India

This is really a curious thing and a very interesting article. We did a taste test last spring, and we noticed that the picky eaters were the most sure of tastes.

MedIndia - India

Sensitive Taste Buds Can Be The Blame for Lil'One Not Eating Vegetables

A new study has concluded that preschool children who are sensitive to bitter flavors are very likely to be among those who do not eat vegetables.

The researchers publishing their study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, have explained that their findings suggest that the naturally sensitive taste buds help explain why some children are so staunchly opposed to vegetables.

The researchers had explained that their experiment that was conducted on 65 preschool children had found that among those children who were very sensitive towards bitterness were most likely to eat fewer vegetables. They found that some of them even hesitated for eating not only bitter vegetables, like broccoli and olives, but also those that were sweeter like carrots and red peppers.

It was explained that in recent years, scientists have identified a gene, now known as ‘TAS2R38’, which controls a receptor for bitter flavor.

Reports also showed that a study published last year found that children with a few difference of that gene are particularly sensitive to tastes, and they were able to detect even a very small amount of a bitter-tasting compound when added in water.

The researchers found in their current study, when tested in the same way, 37% of the children said that the water tasted ‘yucky’ or bad, while the remaining claimed not to have tasted anything, and were considered as ‘nontasters’.