Summary: A new study has revealed how genetic variations in the SI gene, which affects sucrose digestion, influence dietary preferences and intake of sugary foods. Researchers found that individuals with limited sucrose-digesting ability, due to specific genetic variations, showed reduced sugar cravings and consumption.
This discovery opens up the potential to develop targeted treatments to reduce sugar intake on a population level, potentially reducing the incidence of obesity and type 2 diabetes. In studies, both mice and humans with impaired SI function consumed less sugar-rich foods, suggesting a natural link between sucrose tolerance and preference.
Key Facts:
- People with partial or total SI gene defects showed lower sucrose intake and preference.
- Lower sucrose tolerance in the gut could reduce cravings for sugary foods naturally.
- Targeting SI may offer new treatments for reducing sugar intake on a population scale.
Source: University of Nottingham
A study published in Gastroenterology provides novel genetic insights into dietary preferences and opens the possibility of targeting SI to selectively reduce sucrose intake at the population level.
The study was led by Dr. Peter Aldiss, now a group leader in the School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham, alongside Assistant Professor Mette K Andersen, at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research in Copenhagen and Professor Mauro D’Amato at CIC bioGUNE in Spain and LUM University in Italy.
It also involves scientists internationally from Copenhagen, Greenland, Italy and Spain as part of the “Sucrase-isomaltase working group.”
Dr. Aldiss said, “Excess calories from sugar are an established contributor to obesity and type 2 diabetes. In the UK, we consume 9–12% of our dietary intake from free sugars, such as sucrose, with 79% of the population consuming up to three sugary snacks a day.
“At the same time, genetic defects in sucrose digestion have been associated with irritable bowel syndrome, a common functional disorder affecting up to 10% of the population.
“Now, our study suggests that genetic variation in our ability to digest dietary sucrose may impact not only how much sucrose we eat, but how much we like sugary foods.”
The team of experts began by investigating the dietary behaviors in mice lacking the SI gene. Here, mice developed a rapid reduction in sucrose intake and preference. This was confirmed in two large population-based cohorts involving 6,000 individuals in Greenland and 134,766 in the UK BioBank.
The team took a nutrigenetics approach to understand how genetic variation in the SI gene impacts sucrose intake and preference in humans. Strikingly, individuals with a complete inability to digest dietary sucrose in Greenland consumed significantly less sucrose-rich foods while individuals with a defective, partially functional SI gene in the UK liked sucrose-rich foods less.
“These findings suggest that genetic variation in our ability to digest dietary sucrose can influence our intake, and preference, for sucrose-rich foods while opening up the possibility of targeting SI to selectively reduce sucrose intake at the population level,” says Dr. Aldiss.
“In the future, understanding how defects in the SI gene act to reduce the intake, and preference, of dietary sucrose will facilitate the development of novel therapeutics to help curb population-wide sucrose intake to improve digestive and metabolic health.”
About this genetics and diet research news
Author: Peter Aldiss
Source: University of Nottingham
Contact: Peter Aldiss – University of Nottingham
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“Sucrase isomaltase dysfunction reduces sucrose intake in mice and humans” by Peter Aldiss et al. Gastroenterology
