There is a gene for something called alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). ADH is a protein and it’s important because it is an enzyme we use to break down alcohol. Some research suggests people who don’t produce enough ADH or produce the slower acting enzymes ADH2 and ADH3 are more susceptible to alcoholism. ADH is part of what helps you sober up.

Scientists have long postulated the gene evolved when humans started creating liquor. Then they later found the enzyme in animals, so the theory was changed to animals developed ADH to break down ethanol from fermenting fruits of flowering plants. Fruits appeared about 140 million years ago. There are studies demonstrating some animals, like the fruit fly, evolved ADH between 70 and 135 million years ago.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase - It looks just like you thought it would (image courtesy wikipedia.com)

Then scientific progress went boink again. Héctor Riveros-Rosas at National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City thinks animals got the gene even earlier. By analyzing the DNA sequences from animals, he estimates ADH first appeared 450 million years ago. For those counting at home, that’s 310 million years before we needed it.

Riveros-Rosas’ new theory suggests animals evolved the gene to break down dopamine or other naturally produced hormones. ADH works faster on dopamine, and we probably got lucky it works on ethanol too. Unfortunately animals had to wait 310 million years before we could use the enzyme for our fun. Now that is a dry spell!

(Source: New Scientist)

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After several beers, you tend to think you’re a bit better looking than you are. Now researchers have scientific proof, you really are more attractive to females when you drink beer. The bad news is you’re more attractive to female mosquitoes.

How mosquitoes find dinner

Mosquitoes use olfactory cues to find their victims. Every person smells a bit different due to different hygiene, diets, or general health conditions. The more attractive the smell, the more likely you’ll be mosquito bait. Some studies have shown pregnant women attract mosquitoes, but I’m not sure what pregnant women and beer drunks have in common. Finding out why some people are more attractive to mosquitoes than others is important, because mosquitoes are vectors for diseases like malaria or West Nile virus. Determining what attracts mosquitoes and neutralizing the attracting scent can play an important role in preventing the spread of diseases. In a study titled Beer Consumption Increases Human Attractiveness to Malaria Mosquitoes by Thierry Lefèvre et al, researchers found people who drink beer smell better to mosquitoes. I guess the mosquitoes know a party when they smell one.

Beer makes you attractive to mosquitoes

25 of the human subjects were asked to drink a liter of beer, while 18 unlucky (or possibly lucky) subjects were given a liter of water. The researchers placed 50 adult female mosquitoes (Anopheles gambiae Giles sensu stricto) who had never eaten blood (read “very hungry”) in a cup downwind from both a subject and an open air vent. At a point in their flight, the mosquitoes have to choose between open air or human stink. The mosquitoes showed a preference for the subjects who drank beer.

This is the setup for the experiment. One of the paths led to the beery subject, the other led to fresh air. No beer drinkers were harmed in the experiment. (image from paper)

The mosquitoes were counted by the number motivated enough to fly upwind, and those smart enough to pick the path which led to a stinky human. Beer consuming subjects significantly motivated more mosquitoes to fly upwind. 47% of the total number of mosquitoes flew upwind for beer drinkers, compared to 38% flying upwind for water drinkers. Of the mosquitoes who flew upwind, 65% picked the correct path to the beery victim compared to 47% picking the path to the water drinking subject. For beer drinkers (and the mosquitoes), that sucks.

All of the subjects were tested before and after drinking their beverage, so it wasn’t just luck that the beer group smelled better. The increase didn’t happen until after they pounded the beer. Their CO2 production (breathing) and body temperature had no effect on attracting mosquitoes. The big question is “why beer”?

Why beer might make you more attractive

The study really doesn’t say why the mosquitoes prefer beer drinkers. It would be interesting to see if the results are the same after consuming a shot of vodka. Since they mention pregnant women are more attractive to mosquitoes than other human snack bars, I wonder if the attraction is hormonal. There are hormones in hops, so that could be a link. A test with vodka could rule out this possibility. It is also possible multiple factors make some humans tastier than others, and hormones are just one attractant.

Lesson learned: when your at your next beer picnic, bring the DEET (N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamid).

(Source: Lefèvre T, Gouagna L-C, Dabire KR, Elguero E, Fontenille D, et al. (2010) Beer Consumption Increases Human Attractiveness to Malaria Mosquitoes. PLoS ONE 5(3): e9546. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0009546)

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Pissed Pacyderms

Stories of drunk wild elephants have a long history in Africa. Supposedly elephants get sloshed by eating the fermented fruits of the marula tree. Hilarious footage of an elephant purportedly doing just that is included in the 1974 animal documentary “Animals are Beautiful People” but in 2006, researchers showed plowed pachyderms are just a myth. In the paper “Myth, marula, and elephant: an assessment of voluntary ethanol intoxication of the African elephant” published in Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, researchers calculated an adult African elephant would have to consume an unrealistic number of overripe marula fruits to get the job done and concluded “there is no clear evidence of inebriation in the field”. What explains the persistence of drunk elephant stories then? The lead author, when discussing the paper with National Geographic, explained: “People just want to believe in drunken elephants”—undoubtedly one of the funniest quotes ever in scientific journalism.

Drunk elephants are funny, but are there drunk elephants? (image from Olivier Delaere)

Elephants may not become intoxicated under natural conditions, but there is evidence elephants can develop a taste for human alcoholic beverages and turn into mean-ass drunks. There are many reported incidents of elephants in India seeking out and drinking human made rice beer. They subsequently tear shit up or even join the not so exalted ranks of drunken Darwin award winners by getting themselves killed. In 2004, a group of elephants reportedly drank rice beer in a remote Indian village, started getting rowdy, and knocked down an electrical pole on themselves, killing 4 of them (God who had to clean that up?).

Blitzed Birds and Skunked Shrews

The only thing more dangerous than driving while drunk is flying when drunk. There are many, many reports of birds —cedar waxwings in particular—getting smashed figuratively and literally on berries that have fermented. Getting drunk for birds often ends the same way it can for humans, that is to say, badly. The most common reports are of drunk birds flying right into buildings/windows or passing out, falling from trees and dying from the impact. I could find little evidence that birds ever get drunk for fun; it happens by accident when berries ferment under certain conditions and the birds are unable to distinguish a fermented berry from a normal one. Symptoms of drunkenness in birds can mimic symptoms of sickness from illness such as the bird flu, which as you can imagine, really freaks people out.

