Are You A Supertaster?
By Better Health Research Team • Jul 29th, 2010 • Category: Health E-Hint
If you love salt, then you could be genetically programmed to crave these salty foods. According to research from the University of Connecticut, people with heightened taste perception are known as supertasters. These people possess a gene that enables them to taste the bitterness of a chemical called propylthiouracil (PROP). With this increased taste recognition for bitterness, supertasters often consume more salt and sugar to counterbalance the bitterness.
“Supertasters also perceive more saltiness in table salt, more sweetness from sugar, more burn from chili peppers, and more tingle from carbonated drinks,” said food scientist John E. Hayes in an online health report.
This also means that most supertasters consume large amounts of sodium. In order to help reduce the chances of sodium overload that could lead to heart disease, researchers recommend reduced-salt foods, or replacing common table salt with all-natural sea salt.
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