Research
Adherence
The association between sweet taste and sugar content is weaker in ultra-processed foods compared to unprocessed foods, potentially due to the use of non-saccharide sweeteners.
Be aware that sweet taste in ultra-processed foods does not always correlate with high sugar content. Manufacturers may use non-saccharide sweeteners to maintain sweetness while reducing sugar, which can disrupt your body's ability to predict energy intake based on taste alone.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
The association between sweet taste and mono- and disaccharides was stronger among unprocessed foods (r = 0.72; 95% CI: 0.59, 0.82) than among ultra-processed foods (r = 0.42; 95% CI: 0.25, 0.56).
Why this rating
Statistically significant difference in correlation coefficients across processing categories.
Source
Taste of Modern Diets: The Impact of Food Processing on Nutrient Sensing and Dietary Energy Intake
Pey Sze Teo et al. · Journal of Nutrition · 2021
DOI 10.1093/jn/nxab318
cross_sectional · n=7011Cited 37×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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