I read an article this weekend that said 25% of people are supertasters, 50% are normal, and 25% are non-tasters. Supertasters have a high density of a certain type of bump on their tongues, and it makes them especially sensitive to certain foods. Bitter things are overly bitter -- thus explaining why it took me so long to learn to tolerate coffee and why I'm very picky about my beer, and why I can't stand vinegar or grapefruit or olives, and why there are so many vegetables that I dislike or merely tolerate (like broccoli and asparagus -- I always get strange looks when I say I don't care for them) -- and we tend to loooove sweets. From what I've read we can learn to eat anything we really decide to (so that's why I can eat spicy things when a lot of supertasters can't) but it takes effort. The best description I've seen so far is that supertasters go into a restaurant and look over the menu and most things just aren't quite right -- this describes me to a T. Almost everything has something I don't quite like, so there are usually just a few things for me to choose from.
I think Daniel is technically a non-taster, classified as people who can't taste phenylthiocarbamide. I'm not sure if that is the same thing they checked in his college bio class; he can't taste alka-seltzer, though, and that's just weird. But he loves foods so spicy they melt through the container.
Anyway. I was 140.0 this morning, which isn't too bad considering Thanksgiving (and a lot of junk food) were in the middle of the last week. I went for a 2.5 mile walk on Sunday (gorgeous weather), with Mary on her skooter and Xander on his tricycle, so they kept me hopping. Yesterday I didn't exercise, though. Today I'll do better! I've been eating candy again -- yesterday and Sunday in particular I couldn't keep out of it (see above, re: supertaster). Today I'm doing well, though; I've only had breakfast (cereal, milk, OJ) and a snack of a clementine and a few tastes of applesauce.
5 comments:
I took an online quiz to find out if I'm a supertaster and it said I was, but I don't entirely believe it. I think I'm just very picky, especially about texture as much as taste, and because they put onions in everything I can only eat about three things on any menu.
But here's an experiment you can do to find out for sure:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/body/articles/senses/tongue_experiment.shtml
I suspect Brian is a non-taster as well. How else do you explain him eating food that sat out in the hot sun all day without blinking and then getting violently ill? Or his bizarre liking for food so spicy that it makes my eyes water from across the room?
OK, that link didn't work. Trying again:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/body/
articles/senses/tongue_experiment.shtml
I had to put a line break in to get it to fit, so you'll have to cut and paste to get it to work. Sorry!
I saw that test and tried to do it without the food coloring but I nearly went cross-eyed. I don't want to try it or I'll end up with food coloring on my fingers and shirt and face, no doubt. I'm a big mess. I'll just wait until I find a blue lollipop or something!
I read an article years ago that said that men's sense of taste isn't as refined as women's. We can detect and identify spices and flavors WAY more readily than men - which also contributes to why more men like spicier foods. They don't TASTE the spices like we do. This is also true for their sense of smell (thus women saying people and things stink a lot more than men). I suspect it is true for ALL of their senses - including the common one. Women are just more evolved.
I've read that about men and women, too. I can detect the milk going bad at least a full day before Daniel -- he'll drink it down when it made me retch. Go figure.
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