There is very little evidence that the vast majority of animals seek out and consume ethanol when it occurs naturally. This makes sense as animals do not have the infrastructure to protect them from their own bad decisions—such as police officers, ambulances, hospitals, and stomach pumps. If Jonny roadrunner eats fermented cactus fruit, gets smashed and passes out in the middle of Southern Ave in Tempe, Arizona, there won’t be any cadre of his fellow birds picking him up, he’ll be killed. Contrast that to the college student that once shared an emergency room with me with a near fatal blood alcohol content of 0.4 found under the same circumstances—he lived—thanks to the diligent work of his fellow humans. Animals don’t have that luxury. There are studies in fact, that show when fruit bats get accidentally intoxicated, they seek out a type of sugar that helps them sober up faster. We know that’s not the case with frat boys.

Despite this, there are a few animals that have been found to naturally consume ethanol, in particular a Malaysian treeshrew that likes to drink the fermented nectar of the bertam palm tree. However, the tippling treeshrew does not show any observable signs of drunkenness (where’s the fun in that?). Researchers theorize that the ethanol still has some type of pleasurable neurological effect the shrew gets in exchange for acting as a pollinator for the tree.

Sober Primates (excluding us)

So what about our closest relatives, other primates? Turns out they are part of the temperance movement. Katharine Milton, a researcher looking into the evolutionary history of human fondness for ethanol, conducted a survey of primatologists covering 22 different primate species. Specifically she asked at what stage of ripeness monkeys preferred to eat fruit. Not one out of 22 species preferred overripe fruit (fruit with the most ethanol), and it appeared all species in fact, studiously avoided the ethanol containing fruit. Asked if any primatologists had ever observed what appeared to be intoxicated behaviors, only two incidents out of combined thousands of hours of observations were reported, leading the researcher to hypothesize that drunkenness in primates happens very infrequently. This makes sense as a drunk monkey is more likely to end up a dead monkey.

So what does sobriety in our closest relatives have to say about the human predilection for drinking ethanol till we puke? Alcoholic consumption is most likely cultural instead of biological. “As cultural animals, humans have little innate nutritional wisdom,” says Milton, “and for this reason may have unusual difficulty in determining when it is prudent to quit ingesting ethanol”. No shit, right? See prime example above of drunken- passed-out-on-Southern Avenue Arizona frat boy. Our fondness for the stuff, according to Milton, is also apparently fueled by existential angst. “Humans also appear to be the only animals with a highly developed sense of self-awareness and thus they may be the only animals that might wish to escape from their own consciousness”. Having on more than one occasion used alcohol for this exact reason, couldn’t have said it better myself.

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Lately there are two reports circling the globe on the Internet.  One says an alcoholic drink a day will help you live longer, the other says a drink a day increases your risk to cancer.  Not sure who do believe?  I’m not sure either.  Here’s a tale of two drinks.

Is the glass half-empty or half-full? Will a glass a day kill you?

It was the best of beers…

In the March issue of Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, the study Functional Limitations, Socioeconomic Status, and All-Cause Mortality in Moderate Alcohol Drinkers (2009) found that moderate alcohol consumption reduced mortality rates significantly by 28% compared to those who abstain from alcohol.

The study followed more than 12,000 people aged 55 or older over the course of four years.  The researchers asked the subjects questions about their lifestyle including their alcohol habits, age, gender, race, smoking, and obesity.  They also took into account any comorbidities the individual might have.  The researchers then counted the people who died before December 31, 2006, and examined the different lifestyles in detail.

The researchers controlled for the various factors which could influence early death, and found moderate drinkers maintain their survival advantage even after adjustment for these factors.  This study suggests those who drink moderately live longer.

The researchers also found one drink or less per week had no advantage.  Most studies, including this one, show the “sweet spot” is one to two drinks per day.  Before you go out to hit the bars, the study also showed consuming three drinks or more per day increased your risk of death by 11%.

It was the worst of beers…

Now if you can remember way back to January of this year (a long time ago I know) you might remember the story floating around the Internet which said consuming one drink increased your risk for cancer.  This came from an expert report published in 2007 called WCRF/AICR Food, nutrition, physical activity, and the prevention of cancer: a Global Perspective by the World Cancer Research Fund.  The claim was extrapolated from the charts for bowel and liver cancer to estimate the risk associated with 2 units of alcohol.

This report reviewed thousands of leading research studies relating to cancer prevention.  For alcohol they looked at many different studies from around the world and compared the results to see how many showed an increase or decrease in specific cancers.  You can look at it as an “average” of all selected studies.  The report claims none of the studies showed statistically significant contradictory results. Most of the studies did adjust for drinkers who smoked.

The report claims “the evidence is that alcoholic drinks are a cause of cancers of the mouth, pharynx, and larynx; the oesophagus; the colorectum in men, and the breast; and probably of liver cancer and colorectal cancer in women”.  The report states “there is no significant evidence that alcohol protects against any cancer” and there is no safe amount of alcohol.  One drink a day can put you at risk.

Now what?

I’d normally tend to think there was some cherry picking in the expert report, but the report looks very solid.  Over 200 scientists around the world were involved in creating the report.  The results were assessed by a panel of 21 scientists who were supported by observers from the United Nations and other international organizations.  It’s hard to find fault when the work is so thorough.

On the other hand the results in the expert study were extremely one-sided.  There have been so many studies demonstrating the health benefits of wine it’s hard to believe none matched the World Cancer Research Fund’s criteria for quality.  While the first study came out much later than the expert report, I know this is not the first study touting the benefits from drinking alcohol.  Search for “red wine resveratrol” on Google and see how many studies there are!

The differences are most likely in the goals of the studies.  The first study looked at how alcohol influenced lifespan, while the second study looked at how alcohol influences cancer rates.  I guess you could say a person who drinks alcohol increases their risk to cancer, but they live longer.

What are your thoughts?  Will a drink a day kill you?

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A new study to be published in the April 2009 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows moderate consumption of beer or wine increases bone density.  As you get older your bone density shrinks, so causation or a strong correlation with moderate consumption could help with an aging population.

The researchers found subjects who consumed 1-2 drinks had higher bone density than those who abstained.  The study also found the association was stronger with beer and wine than spirits.  The researchers believe other compounds such as resveratrol in wine or silicon in beer contributed to the increase in bone density, since the bone density did not increase more with spirits consisting of mostly ethanol.

