell Parker, study author and chemical ecologist at Monell in a news release.

"Our results may provide a molecular mechanism to help explain why some people eat more sugary foods when they are experiencing intense stress."

The authors said that taste perceptivity during stress depends on the secretion of GCs and activation of GC receptor taste cells. Taste receptors are present in other parts of the body apart from the tongue.

"Taste receptors in the gut and pancreas might also be influenced by stress, potentially impacting metabolism of sugars and other nutrients and affecting appetite," added Robert Margolskee, senior author and Monell molecular neurobiologist.

More information is available online in the journal Neuroscience Letters.