Does Cholesterol Affect the Way Your Respond to Bitter Toxins in the Gut?

When we think about high cholesterol, we think about all of the things associated with it: heart disease, atherosclerosis, and heart attacks. One thing you probably don't think of is cholesterol's connection with taste. A recent study has shown that cholesterol can actually affect the way in which your body reacts to bitter taste.

This research in mice has shown that the body often interprets bitter taste as something toxic in your small intestine. So, when you eat something bitter and you may spit it out because it tastes bad. Additionally, you may feel a little sick. This is entirely normal. Your body is telling you to stop eating what it is interpreting as toxic.

What the researchers also found was that cholesterol levels in these mice also played a role in the response of their small intestine to bitter taste. High cholesterol seemed to mask the bitter taste, and mice ingesting bitter foods did not get sick from them. On the other hand, mice with normal cholesterol levels or on cholesterol lowering medication did get ill after ingesting bitter foods.

This research was recently published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. While it was only done in mice, it does give us a little insight into some of the other effects - besides heart disease - that cholesterol has on our health.