A study from University of Surrey looked at food preferences of 180.000 volunteers from the UK Biobank and used AI to group them into three different types of eaters.
Health-conscious: High preference for fruits and vegetables, preference for unsweetened drinks, low preference for desserts, sweet foods, and all types of meat
Omnivore: Moderate preference for most foods, high preference for all types of meat, avoids strong and sharp flavour foods
Sweet tooth: Prefers sweet foods, desserts, and sweetened drinks, likes processed food, low preference for fruits, vegetables, fish, and seafood
Sweet tooths have a higher disease risk
The research team analysed blood samples of participants from all three groups to see how a variety of proteins and metabolites differed among them. Here are their main conclusions.
- The health-conscious group showed lower risk of heart failure and chronic kidney disease compared to the two other groups.
- The sweet-tooth group had greater risk of depression, diabetes, and stroke compared to the other two groups.
- Cancer risk was comparable for all three groups.
- The health-conscious group had lower levels of inflammatory biomarkers which are known to be elevated in those with cardiovascular disease.
“In the sweet tooth group, they had higher levels of C-reactive protein, which is a marker for inflammation. Their blood results also show higher levels of glucose and poor lipid profiles, which is a strong warning sign for diabetes and heart disease. Conversely, the health-conscious group, which also had higher dietary fibre intake, had lower risks for heart failure, chronic kidney diseases and stroke, while the omnivore group had moderate health risks,” said Prof Nophar Geifman, senior author of the study.
Your food preferences matter but thinking before eating does too
“The foods that you like or dislike seem to directly link to your health. If your favourite foods are cakes, sweets, and sugary drinks, then our study’s results suggest that this may have negative effects on your health. Processed sugar is a key factor in the diet of many, and these results are yet more evidence that, as a society, we should do all that we can to think before we eat,” added Prof Geifman.
How do you turn into a health-conscious sweet tooth?
The takeaway from this research shouldn’t be that having a sweet tooth automatically makes you destined for diabetes and worse. Rather that you should make intentional and informed choices about what you eat, how much, and when. Here’s how to enjoy sweets while doing enough for your health to keep risks low.
- Drink sweetened beverages during or after exercising, stick to non-sweetened options at other times
- Use fruits to add sweetness to your breakfasts or other meals of the day. Add a scoop of plant-based protein too and you’re hitting two birds with one stone. Smoothies and porridge-style dishes are ideal for this.
- Go for at least one savoury meal per day to get your veggies in. The sweet dessert will taste that much better after.
- Add chopped fruits to make salads sweet, yes, they are still healthy that way!
- Keep your total calorie intake in check. A lot of the problems related to eating sweets stem from overeating. Reduce the total amount of food, especially if you notice gaining weight.
