Sensing Sugar and the Rise of Sugar Consumption

Watch this video to learn about how we sense sugar on the tongue and in the brain.

The tongue can become desensitized to sugar over time. So can the brain. These organs "get used to" the sweet stimulus and modulate their responses. The pancreas, however, does not "get used to" high levels of sugar in the blood. The pancreas produces insulin, which is a hormone that regulates blood sugar. When the pancreas senses high levels of sugar in the blood, it produces insulin in response. Requiring the pancreas to pump out high levels of insulin over a long period of time can eventually damage the pancreas. Damage to the pancreas and insulin resistance at the cell are two hallmarks of type 2 diabetes.