Brain mechanism that drives us to eat glucose

Scientists have discovered a mechanism in the brain that may drive our appetite for foods rich in glucose and could lead to treatments for obesity. Glucose is a component of carbohydrates, and the main energy source used by brain cells. By studying rats, a team at Imperial College London identified a mechanism that appears to sense how much glucose is reaching the brain, and prompts animals to seek more if it detects a shortfall. The researchers believe it may play a role in driving our preference for sweet and starchy foods. The study, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council , is published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Dr James Gardiner , from the Department of Medicine , who led the study, said: "Our brains rely heavily on glucose for energy. It's clearly a very important nutrient, but in our evolutionary past it would have been hard to come by.