Have you ever wondered why some foods taste good to you but make other people want to gag?
Our taste buds pick-up sweet, sour, salty and bitter flavours.
The more taste buds we have the more intensely we experience flavour…and this happens to be especially true for bitterness.
There are 25 different genes involved in detecting a bitter flavour. But not all of these genes are active in everyone. The number of genes active will often affect what the person thinks tastes good or bad.
The Age Issue…
Humans lose taste buds with age and so it is possible that we can better tolerate, or maybe form preferences for certain foods later in life.
We also don’t just taste with our taste buds…
The old saying, “we eat with our eyes, not our stomachs” is true…but probably not complete.
Yes, foods that look good to us tend to be more appetizing.
But what about our other senses?
How food feels in our mouth is important.
Food texture is an issue for a number of people not tolerant foods that are slimy, or maybe even the texture of fruits and veggies.
Sense of smell is even more significant. It is very closely connected to our sense of taste (think about how holding your nose affects the flavour of food).
Our nose can actually recognize 10,000 odours. If the food in front of us smells like our old gym shoes, are we likely to put it in your mouth?
No stinkin’ way!
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