I’m a Picky Eater Don’t Judge Me

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Yours truly is an annoying fussy eater. Yeah I’m guilty of flicking peas out of my pies. Sure, I order my fillet-o-fish without tartar sauce and yes I can’t seem to understand how morning goers flock to coffee like bees to honey (list goes on). I’m always the boring and unadventurous one. I do not enjoy sharing foods and I take too long to place a special order on my plate. I began to ponder why certain people over react to certain foods which many find acceptable. I found my answer when I stumbled upon bbc’s science article. People experience taste differently because of the varying number of taste buds they have on their tongue. Taste scientists divide people into 3 groups: 1. Non-tasters (25% population) 2. Medium tasters (50% population) 3. Supertasters (25% population) Whether you're a non-taster or a supertaster or somewhere in-between depends on your sensitivity to a bitter chemical called 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP). Non-tasters can't taste the bitterness of PROP at all. Medium tasters sense the bitterness but don’t mind it, while supertasters find the taste of PROP revolting. This bitter chemical is found in the flavonoids of healthy antioxidant fruits and vegetables. Flavonoids taste unpleasantly bitter to supertasters, so they try to avoid foods containing high levels of them. The supertaster gene could be a remnant of our evolutionary past, acting as a safety mechanism to stop us eating unsafe foods and toxins. Nowadays, the supertaster gene appears to affect people's wellbeing in other ways. Supertasters are more prone to cancer as they tend to avoid foods rich in antioxidant flavonoids such as broccoli, brussel sprouts. On the other hand, they tend to have a lower risk of heart disease, because they also shy away from overly fatty, salty and sugary foods. I'll have to learn how to share more and be less OCD with food. Article Source: Image Source: http://sekapporchard.com/shop/broccoli/