They also found the benefit dropped off dramatically for men who consumed more than 2 drinks per day.  These men had significantly lower (3.0–5.2%) hip and spine bone density than men who had 1-2 drinks per day.  The researchers stated they did not know for sure if the same drop in bone density was demonstrated in women.  Having never heard of a sorority, the researchers claimed they were unable to find women who regularly over-indulged.

The study looked at bone density of men and women aged 29 to 86.  Most of the women in the study drank only wine.  This made it difficult for the researchers to make any claims about women beer drinkers and bone density.  The average age in the study was 61, so they were also unable to make any strong conclusions about the beer and wine effects on bone density in younger women.

The subjects were slightly heavier with an average BMI between 27 and 29.  The researchers did note only 4% of the post-menopausal women were on medication for osteoporosis (medication to increase bone density), while the rest of the men and women were not taking any medication.

(Source: Effects of beer, wine, and liquor intakes on bone mineral density in older men and women)

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Women are often looking for a way to increase the size of their breasts without resorting to painful surgery.  One of the crazier ideas I’ve heard recently to reach this goal is “drink beer”.  My first thought was to toss this one immediately into the beer myth category and forget about it, but being a man I figured it would be a good idea to do more research first.

The Bulgarian Boob Beer

When Bulgaria entered into the European Union (EU), men from all over Europe flocked to Bulgaria to buy Boza Beer.  One reason might be Bulgaria’s entrance into the EU which removed taxes and duties on the beer, making the beer cheaper.  The real reason is Boza Beer claims to naturally enhance the size of women’s breasts, and European men were more than willing to make the drive to help their ladies out.

Boza is a low alcohol wheat beer (calling it a beer is questionable).  It’s made with fermented wheat and is around 1% ABV.  There are four vitamins (A, B and E) and about 1000 calories per liter.  No one really knows which ingredient in the beer increases the breast size.  There are no studies which actually show any increase in breast sizes from drinking Boza Beer.  It’s all word of mammary at this point.

Why would you think beer increased breast size?

The reason behind the myth isn’t as crazy as it first sounds.  Beer contains small amounts of phytoestrogens, a naturally occurring plant compound similar to estrogen.  Hops are sometimes the ingredient in natural supplements sold to increase cup sizes.  Since beer contains hops, the hope is the phytoestrogens in hops are passed on to the beer and then to the breasts.

The specific phytoestrogen believed to be responsible for this breast enhancement is called 8-prenylnaringenin, but there are no studies linking 8-prenylnaringenin to bigger boobs.  The only study which comes close is an 1999 study which reported anecdotally “menstrual disruption” in female hop workers (Milligan, Kalita, Heyerick, et al., 1999).  That is not even in the same zip code as boobs.  Other studies attempting to link estrogenic effects with 8-prenylnaringenin are either seriously flawed or inconclusive.

If that wasn’t enough to write off beer as a breast enhancement method, most beers do not contain 8-prenylnaringenin in detectable quantities.  The highest concentration found was 19.8 μg/L (Tekel, Keukeleire, Rong, Daeseleire, and Van Peteghem, 1999).  At best only about 10% to 20% of the 8-prenylnaringenin in hops makes it to your beer.  Of course different beer styles and production methods can influence these numbers greatly.  I’m not sure the study included a super hopped IPA.  Regardless of how much makes it to the beer, the science doesn’t pan out.

Weight increase makes bigger breasts

Boobs are mostly fat.  One way to get bigger breasts is to get fatter.  Even in this case, beer would not be a good quick solution.  Most beers are around 110-140 calories, so you’d need to drink a significant amount for any immediate results (maybe 10+ to gain an extra 1000+ calories per day).  The health problems you would encounter would not make it worth the effort.  This, however, might be why Boza is touted as a breast enhancer.  Drinking one liter of Boza per day will not get you buzzed, but it will add 1000 calories to your diet.

The other possible path to larger mammaries was noted on a homebrew warning label I once saw: over-consumption of beer can lead to unintended pregnancy.  Pregnancy can cause breasts to swell, so in this case beer might lead to bigger boobs.  Your mileage may vary.

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Humans have been altering the genome of many plants and animals for thousands of years.  The wild “natural” grape still exists in parts of Eurasia and north Africa but bears only a passing resemblance to its relatives cultivated for the wine trade.  Wild grapes are dioecious , meaning male and female flowers are found on separate plants while the grape cultivars in wine production are hermaphroditic (having both male and female parts on the same plant).  In addition, grapes on wild plants are small and much lower in sugar content than their beloved cultivated cousins.

Hop growers constant release new hop strains with high alpha acids each year, but no one protests about this modification.

These significant biological changes may be a result of random mutations, selective breeding by humans, or most likely, both.  Humans select plants with the traits they most favor—larger grain size, larger grape bunches, more sugar content in grapes, and breed those plants together to encourage these traits.  This is called artificial selection and has touched and altered (many times very significantly)  nearly every cultivated crop and animal used by humans today.  Only recently, with the advent of biotechnology, have humans been able to alter the genome of plants and animals directly with genetic engineering—which generally means the insertion of a useful gene or trait from an unrelated source into another genome.   Although genetic engineering is essentially in its infancy, it is starting to be tested on the plant and microbial species used in beer and wine production.

Resistance is not futile

Currently, the most common application of genetic engineering in beer and wine ingredients is genetic alteration to confer resistance to some negative factor such as disease or herbicides.  Researchers from around the world at a variety of institutions are inserting genes for resistance in barley, hops, and grapes.

In barley, researchers have inserted a gene from a fungus which attacks other, damaging fungi in an attempt to provide some resistance to fungal root rot. Fungal root rot significantly impacts barley production, reducing yield, and selective breeding within the barley genome attempting to breed resistant strains hasn’t been very successful.  Field trials of this fungal resistant barley are currently underway in Germany.

A similar situation is occurring with hops. Powdery mildew is an extremely annoying and damaging fungal disease that is the bane of gardeners and hop growers alike.  Researchers are testing a genetically modified hop plant which has genetic material inserted from a soil bacteria to provide resistance to this disease.

How much of an organism's DNA are you willing to change for the perfect beer or wine?

