High Sucrose Preference in Alcoholic Men

TO THE EDITOR: Alexey Kampov-Polevoy, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues (1) demonstrated an enhanced preference for sweet solutions in alcoholic men and suggested that this may indicate a generalized alteration in rewarding response to hedonic stimuli in those with alcohol dependence. Instead, their findings may reflect a chemosensory adjustment to the effect of alcohol on the olfactory system. Both acute alcohol intoxication (2) and chronic alcoholism (3) are associated with an impaired olfactory ability. Smell is approximately 90% of what is described as “taste” or flavor; hyposmic individuals perceive food as bland or tasteless (4). In order to compensate, spices and enhanced true taste (e.g., sugar) are added to food (5). Therefore, through a learned response paradigm, these alcoholic men may have developed preference for a higher concentration of sugars, even in the absence of other foods. Alternatively, because of chronic excess daily use of sugars, they may have induced an up-regulation of their sweet taste receptors, raising their sucrose threshold, and the associated sucrose hedonic curve (6).

Thus, preference for higher sucrose concentration in alcoholic men may just represent a behavioral compensatory response for those with alcohol-induced olfactory loss.