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Showing posts with the label Carbohydrates

Side Click: Recognizing the taste of carbohydrates

The tongue is capable of discerning the taste of carbohydrates. Diet foods – containing artificial sweeteners but few carbs – are thus unsatisfying to many consumers. How can food manufacturers cash in on the ‘carbohydrate taste’? Tasting carbs Simple and complex carbohydrates, including sugars, are the body’s main source of energy. People tend to treat carbs as more of a necessity and “filler food” than a tasty treat. But a study conducted in 2014 suggests that the tongue senses the taste of carbohydrates in addition to the five conventional tastes (sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savoury). According to the study, when an individual consumes carbohydrates directly, there is a 30% increase in activity in the brain areas controlling movement and vision. Carbohydrates influence areas of the brain which are not affected by artificial sweeteners. The brain’s pleasure centers only light up when the tongue senses real carbohydrates instead of artificial sweeteners. Good news

Are Bananas going extinct?

As one of the top five staple foods in the world, bananas might soon become extinct due to an advancing fungal disease known as the Sigatoka complex. Agronomists fear that this disease could wipe out the world’s banana supply in the next 5-10 years. The Sigatoka complex consists of three fungal diseases – black Sigatoka, yellow Sigatoka and eumusae leaf spot. They are lethal as they cripple the immune system and match the metabolism of the host plant. This means that the fungi can replicate enzymes to penetrate the plant’s cell walls, which enable it to feed on other carbohydrates and sugars. The disease is forcing farmers need to step up and make 50 fungicide applications (annually) to their banana crops. Up to 35% of banana production expenditure is for fungicide applications. However, many farmers cannot afford this and end up either growing inferior quality bananas and switching to other crops. How will the possible extinction of bananas impact global food supply?