Why would you want a plant to be resistant to herbicides?  Aren’t they supposed to kill plants?  Well yes, but only the plants you want to kill.  2, 4-D is a commonly used broad leaf (as opposed to grasses which are narrow leaf) herbicide commonly used in the Midwest on corn and other crops.  Unfortunately 2, 4-D also effectively kills grapes, even grapes a significant distance away from a sprayed field.   Researchers at the University of Illinois have inserted a gene from a bacteria that breaks down 2, 4-D into grape plants in an attempt to develop a 2, 4-D resistant grape vine. This would allow people who wished to grow grapes in heavily agricultural areas to do so without worrying their investment might be inadvertently destroyed.  This genetically modified (GM) grape is currently undergoing testing.

Other researchers are investigating and testing transgenic grape vines for fungal disease resistance. These vines have a gene inserted for an enzyme called chitinase—which degrades chitin, a main building material of fungus.  Early field trials in Germany however, show these genetically modified grape vines don’t show any more resistance to fungal infection than normal vines.  Research on this type of front however, is ongoing in different places.   Grape vines with disease resistance would translate to less use of the chemicals used to treat and prevent these diseases.

• Reseachers have genetically modified barley to be fungal resistant
• New grape vines are resistant to 2, 4-D, a common herbicide, so the vines be grown near agricultural areas
• Disease resistant crops would require less chemicals used on the grapes

Improving fermentation

The creation of some wine styles—including chardonnay—involves a secondary fermentation process that occurs after the primary fermentation (where grape juice is converted to alcohol by yeast).  This secondary fermentation, called malolactic fermentation, is accomplished by the use of a bacterial starter to convert malic acid to lactic acid, which creates a more pleasant mouthfeel  and a less “sour” taste in the wine.

The bacteria that mitigate this conversion are somewhat finicky about temperature, competition with other microorganisms etc.. so there are some frequent problems during this process including stalled fermentation which can result in spoiled wine (bad for everyone!).   Prior to the advent of biotechnology, wine yeast could not accomplish the conversion of malic acid to lactic acid as it lacks the enzyme to do so.
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Researchers at the Wine Research Center at the University of British Columbia however, have managed to genetically engineer a wine yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) that has the enzyme needed for malolactic fermentation—it was taken from the bacteria that usually performs this job (Oneococcus onei).  This genetically modified yeast, called ML01, is the first genetically engineered wine yeast approved for use by the Federal Drug Administration in the United States, and Health Canada in Canada.

Other genetic engineering efforts in regards to fermentation include the splicing of heat resistant bacterial glucanase genes into barley to improve the malting process.  Brewers malt barley by soaking the barley seeds in water to start germination.  During germination, enzymes convert the starches in the seed to sugars which can then be fermented.  Brewers must stop this process however, before the germinating plant starts to use the sugars for itself—which brewers do with heat.  Heating germinating seeds however, also stops the action of the enzymes doing the work the brewers want done.  Barley with more heat stable enzymes means they will continue to do the conversion work after the grains have been exposed to heat to halt germination, making the process more efficient.

• University of British Columbia modified yeast to ferment the wine and perform a malolactic fermentation at the same time
• Researchers are working on making barley heat resistant to improve malting

All wine grapes have been genetically selected for. Still places like France and South Africa are against genetically modified grapes.

The Specter of Frankenwine

To say there is opposition to genetically modified organisms would be an understatement.  Many groups and individuals (indeed, entire countries) have expressed concerns and opposition to the development and use of genetically modified plants, animals, and microorganisms—including all of the ones discussed above in relation to the production of beer and wine. Concerns include safety for human consumption, ethical concerns about corporate dominance in the food market, and potential environmental damage.

Proposed and ongoing field testing of genetically modified grapes has caused a stir in France and South Africa, with much of the opposition coming from existing wineries concerned about “genetic pollution”—the unintentional spread of genetically modified grapes by cross pollination, or by the distribution of GM grape seeds by vectors such as birds.  Wine is a product that depends heavily on idealized romantic notions of the interaction between humans and nature, and genetically modified organisms don’t fit in with many people’s ideas of this relationship.

This particular concern about genetically modified grapes seems to boil down to “they’re not natural”—a somewhat ridiculous argument considering the extensive manipulations humans apply to nature to produce wine now—artificial selection of grapes for generations, the application of herbicides and pesticides, the extreme soil disturbance of plowing, none of which is natural.  This also assumes natural automatically equals good, perhaps forgetting for the moment that hurricanes are natural as are kidney stones.

• Not everyone feels GM grapes are a good thing – especially France and South Africa
• Grapes have been selected and modified for centuries
• Grapes are rarely grown from seed, so cross contamination from pollination is very unlikely

Rational or not, it is the perception many consumers currently have of genetically modified plants; research for this article pulled up multiple articles from different sources mentioning the idea of “frankenwine” in relation to GM grapes.  Therefore, the concerns of the winemakers are understandable, any blow to the “natural” perception of their product could be damaging to the wine industry.  There is much less mysticism surrounding the production of beer, and as a result, less opposition to the use and development of genetically modified organisms in its production.   More testing will determine if other concerns, such as the health and environmental concerns raised by GM opponents, are valid.

Further Reading

• Functional Analyses of the Malolactic Wine Yeast ML01
• Historical origins and genetic diversity of wine grapes
• Barley, Beer, and Biotechnology

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A new study in “Journal of Psychopharmacology” found what all undergraduate blokes already know, female undergraduate students who drink find men more attractive than women who do not drink.  Researchers showed pairs of photos of 60 men to 45 women.  The women were asked to pick the more symmetrical face.  The study showed facial symmetry detection performance is inversely related to typical alcohol consumption.

Symmetry is hot

Facial symmetry is an indicator of how attractive a person appears to others.  The more symmetrical your face, the more attractive you appear to others.  If your facial features are symmetric, you’re likely to be free of genetic defects and you’ll make a good reproductive mate.  When you drink a beer (or other alcohol), your ability to determine the symmetry of a face is lessened.  This is the famous “beer goggle” effect.

Researchers Dr. Kirsten Oinonen and graduate student Roxanne Sterniczuk also found facial symmetry detection performance fell with the number of recent alcohol related hangovers, how often the subject blacked out in the previous month, and how frequent the woman consumed alcohol.  A correlation was found even for light drinkers.  A woman who had less than five drinks a month fared worse in the test than women who abstained.

