Two new studies show exposure to different tastes and loss of it may increase and decrease life expectancy.

Scientists with the University of Michigan as well as the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in Switzerland each published a study investigating the role of taste in the life expectancy of fruit flies and possibly humans.

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The studies, appearing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America earlier this week, showed that suppressing a fruit fly's sense of taste entirely had a dramatic impact on their life expectancy, regardless of actual food consumption.

Likewise, bitter tastes were found to decrease lifespan whereas sweet tastes increased it.

The taste of water had the biggest impact with flies unable to taste water living 43% longer than normal.

The studies suggest that the loss of taste has direct physiological consequences by the fly adapting to believe it's not getting enough nutrients.

Bitter tastes could have negative effects on lifespan, sweet tastes had positive effects, and the ability to taste water had the most significant impact - flies that could not taste water lived up to 43% longer than other flies.

It is believed the flies compensate by storing more fat in return for the apparent water shortage. Fat that is then used to produce water internally.

The research "brings us further understanding about how sensory perception affects health" says Scott Pletcher, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology at University of Michigan.

Prior studies in the field of sensory perception has found that it may influence health-related characteristics such as diabetes, aging and athletic performance, but these two studies are the first to conclusively link the sense of taste to physical health.

The sense of taste was previously known only to help humans and animals alike be attracted to foods believed to have certain physiological advantages. These new findings suggest that taste can also have a notable effect on aging.

By further research into the aging effects of taste, future studies may provide "new ideas to improve our health" says senior author Joy Alcedo, Ph.D. assistant professor of the Department of Biological Sciences at Wayne State University, formerly of the Friedrich Meischer Institute.

Lead author Michael Waterson, a Ph.D graduate student in the Cellular and Molecular Biology Program at University of Michigan, believes that this research may lead to tailored diets or even pharmaceutical compounds specifically designed to increase human lifespans.

As for bitterness and sweetness affecting life expectancy, further research is required to determine the underlying biological and physiological reasons.

TagsTaste, Lifespan, Life expectancy, University of Michigan, Friedrich Miescher Institute, Switzerland, Fruit flies, Diabetes