Health ‘ Science Briefs (9/7/06)

Don’t treat stress with emotional eating

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

The… Don’t treat stress with emotional eating

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

The daily stresses that often accompany a job or family life can take a significant toll on a person’s eating habits.

The Mayo Clinic offers the following suggestions to people that have a problem with emotional eating.

—Understand true hunger. You may not be as hungry as you think if you don’t have a rumbling stomach or ate just a few hours earlier.

—Record what and how much you eat, when you eat and how you felt during the meal. This can help you recognize negative eating patterns and triggers to avoid.

—Find comfort in something other than eating. During times of stress, engage in activities that keep you away from the refrigerator or a fast-food restaurant. Go for a walk, take in a movie or meet with a friend.

—Exercise regularly, and get proper rest. Your body can deal with stress better when it’s fit and well rested.

—Remember that it’s not the end of the world if you give in to emotional eating. Forgive yourself and learn from the experience. Then, get a fresh start the next day. Focus on the positive, and give yourself credit for making changes in your eating habits.

Nailing down what makes “sour” sour

By Josh Goldstein, The Philadelphia Inquirer

PHILADELPHIA — Scientists trying to unravel the mysteries of taste — and the bigger question of a healthy diet that’s tasty — have discovered a piece of the puzzle: how we sense sour.

One of the five basic tastes, sour warns us against eating spoiled food or unripe fruit. At the same time, it appeals to us — as anyone knows who has watched a child lick a lemon, pucker in response to the sourness, and then lick again.

Researchers at the University of California at San Diego identified a specific type of cell on taste buds that produces a receptor protein that enables us to recognize sour.

The researchers, led by neuroscientist Charles S. Zuker, genetically modified mice to block the cells that generate the receptor protein PKD2L1. After that, the animals could not taste sour; other tastes — bitter, salty, sweet and umami (savory) — were unaffected, the researchers reported in the journal Nature.

Co-author Nick Ryba, a National Institutes of Health scientist, said the key is understanding how the brain interprets sensory information.

The research could ultimately be used to help us make food that is both healthful and tasty.