If a cute girl is interested in you when she's drunk, it might not be because you're attractive

Beery women find more men cuter

An interesting note in their findings is similar results did not emerge for dot symmetry perception.  The beer goggling is specific to face symmetry.  This means women who drink do not lose their ability to discern patterns of symmetric and asymmetric dots; they just lose their ability to tell if we’re cute.  The findings suggest “the possibility of a neurotoxic effect of alcohol on facial symmetry perception ability in female undergraduate students”.
The most shocking finding is the test was performed on sober women.  The study showed women who drink are less able to determine facial symmetry, even when they are sober.  The drink you are buying her not only improves your chances, it helps other “less symmetric” guys look more attractive down the road.  The women are beer goggling long after the all-night bender.

Don’t know why, it just works

The researchers think alcohol is modifying the woman’s brain structure, but they do not know how long the effect lasts or if the damage is permanent.  The study only counted drinks within the past six months.  According to the study, “no previous studies have examined the effect of alcohol history on symmetry detection”.  I agree more research is required.

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Not since the famous “sky is blue” study have we seen something so shocking as the research soon to be published in the March issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

According to the study, people use different words to describe they are drunk.  Men are smashed or hammered, women are tipsy.  There ya go.

This is not anything new, but there is more to the report which states understanding how people describe their intoxication can help researchers better understand self-reporting research.  In short, when someone says they are sloshed the researcher can know just how drunk they were.

Are these girls drunk, tipsy, or hammered?

Different words for different drunks

For example, researchers found 222 of the women said they were “tipsy” after having an average of 4 drinks in a 2 hour period.  Four drinks in two hours for women are considered “binge drinking” according to the study author Ash Levitt.  A male might describe the same night as “hammered”.  Hammered sounds significantly more intoxicated than tipsy, even though both sexes might be describing similar experiences.

On the surface the findings sound interesting, but to extend their argument further, a male in England might say he was pissed while someone in the USA might say he was hammered.  Different words are used in different demographics.  Like I said earlier, the research findings are not earth shattering.

The researchers lumped the words people used into two groups – moderately drunk and stinking drunk.  The conclusion researchers suggest is to know the common words used and apply several choices of these words in future self-reporting studies.

Boys lie (so do girls)

Still anyone who has watched more than one episode of House knows people lie.  I do not think you can determine how intoxicated a subject was in the past based on self-reporting.  The experience is very subjective.

The amount of enjoyment the subject experienced can also color the evening.  I’ve seen people go quiet after two beers, and others who are the life of the party after two beers.  The first group might describe the evening as mellow, while others would describe the evening as wild.  There are studies showing people can unknowingly drink non-alcoholic beer and still act very drunk.

Researchers (and many sobriety checkpoints) have also shown drunks can not count.  They can’t even say the alphabet backwards or touch their nose.  Self-reporting the number of alcoholic drinks really cannot be trusted.  If they could, the iPhone would not be plagued with scores of beer counter applications.

What this means is you cannot reliably determine how intoxicated a person was by their recollection and you cannot determine the number of drinks they consumed.  You are left with just the different words used by drunks to describe the experience.

50 words to describe how drunk you are

To be complete, here are the words I know of to describe intoxication.  I expect a phone call for my grant money any day now.

(Source: ABCNews, paper)

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Researchers at the Helsinki University Central Hospital have found individuals born with a highly active version of the MAOA gene have a higher risk of impulse violence when drinking alcohol.  The MAOA gene produces an enzyme that breaks down chemicals in the brain which are associated with mood.  Too much of the enzyme mixed with alcohol creates a mean drunk.

The effect diminishes with age which is why you don’t see too many violent old drunks.  Older drunks just yell at imaginary kids on the lawn.

There's a gene that makes some drunks angry drunks

The researches discovered “the bad gene/angry drunk” connection by studying 174 Finish alcoholic male offenders with a history of violence.  The research will appear in the March issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

(Source: Telegraph.co.uk)

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Stampede Light is a pilsner containing vitamin B1 (Thiamine), vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), vitamin B3 (Niacin), vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid), vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine), vitamin B9 (Folic Acid) and Folate.  The beer has 115 calories, which is average for a light beer.  The (horribly designed) website for Stampede Light claims to add Vitamin Water to the beer after the brewing process.  I wasn’t able to find the actual amounts of each in the beer.

Is Stampede Light really a healthy beer? Jessica Simpson says so.

Are vitamins in beer really a new idea?

Adding vitamins to beer is actually not a new idea.  There are several beers in Europe experimenting with vitamin additives.  Even Stampede Light is not a new beer.  Stampede Light debuted in Texas back in 2005.  As far as I can tell, it is the first vitamin beer in the USA, but it is far from being the first vitamin beer.

In 2002 the Scotts looked into adding vitamins to their beers.  They wanted to investigate if there was any scientific evidence vitamin additives in alcohol could help reduce the number of alcohol related illnesses and deaths.  The reason the Scotts were looking into adding thiamine to beer was an Australian study.  Australian scientists claimed their research showed thiamine supplementation of beer was the most cost-effective way to prevent Wernicke-Korsakoff encephalopathy, which is a serious brain disorder resulting from a thiamine deficiency which occurs in alcoholics.

Back in 2003, British brewery George Gale and Co. listed their beers as “vitamin beers”.  The brewer submitted a review paper outlining the ingredients and the nutritional content of their beers.  Advertising watchdogs pointed out there was no evidence taking vitamins with alcohol had any health benefits.  They were forced to withdraw claims their vitamin beer had any of the health benefits listed on marketing materials and coasters.

Even Philippine brewer/inventor Billy L. Malang has rights to the name “Vitamin beer” and claims it as an invention.  The Thai beer won a gold medal at the European Union-sponsored Genius-Europe competition at the Budapest Fair Center in Hungary in May 2004.

The ironic thing is homebrew beer is rich in vitamin B.  Homebrew usually has some yeast in the beer, and yeast is a good source of vitamin B.  Many believe the rich source of vitamin B in homebrew protects drinkers from hangovers; however, hangovers can have many sources.

• Vitamin beers have been around for a while
• Stampede Light debuted in 2005 – only Jessica Simpson is new to the beer
• Vitamin B is already in beers which contain yeast

Are vitamins in beer a good idea?

Are vitamins in beer a good idea?

A study released this month in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed folic acid and vitamin B supplements not only do not help the heart, they may cause problems.  Subjects received realistic daily oral treatments with 0.8 mg folic acid, 0.4 mg vitamin B12, and 40 mg vitamin B6.

