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Can we train our taste buds for health? A neuroscientist explains how genes and diet shape taste

Have you ever wondered why only hummingbirds sip nectar from feeders?

Unlike sparrows, finches and most other birds, hummingbirds can taste sweetness because they carry the genetic instructions necessary to detect sugar molecules.

Like hummingbirds, we humans can sense sugar because our DNA contains gene sequences coding for the molecular detectors that allow us to detect sweetness.

But it is more complex than that. Our ability to sense sweetness, as well as other tastes, involves a delicate dance between our genetic makeup and the foods we encounter from the womb to the dinner table.

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What’s the difference between sugar, other natural sweeteners and artificial sweeteners? A food chemist explains sweet science

A quick walk down the drink aisle of any corner store reveals the incredible ingenuity of food scientists in search of sweet flavors. In some drinks you’ll find sugar. A diet soda might have an artificial or natural low-calorie sweetener. And found in nearly everything else is high fructose corn syrup, the king of U.S. sweetness.

I am a chemist who studies compounds found in nature, and I am also a lover of food. With confusing food labels claiming foods and beverages to be diet, zero-sugar or with “no artificial sweeteners,” it can be confusing to know exactly what you are consuming.

So what are these sweet molecules? How can cane sugar and artificial sweeteners produce such similar flavors? First, it is helpful to understand how taste buds work.