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Hate the taste of certain vegetables? It could be in your genes…

14/11/2019

Hate the taste of certain vegetables? It could be in your genes…

New research suggests that some people have an inherent dislike of certain vegetables.


According to the study by Dr Jennifer Smith and colleagues from the University of Kentucky School of Medicine, inheriting two copies of the unpleasant taste gene provides a "ruin-your-day level of bitterness" to foods such as broccoli and sprouts.


The research could explain why some people find it really difficult to include certain vegetables in their diets. The team’s findings could also provide some explanation as to why beer, coffee and dark chocolate taste unpleasant to some people.


Everyone inherits two copies of a taste gene called TAS2R38, which basically allows us to taste bitterness. However, people can inherit different variants. People who inherit a variant called AVI aren't sensitive at all to bitter tastes. Those who inherit one copy of AVI and another called PAV do experience bitter tastes, but not to extremes. That super-sensitivity for bitter foods is found in people who inherit two copies of the PAV variant - often called "super-tasters".


Of the 175 people studied, those with two copies of the bitter taste PAV gene variant ate only small amounts of leafy green vegetables.


Speaking to medics at a meeting of the American Heart Association, Dr Smith said: “You have to consider how things taste if you really want your patient to follow nutrition guidelines”.

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