The study ended early because the scientists said “we could not detect any preventive effect of intervention with folic acid plus vitamin B12 or with vitamin B6 on mortality or major cardiovascular events.”

They reported no positive effects from taking vitamin B, and they saw a slight increase in cancer in the test subjects.  Another Norwegian study also noted an increase in cancer from vitamin B supplements.

Yikes!  And we’re putting this in beer?  There are other studies showing vitamin supplements are a bad idea, however, these are ones specifically citing vitamin B.  It looks like adding vitamin B to beers is not a good plan.  I’m not saying vitamin supplements are all bad, some people have medical needs to supplement vitamin deficiencies.  Single vitamin supplements should be taken by the direction of a doctor.

• Pyridoxine (B6) is dangerous in high amounts
• Studies suggest vitamin B suppliments have no benefit, and might be harmful

Is this just a marketing gimmick?

Most beers with some yeast contain vitamin B already.  I guess you could pass any unfiltered beer as a “vitamin beer”.  I think where it could get dangerous is when you are adding more vitamin B to the beer than normal.  Any vitamins over your daily requirements will usually pass through your system, but the studies above suggest it could actually harm you.

Vitamin sales in the USA are at all-time high as Americans look for quick fixes to health problems.  More is not better in the case of vitamins and there is little to no research showing health benefits for vitamin supplements.  Unfortunately the vitamin industry is not regulated by the FDA, so they can claim almost anything they want (with the exception of treating a specific disease).

It really looks like Stampede Light is just a marketing gimmick.  If you’re selling something for your health, wouldn’t a scientist make a better spokesperson than Jessica Simpson?  Anyone who knows Chicken of the Sea is tuna might make a better choice than Jessica Simpson to preach nutritional values.

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A study by Dr. Leon A. Greensburg, professor of physiology at Yale University, proves with numbers it is impossible to get drunk on beer.  His point is the stomach cannot hold enough alcohol to possibly become intoxicated.  He’s a professor at Yale with the numbers to back his claim; we have to take him at his word right?

A new definition of intoxication

The good Dr. Greensburg states people will only exhibit abnormal behavior if their blood alcohol content is above 0.15 percent.  This number is higher than most state legal limits.  Most states will consider you under the influence if your blood alcohol content is somewhere between 0.05-0.08 percent.  You are intoxicated if your blood alcohol content is above 0.10 percent.  At 0.15 percent, you are loaded.

• 0.08 is usually considered “under the influence”

What is the doctor drinking?

The next problem with this study is the Greensburg’s choice of beer.  He must be shopping at the grocery store for his beer (in Colorado supermarkets cannot sell beer over 3.2% ABV).  He states the average beer content in America is 3.7%.  In order for your blood alcohol content to be 0.15 percent, you would need 2.5 quarts of the 3.7% beer in your stomach.  The reason he believes you cannot get intoxicated is because the stomach only holds 1.5 to 2 quarts.  Your stomach cannot hold the required amount of beer to become intoxicated.

Of course the beer alcohol content chosen is key to his thesis.  There are very few beers with an alcohol content this low unless you live in a weird place like Colorado where they sale 3.2% ABV beer in grocery stores.  Most beers are between 5 and 6 percent alcohol by volume.

• Try this experiment with Avery beers, and you will get a very different result
• Coors Light and Bud Light are both 4.2% ABV.  A six-pack of these low alcohol beers will give you a BAC of 0.112 in one hour.
• Most beers are 5% ABV or higher. A six-pack of Fat Tire will give you a BAC of 0.146.

How many beers of normal strength would you need to consume to get drunk?

Ever been to a kegger?

Further more he states the body destroys or eliminates beer at 1/3 quarts per hour.    That is an interesting claim I haven’t heard before.  Alcohol is absorbed much quicker into your system than the rest of the beer.  Usually you eliminate or metabolize 5-10% of the consumed alcohol in an hour.  You might eliminate 1/3 quarts of something, but most of the alcohol is staying inside you.

According to Dr. Greensburg, a person would need to drink more than three quarts of the beer within one hour.  He says this amount was “physiologically unnatural”.

“Unnatural”?  I seriously have a hard time believing this professor spent any time on a college campus.  Ever hear of the beer bong?  Beer pong?  (Hey!  That rhymes!)  Andre the Giant was reported to have 119 beers in six hours.  That is a beer every three minutes.  While most average sized men cannot match this pace, you’d be surprised how much you can stuff into a stomach.

• The study assumes the expelled liquid contains the same ABV content
• You can drink 6 beers in an hour

When was this study again?

Here is the clincher.  This study happened back in 1955.  Why on earth are people reporting it now?  The legal limit back in 1955 was 0.15 percent, which is probably why he chose the number as “intoxicated”.

You can try to claim “I only had 6 beers” in court, but the judge isn’t likely to be lenient.  The current legal limit is 0.10 for legal intoxication.  Drinking some where between three and four Fat Tire beers will put you “under the influence” and five will put you well over the legal limit.

Next time you read a study claiming something too good to be true, you might want to read it closer.

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If you drink wine to excess, it may be the worst choice for you.  Researchers (psychiatrists) found a region of the brain in alcoholic wine drinkers was more damaged than the same region in alcoholics who prefer beer or spirits.  This is the first known research that studied alcoholics with a beverage choice.

Do winos have smaller brainos? What do you think?

The hippocampus–not to be confused with much larger, and purpled hippopotamuses– shrinks more in wine drinkers with an alcohol dependency than other drinkers.  The researchers reported in the medical journal Alcohol and Alcoholism the hippocampus is up to 10% smaller in wine alcoholic brains than normal brains

A smaller hippocampus will cause memory loss, navigation and spatial awareness problems (basically the same as drunkenness).  The hippocampus is also the first area affected by Alzheimer’s.  Women are more likely to drink wine than men, and according to the study, are also more likely to suffer the damaging brain effects.

The important information to take away from this research is over indulging to the point of alcoholism is bad.  The situation is worse if you are a wino (perhaps, hence the term), and can cause lasting damage to your body.  The people the researchers studied were not your wine with dinner crowd.  These people were diagnosed alcoholics.  So if you were planning to drink large amounts of wine to gain longevity, think again while you still can.

(Source: independent.co.uk )

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We have all seen the stereotype – fat beer guzzler, with a large protruding gut that would put Santa to shame.  The beer gut is first called “the freshman 15” (or more) when you are in college.  Later people call it for what it is, the beer gut.  The question is, can beer really give you a beer gut?

