The Sweet Tooth Gene

These days everyone knows that a sweet tooth is bad for their teeth. Avoiding sweets is harder for some people than others and it’s not just a lack of willpower. New research published in the Journal of Appetite Feb 2014 examines the genetic variants of the dopamine-4 receptor in pre-school age children on their food preferences. The research shows that the seven-repeat DRD4 allele affects the brain’s dopamine pathway when sugar is ingested in susceptible individuals. This is the same pathway linked to happiness and it seems to make certain foods taste better and more desirable to certain people and is why some people have a … Continue reading