Taste Sensations

Have you ever sucked on a raw lemon? Perhaps not recently, but maybe you did as a child. The answer to this health quiz is A. It is small children who sometimes crave sour tastes.

According to a recent study, sour taste preferences are more intense during childhood than in later years. This is because the intensity of taste preferences is greater during childhood and weakens during late adolescence. This is true for salty and sweet foods as well.

Many children, according to the study, go through a phase when raw lemons or tart sweets, such as sherbet, are their favorite food. Of the 35 children studied for the research, a third preferred the taste of extra sour gelatin flavored with more citric acid than is present in concentrated lemon juice.

The good news is that kids who favored sour tastes were found to be less picky in their eating habits and were less afraid to try new foods. They also relished a greater variety of fruits and vegetables. And why not raw lemons? The citrus fruit contains vitamin C, folate and other nutrients.

Resources:

More information, with diagrams, about how we taste food.

Sometimes our sense of taste can be impaired. Learn about some possible causes of smell and taste disorders.

People with a family history of alcoholism appear to taste sour and salty things differently than do people with no family history of the disorder, according to recent research.

July 19, 2003