Research shows it’s the calories, not the beer

In 2003, the Journal of Nutrition published a study to examine this very question.  Scientists followed more than 2,300 drinkers and non-drinkers aged 35 to 79.  They measured the body-mass index (BMI) and the abdominal height of each subject.  The abdominal height is the distance from your spine to the top of your abdomen (how far your tummy sticks out).

Scientists at the University of New York at Buffalo found wine drinkers who had one glass a day tended to have the smallest gut, smaller than non-drinkers on average.  The scientists did also note that the wine drinkers tended to exercise more.  Beer drinkers had no more or less tummy fat than the non-drinkers on average.  Spirit drinkers were the chunkiest of the group.  Maybe we should start calling the beer gut the vodka gut.

Moderate drinkers have smaller stomachs

Researchers also found drinking affected the belly fat of drinkers who drank sporadically more than drinkers who drank regularly.  Drinkers who drank 1 to 2 drinks per day generally had smaller guts than those who drank 1 to 2 drinks per week.  The biggest surprise was  frequent moderate drinkers had smaller stomachs than non-drinkers on average.

So beer does not give you a beer gut, and there is some evidence that moderate regular drinking actually helps your beer gut.  Of course, if you are drinking heavy or large amounts of spirits all bets are off.  Your best bet for the Super Bowl is to have a couple, but don’t go crazy – unless your team wins.  You can always try again next year!

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It seems almost silly at this point.  Red wine seems to cure everything.  Red wine has compounds linked to longevity , cancer cures, and a whole slew of other cures.  Now a recently published study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry finds that there are compounds in red wine that can fight tooth decay.

Is the next big thing wine mouthwash?

The problem with most mouthwashes is that that they kill beneficial bacteria and bad bacteria alike.  Researchers from University of Rochester Medical Center and Cornell University found that the grape pomace (stuff left over after you press the grapes) reduces harmful mouth bacteria by 70 percent to 85 percent.  They tested whole grape extract and grape pomace, but found that the pomace was most effective.

The compounds in the wine that retard the growth of harmful bacteria are known as polyphenols.  The scientists believe the compound prevents the bacteria from producing enzymes necessary for glucan production.  In short, they can’t reproduce.

The scientists are not recommending that we gargle with wine (oh well), but they do believe they can find the compound responsible and include it in a mouthwash.  They also added that wine is acidic and would reduce tooth enamel.

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For those of you that are unfamiliar with this compound or research, this is the anti-aging cure-all compound based on resveratrol – the substance in red wine.  Resveratrol triggers the SIRT1 gene, which helps regulate lifespan.  Unfortunately the dosage for resveratrol is about 400 glasses of red wine a day.  SRT501 is much more effective than resveratrol, but triggers the same gene.

Red wine grapes may hold the secret to living forever

Sirtris Pharmaceuticals tested SRT501 on 98 people with type 2 diabetes.  One third took a 2.5 gram dose of the drug, one third took a 5 gram dose, and a third took a placebo.   The drug was found to be safe in the initial trials, and improved glucose tolerance for the patients that took the drug.  Larger trials have already started.

The anti-aging effects cannot be tested yet, but the drug seems to be effective for diabetes – typically an age-related disease.  The drug may not be available until 2012, so we’ll have to stick with red wine until then.

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Unless the wine was treated with hydrogen peroxide (and thus ruined), the quick answer is yes.

All wines have sulfite in them.  In fact, white wine usually has more sulfites than red wine.  Sulfites are created naturally during the fermentation process.  After a wine has fermented it usually contains somewhere between 2 and 10 parts per million (ppm).

White wines are typically sweeter than red wines.  To stop the wine from fermenting the residual sugars, potassium metabisulfite is added to the wine to halt the fermentation.  This is why white wines typically have more sulfites than red wines

Most wines have additional sulfite added to protect the wine.  It doesn’t matter which country the wine is from, almost all wines have sulfites around 80 ppm.  Only the United States and Australia are required to note that sulfites were added.

Here's a bottle of Asti, and yes it contains sulfites

Wine is a food product, and without sulfites wine would not last long.  Organic wines without sulfite added have this problem, and do not last long on the shelves.  Sulfites act as a preservative to protect the wine from molds, oxidation, and spoiling.

There is no scientific link between sulfites and headaches, although many blame sulfites to cause red wine headaches (RWH).

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Warning: Contains Sulfites

Every now and then someone tells me they don’t like red wine and prefer white wine because the sulfites in red wine gives them a headache – commonly known as the Red Wine Headache (RWH).  The label “WARNING: Contains Sulfites” seems to justify their claim.  The question is do the sulfites in red wine really cause headaches?

Good luck at finding wine with no sulfites. It's a natural by-product, so all wine has it.

Sulfites are used as a natural preservative in wine.  The reason it is called a “natural” preservative is because sulfites are a natural byproduct of the fermentation process.  More sulfite is often added by the winery as potassium metabisulfite.  This added preservative allows the wine to age over many years; otherwise it would quickly turn to vinegar.  Organic wines have this aging problem.

All red wine contains sulfites, even the ones labeled “no sulfite added”.  So do all white wines – white wines have much more sulfite on average.  All wines contain 40-80 mg/liter of sulfites on average.  Organic wines contain less, but they still have sulfite in them.  You cannot make wine without making sulfites. It does not matter which country the wine originates from.  The US and Australia list sulfite warnings on their labels, but the Europeans are not required to do so.  European wines still contain the same amount of sulfites.

Sulfites are also used in dried fruit; no one claims that they got a headache from a bag of dried apricots.  Pancake syrup typically contains more sulfite than red wine.  The human body also produces sulfites through normal biochemical processes, about 1000 mg per day.

Some studies have shown that some people can have strong reactions to sulfites.  Slightly less than 1% of the population lacks an enzyme to break down the sulfites.  In comparison, peanut allergies affect about 4% of the population.

Research doesn’t support RWH/Sulfite link

For these people the inability to break down sulfites can be a life threatening problem – much more serious than a headache.  Symptoms typically include restricted breathing to varying degrees, especially in asthmatics prescribed steroids.  Skin rashes, itching or nausea are rarer symptoms, but headaches are not typically a symptom of sulfite reactions.  Despite the seriousness of some reactions, the FDA has reported only 19 sulfite related deaths since 1990.  None of these deaths were related to red wine.

