[SayWhatYouThink (OP)]

Hi all

So Im currently trying to lose weight.  My problem is i love food and chocolate is my weakness.  But what occurred to me is if our taste buds are on our tongue which give us the pleasure of eating chocolate then why do we only feel satisfied if we swallow it?

[alancalverd]

The feeling of hunger is prompted among other things by insufficient blood sugar- you need to actually digest your food in order to lose your appetite. There was even a brief fad in the 1950s for a sugar-assisted diet, claiming that a spoonful of sugar switches off your "appestat". This has some credibility in the habit of finishing a meal with a sweet or a sweet dessert wine - the French distinguish between "opening" and "closing" foods (soft cheese is also a closer, particularly if taken with grapes or sweet wine) and some traditions "open" a meal with sharp pickles.

I have heard it asserted that a proper Yorkshire dinner begins with the eponymous pudding served with gravy, and ends with a repeat, covered with strawberry jam.

Aside from the feeling of satiety, chocolate contains caffeine and theobromine, psychoactive "pleasure" compounds that are absorbed through the digestive system, not the tongue.

But this is a long way from weight loss diets. My advice is to eat heartily, enjoy it, and switch off the central heating. This time of year you can lose 1000 calories a day by just being cold, and save a fortune on your gas bill.

[evan_au]

Your brain (and the significant nervous system in your gut) adapt to new food types and behaviors.

The conscious sensation of enjoying food is reinforced (or weakened) based on the result on your body (including blood sugar levels).
- Getting sick soon after eating a food can result in an aversion to that food
- There are indications that the amount we eat is determined by our expectation of how many calories are in the food
- I have seen suggestions that "diet" foods may actually increase the amount of calories consumed, because your body now interprets sweet foods/drinks as having a lower calorific content, so you drink/eat more of them (much to the delight of the vendor, who sometimes charges a premium for "diet" food).

Sometimes our unconscious brain outsmarts our conscious brain....

[davidk]

Hi,
The subject asks if taste is better on swallowing vs spitting.  I thought if this is true then why do wine tasters not swallow?  Is it only because of the alcohol?  Besides, I'd think they can't help swallowing a small amount.
However, the question asked is regarding satisfaction rather than the quality of taste.  Also, is the question about the pleasure of swallowing or is it the satisfaction wrt satiation? 

[Petrochemicals]

Most likely because the aroma doesnt reach your nose sense of smell, which is where most of the taste comes from. Try eating cheese with your nose clamped  !

[yor_on]

Think you're right Alan. Tried to look for fat Eskimos but couldn't find one. I'll inform the government, we're of to a greener world.

[Petrochemicals]

Forgive  the impertinence , but your dont have an eating disorder do you, just the way you wrote it.

Hi all

So Im currently trying to lose weight.  My problem is i love food and chocolate is my weakness.  But what occurred to me is if our taste buds are on our tongue which give us the pleasure of eating chocolate then why do we only feel satisfied if we swallow it?

If you try drinking bad milk your gag reflex will be activated by your body as this is an unwelcome thing. If you eat something that your body desires  the body will welcome it and request more, with the opposite of the gag reflex.  Your tastes can change rapidly depending on what your body needs, ie that food is very moreish.

[David Cooper]

The best taste is when you swallow, and that's a reward mechanism to make sure you actually take the energy in rather than losing it. It is not designed for situations with continual oversupply, but perhaps an operation could be designed to put a tube in to allow you to eat constantly without everything you've swallowed going down into the stomach. This would be infinitely preferable to the current approach with politicians trying to take calories out of food in order to force us all to stuff ourselves with more and more of it just to get the energy we need.