Can taste taste affect life?

(probably) Some of the keys to good health are not only the foods you eat, but also how you feel about the taste of those foods.

Taste - like you can blame for your preference for sweets or craving for French fries - can play a strong role in longevity and healthy life, two new studies work on Fruit flies are presented on the Proceedings of the American Academy of Sciences.

Researchers from the University of Michigan, Wayne State University and Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in Switzerland have discovered the surprising ability of this tiny insect to enjoy all kinds of food. Its food - regardless of how much food it actually eats - can increase or decrease its life significantly, and the potential for aging in a healthy way.

Bitter tastes have a negative impact on longevity, sweetness has a positive impact, and the ability to sip enjoy the water has the most significant impact - water-sipping flies live 43% longer than others. Research results show that in fruit flies that lose their taste can cause physiological changes, helping the body adapt to the perception that it does not receive adequate nutrients.

In the case of fruit flies, they lose their taste to water that leads to a longer life, the authors say, the parasite may try to compensate for the lack of water by stocking reserves. The fat is larger and then uses these stored fats to produce water within their bodies. Scientists expect further studies to work out how and why bitterness and sweetness can affect aging.

'This makes us understand more about how sensory perception affects health. It is clear that taste is doing more than we think, ' said senior University of Michigan author Scott Pletcher, associate professor at Molecular and Integrative Physiology and associate professor. Research at the Gerontology Research Institute says.

'We know that taste can help us avoid or be attracted to certain foods, but in fruit flies, taste also has a profound effect on natural physiology and aging. ".

Pletcher conducted this study with lead author Michael Waterson, a doctoral student in the Cellular and Molecular Biology Program of the University of Michigan.

'Our world is shaped by the sensory abilities that help us feel our surroundings, and by carefully analyzing how this affects the aging process, we have can lay the groundwork for new ideas to improve human health ', senior author of another study, Joy Alcedo, PhD, assistant professor of Biological Sciences at the school Wayne State University, formerly of Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in Switzerland, said. Alcedo conducted the study with the lead author Ivan Ostọic, Ph.D. of Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in Switzerland.

Recent research shows that sensory awareness can affect health-related characteristics such as athletic ability, type II diabetes, and aging. However, these two new studies provide the first detailed observation of the role of taste perception .

"These findings help us better understand the effect of sensory signals , but now we know the sensory signals not only make a creature harmonious in its environment, but also cause Significant changes in physiology affect overall health and longevity , "Waterson said. " We need to do more research to apply these new insights, to improve health in humans adopt a suitable diet that likes certain tastes or even pharmaceuticals that target flavor input, without dietary adjustments. "