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Comment by acituan | Hacker News Reader

A similar anticipatory mechanism exists for thirst quenching. We feel a decrease in thirst the moment we drink water but in reality it takes tens of minutes for the osmotic landscape to change with that newly ingested water.[1]

I also think it is overeager to take this result and run with it to condemn artificial sweeteners. It has been known for long that they can indeed increase cravings and cautioned against for dieters. However, the initial intake of food is only one part of the glucose metabolism. How much actual glucose is left in your bloodstream, muscles and liver (in the form of glycogen) will keep effecting your energy metabolism for days if you've ingested real, bioavailable sugars, with all the downstream consequences e.g. for weight loss.

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6014472/

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I remember my old track coach using this during practices.

We would swish the water around in our mouths to get rid of that bad taste you get when you’re thirsty, but he always warned us that the second we swallowed too much that practice was over because you get a stomach ache if you sprinted with all that water sloshing around.

I have a theory that it isn't actually the water causing the ache, but rather the air that you drink while drinking the water. I've tried it and it works. See for youself: you have to drink a little bit differently (turn the water bottle upside down and be careful when drinking not to get air in. if you do, turn your head up and make sure you are only swallowing water.)

I think both you and the parent post are correct. I heard similar advice playing soccer: when you drink water during a game, what you usually do is drink it fast (and in a hand wavy way where the bottle is in the air). So the speed allows for more water and air, and thus you feel cramps. If you were to drink it slowly, which will reduce the air most likely, then you have less risk, but as a kid playing soccer, the urge to go back to the field is is too great. :)

Absolutely. This is worse when eating soup. You'd have to be veeeery careful when eating soup with a spoon. I always hated eating soups as a kid coz I'd feel so bloated after.

Anecdatally there is also one related to cramping. Putting suitable foods in one's mouth and then spitting it out can/will [EDIT: end] even severe cramping, despite never actually consuming anything. Apple cider vinegar and pickle juice both work well for this purpose.

Sorry, I don't have a citation for this, but it is broadly known in the ultra-endurance sports world, and among some parts of cramp research.

Ever since I read a study about ghrelin production changes in response to tasted, but not swallowed fat, I've stayed away from artificial sweeteners.

It doesn't seem like a good idea to mess with our feedback mechanisms.

Also the sweeteners taste gross and unnatural. I don't understand why things have to be sweet. If you lay off sugar for a month, you'll be able to re-calibrate.

Nowadays I find cakes and many desserts unbearably and disgustingly sweet. I conclude that that's because they are. If you're cooking something and the recipe asks for adding a full cup of sugar (or more) you should question how you got to that point.

Do you feel the same with food that is both sugar and fiber, such as fruits? My understanding is that the fiber slows down the metabolism, and thus the sugar is processed much slower.

Not the OP here but there's two things to that. As a European coming to America, you generally find the sweets here to be waaay to sweet. You get used to it though.

I also did Keto for a while though and after you've been on that and then you just eat something made from flower again not even with sugar in it it tastes sweet. That was eye openingly weird. Of course that goes away quickly if you start eating it regularly again even if in low quantities.

Yes, reminds me of a European court that ruled[1] Subway bread is not really bread because it contains too much sugar.

[1]https://www.npr.org/2020/10/03/919831116/irish-court-rules-s...

I'm fairly sure we evolved to cope with eating fruit.

We have a lot of feedback systems. I find I do the best when I don't push too hard in any particular direction. I try to let my needs guide my actions without too much deep introspection or trickery.

There are structures in our brains that served our ancestors well for millions of years, and I try not to out think them or get in their way.

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