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Taste in our genes How genes affect what we eat
Table of Contents
1. The taste and smell are a close-knit duo
In biology lessons, it has been taught that there are tasting cups on the tongue that can recognize the basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour and bitter. In addition to the basic flavors, the taste cups are represented by so-called language maps, according to which the receptors for the sweet taste are located at the front of the language, the salty on the front side edges, the sour after the ribs, and the bitter over the nerves of the mouth. However, many of the basic flavours have been added to the brain, as they are produced by the acidic acid glutamate.2. Formation of taste preferences
The first taste buds appear at the eighth week of pregnancy. Around the twelfth week, the fetus begins to breathe in and swallow large amounts of fetal water. It has been shown that it already reacts to taste. Injecting fetal waters with sweet-tasting substances causes more intense ingestion in the genital area, whereas the introduction of bitter-taste substances causes this taste to develop (A. K. Ventura, J. Worobey 2013).3. Where do the differences in taste come from?
Early expansion of the diet and introducing the baby to new tastes is very important, however, it turns out that some taste preferences can be hereditary. In Europe it is 20%, and in South Asia there are only 7%. So the difference in some genes can cause different perceptions of certain tastes. Most people in the world find the taste of coriander to be pleasant, in Europe it's about 80%. The frequency of the presence of the gene responsible for picking up the flavor of coriandre as a soap varies depending on the ethnic group.4. Taste perception and a healthy diet
Taste perception can affect dietary choices. Other studies by E. L. Feeney and colleagues have shown that people with a stronger sense of sweetness are less likely to reach for sweetness than people who are less sensitive to it. A study by J. Overberg et al. among German children and adolescents shows that children who were diagnosed with obesity rated their sweetness intensity as lower than their peers with a healthy BMI. However, other studies conducted by EL Feeney et al., showed that people who still have a strong sense of bitter taste avoided certain vegetables and fruits, such as Brussels sprouts, capsules, spinach and other fruits of pregnancy.
