Have you ever wondered why cilantro tastes like soap to 10% of the population,1 or why pregnant women suffer from food aversions2, or why children are such picky eaters?3 Although seemingly random, all of these are related by the origin of our complex sense of taste.
Taste was a necessary evolutionary tool to prevent our hunter-gatherer ancestors from eating poisonous foods.4 The five basic tastes- bitter, salty, sour, sweet, and umami (savory) each work through specialized receptors on our taste buds to ensure our survival.5 However, in modern times they may be leading us down the wrong path.
The processed food industry pays close attention to the science behind our taste receptors and uses the information to create products that optimize the “bliss point”, defined as the ideal concentration of flavor to maximize sensory pleasure.6 Through the chemistry of food science, the use of poor quality, inflammatory fats7 and a heavy amount of sugars,8 commercial food producers have preyed on our taste perceptions encouraging individuals to seek out nutritionally inferior foods. This disregard for the origins of our sense of taste is a prime driver of increasing levels of type 2 diabetes, obesity, and other related diseases fueled by a diet consisting of too many modern foods.9
Ironically, our hunter-gatherer ancestors couldn’t risk making poor food selections that led to eating low nutrient and energy content foods, or to the potentially lethal ingestion of toxins. However, in modern times, we are being led by food manufacturers to make those empty food choices and are slowly suffering the consequences of choosing foods that aren’t fit to eat.
The impact of these engineered foods start early as taste perceptions begin to form early in life with both amniotic fluid and breastmilk comprising flavors reflected by the foods, spices, and beverages eaten by the mother.10
The Paleo Diet, devoid of refined sugars and salt, can help reset our taste buds to be more inline with our genetics and to fully appreciate the variance of fresh foods available to us. It is never too late to become a more adventurous eater and rediscover foods in their unaltered state. The Paleo diet can help you appreciate the sweetness of grapefruit, the bitterness of kale, and the umami of veal stock.