Researchers in Australia studied a group of people who were very sensitive to sulfites.   The researchers gave these people a drink that contained 300 mg/liter of sulfites, much higher than the amount typically in red wine.  Only 4 test subjects out of 24 showed an asthmatic response.  None of the subjects responded adversely to drinks with 100 mg/liter. This study published in Thorax (2001 Oct; 56 (10):763-9), showed that “only a small number of wine sensitive asthmatic patients responded to a single dose challenge with sulfited wine under laboratory conditions. This may suggest that the role of sulphites [sic] and / or wine in triggering asthmatic responses has been overestimated.”

Even white wine has sulfites

Do we know what causes RWH?

This still does not answer the question about RWH.  The fact is no current peer reviewed medical research links sulfites to headaches.  This does not mean that red wine does not cause headaches for some people.  There is research that shows that red wine does cause headaches for some, the culprit however is not the sulfites.

Most recent medical studies believe that prostaglandins, hormone-like substances, may be responsible for the production of some types of pain and inflammation and could be the culprit in RWH. Herbert Kaufman, M.D. and Dwight Starr, M.D. from Mt. Zion Hospital and Medical Center showed a significant decrease in headaches in subjects prone to RWH and given prostaglandin inhibitors.

If you are still in doubt, try eating a bag of dried orange apricots.  These are heavily sulfited.  If you don’t experience the very rare headache, or the much more common respiratory problems, you are not sensitive to sulfites.  The best advice is to keep a journal of red wines that you try.  Note which wines give you a headache, and which wines that have no effect.  In the future, drink the red wines that do not give you a headache.

One last note, the headache you get from several wines the night before is called a hangover.  Those can be avoided by not drinking as much!

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Beer reduces kidney cancer

Researchers at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden found beer can reduce your risk for kidney cancer, and it isn’t a subtle reduction.  Averaging one to two beers a day will reduce your risk for kidney cancer by a whopping 40%!  855 kidney cancer patients, and 1204 cancer free subjects were studied, according to the study published in the British Journal of Cancer.  Researchers think it is the antioxidants and antimutagenics (a substance that can bond to cancer causing substances) present in alcoholic drinks are responsible for the health benefits.

There's a bit of health in every glass, in moderation

Beer reduces your risk of Alzheimer’s disease

In Spain, researchers found beer reduces your risk of Alzheimer’s disease.  They think the silicon present in beer protects against the effects of aluminum on the brain.  The study in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology reported “moderate beer consumption… could perhaps be taken into account as a component of the dietary habits of the population.”  The study was on mice given aluminum nitrate in their water.  They separated the mice into 4 groups, mice with beer, mice with silicic acid in water, mice with water, and a fourth group that was not given aluminum nitrate at all.  The mice with beer or silicic acid fared the best, having the least amount of aluminum in their blood.  It is not certain if the benefits extend to humans.

Of course, as usual, scientists state that the effects are only observed with moderate consumption.  The benefits drop off significantly after your second pint.  So here’s to your health!

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Something beer drinkers have known for centuries: Spanish researchers have shown that after exercising, beer is better for you than water.  The bubbles help to quench thirst, and the carbohydrates help replace lost calories.

The study asked 25 college students in Spain to do strenuous exercises (we’re guessing yard work for the scientists) in 104 degree temperatures.  To help them recover from the “strenuous exercises”, half of the college students were given water and the other half beer.  The recovery time for the students was slightly better for those that drank beer – proving a corollary, college students will work for beer.

There was some skepticism from British scientists (the same country that said beer was ok for preggers).  They pointed out that beer probably has the same effect as water, since the alcohol in beer is not at a “high enough concentration to produce a diuretic effect” (need to pee).

(Source: FoxNews)

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The Britain’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence released a study stating that their experts have found “no consistent evidence” that low-to-moderate alcohol consumption will pose any risk to the unborn child after the first trimester.  They did add CYA to their own report by adding that they could not rule out risk completely. They also mentioned that alcohol consumption might increase the risk of miscarriage during the first three months.

The Institute recommended that the soon-to-be-moms limit their consumption to 1.5 servings per day.  The report has caught many other countries by surprise (but British expectant mothers are delighted), since most research has shown alcohol consumption to be harmful.  Experts are still submitting recommendations, and the final report will be out next March.

(Source: Canada.com)

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The different taste buds are evenly distributed across the tongue and mouth

We have all learned in grade school science that different parts of the tongue detect different tastes.  The front of the tongue detects sweet or salty tastes, while the back of the tongue detects bitter flavors.  You might have even performed the experiment as a child where someone drops different flavors on your tongue using an eye dropper as a science experiment.  A recent popular video podcast (one which I like very much) even mentions that you should swallow beer while tasting it in order to allow the bitter flavors of the beer to be stronger.  The tongue map is often pulled out to give wine or beer tasting that scientific credibility.  The problem is: its crap.

No science for tongue map

You'll see this tongue map repeated in many places, but it still isn't true

There is little scientific basis for different parts of the tongue discerning different flavors, and no scientific basis for the regimented tongue map.  The confusion comes from a mistranslation of a German text by Harvard psychologist Edwin G. Boring (what a great name) in 1901.  The myth was debunked in the 1970s, but for some reason it will not go away.

How does the tongue work?

In reality, the whole tongue and parts of the mouth are capable of distinguishing all different flavors.  Some people are better at this than others, and the ability follows a typical bell curve.  About 25% of the population is considered supertasters, while 25% are sub par.  Women are more likely to be supertasters.  Women are often employed as quality tasters in breweries and wineries for this reason.  Asians, Africans and South Americans are also more likely to be supertasters.

Your taste buds, called fungiform papillae, give you the ability to taste.  It is thought that supertasters have more taste buds than average, but it still requires more research to be sure.  A heightened ability for taste would be beneficial in some regions of the world, but could be a liability in others.  The buds can differentiate five flavors: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami.  Umami is a Japanese word meaning “savory”, and was identified by a Japanese researcher in 1908.  Umami applies to the detection of glutamates – meats, cheeses, or other heavy protein flavored foods.  It is also why MSG (monosodium glutamate) makes food taste better.  Each taste bud has about 100 flavor receptors.  The distribution of which type of flavors the taste bud can determine varies, but the distribution does not match the tongue map at all.

So next time a tasting expert trots this cliché out, correct the expert – tongue in cheek!

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