Discuss how the genetics of taste influences food choices. Why do you think humans evolved an ability to taste bitter compounds, such as those found in some plants?


Preference: Why do people like certain foods? One reason, of course, is their preference for certain tastes. Some tastes are widely liked, such as the sweetness of sugar and the savoriness of salt. Research suggests that genetics influence people's taste preferences, a finding that may eventually have implications for clinical nutrition. For example, sensitivity to bitter taste is an inherited trait. People born with great sensitivity to bitter tastes tend to avoid foods with bitter flavors such as broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, spinach, and grapefruit juice.

Humans may have evolved an ability to taste bitter compounds in order to avoid toxic bitter-tasting compounds in plants.

Nutritional Science

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Nutritional Science

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Nutritional Science