Why Does Sugar Taste So Good?

Cookies, cakes, brownies, muffins, ice cream, gelato, pudding. You name it, I love it. And based on how many daily tempting encounters I have with sweets, I know I’m not the only one. But if our bodies actually suffer from eating too much sugar, then why do we crave it? And why don’t we have such strong cravings for food like, say, broccoli, which is a great source of vitamin C, vitamin K, iron, and potassium, all things our body actually needs? If it's so bad for us, then why does sugar taste so good?

It turns out, scientists have been asking this question for decades. There are hundreds of peer-reviewed journal articles trying to answer that very question. Let’s take a look at what they’ve come up with. 

Kids love sugar

Although some of us outgrow our love of sugar—perhaps as our desire for it becomes outweighed by our desire to avoid the post-sugar haze or crash—you would be hard-pressed to find a child who doesn’t have a sweet tooth. But let's stop a moment before we blame their parents for letting them indulge. Studies have shown that the love children have for sugar may be innate. In other words, kids may have a built-in love of all things sweet.

The preference for sweet foods is found to be already evident in newborns, who prefer sweeter formulas. It also seems to be shared by children globally across cultures and climates. There's further evidence that kids’ taste buds are more sensitive to bitter-tasting foods, further pushing them to reach for the sweets. 

Studies have shown that the love children have for sugar may be innate. In other words, kids may have a built-in love of all things sweet.

One study showed that adults tend to max out their sugar preference at about the level of sugar in a can of soda, but older children still liked drinks that were twice as sweet. The scientists couldn’t find a limit to the concentration of sugar younger children preferred. It turns out that the kids still liked the sugary drink even past the point where there was too much sugar to be dissolved in water anymore.

Our bodies need sugar

Sugar gets a bad rap, but it isn’t all bad. Sugar provides our bodies with calories, which we can then convert into energy. Children, in particular, need this energy to...

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