Do our tastes change as we get older?



Think back to when you were a kid and there was a type of vegetable you simply wouldn't go near let alone eat. It might have been broccoli, brussel sprouts or spinach for example. Or perhaps another type of food like seafood, which now as an adult you actually quite like. Or can tolerate at least. It's not a coincidence. There are scientific explanations for why our taste preferences evolve with time.



What tastes do children actually like most then?



Sweet and salty in particular. And it's possible that this is due to evolution. In concrete terms, human history has led us to be wary of bitter tastes and to seek out sweet tastes instead. That's because sugary foods are seen as attractive for their energy content, whereas bitterness is linked to substances found in toxic products. Hence the negative association and our inclination to avoid it at an early age.



Another explanation is that children live in different sensory worlds. To use the words of biopsychologist Julia Minella, as quoted by Discover magazine in March 2022, a lot of researchers think that children have a hypersensitive sense of taste. No doubt the fact that young children start out with 10,000 taste buds has something to do with it. A number which halves by the time we reach adulthood.



Does this hypersensitivity decrease with age then?



Indeed it does, and that process starts as early as in our teenage years. Our sensitivity to bitterness diminishes, we have less of a preference for sweet and salty foods, and our tastes become more complex as our senses of taste and smell evolve. Our brain starts perceiving flavors differently as we develop our taste experiences.



Taste buds die and regenerate approximately every 10 days, but as we age they don't regenerate at the same rate. That's why you see a gradual loss of appetite and food enjoyment in older people.



Do other factors play a role in changing our food preferences?



In general, our sense of smell gets less sensitive with age, which alters our perception of flavours. Taking certain medication, like those for high blood pressure for example, can also alter our taste. And as you've no doubt heard in recent years, certain viruses like COVID-19 can affect our senses of smell and taste.



Think back to our episode on anosmia, which refers to a loss of smell. The equivalent term for a loss of taste is agusia. Finally, dysgusia is a taste disorder characterized by a bitter or metallic taste in the mouth. It can change a person's sense of taste to the extent that they suddenly stop liking a type of food they used to love. There you have it.



词汇表

broccoli [ˈbrɒkəli] 西兰花，花椰菜

brussel sprouts [ˈbrʌsl spaʊts] 抱子甘蓝，球芽甘蓝

spinach [ˈspɪnɪdʒ] 菠菜

seafood [ˈsiːfuːd] 海鲜，海产食品

taste preferences [ˈprefrənsɪz] 口味偏好

in concrete terms [ˈkɒŋkriːt] 具体来说，具体而言

be wary of [ˈweəri] 对…保持警惕，提防

sugary food [ˈʃʊɡəri] 含糖食物，甜食

bitterness [ˈbɪtənəs] 苦味，苦涩感

negative association [əˌsəʊsiˈeɪʃn] 负面联想，负相联

inclination [ˌɪnklɪˈneɪʃn] 倾向，偏好，意愿

sensory world [ˈsensəri] 感官世界（指与我们的感觉器官相关的现象和体验）

biopsychologist [ˌbaɪəʊsaɪˈkɒlədʒɪst] 生物心理学家

hypersensitive [ˌhaɪpəˈsensətɪv] 高灵敏度的，非常敏感的

taste bud [bʌd] 味蕾

hypersensitivity [ˌhaɪpəˌsensəˈtɪvəti] 高灵敏度，超敏反应

sensitivity [ˌsensəˈtɪvəti] 灵敏度，敏感性

diminish [dɪˈmɪnɪʃ] 减少，降低，逐渐消失

regenerate [rɪˈdʒenəreɪt] 再生，重新生长

loss of appetite [ˈæpɪtaɪt] 食欲不振，食欲减退

sensitive [ˈsensətɪv] 敏感的，灵敏的

perception of flavour [pəˈsepʃn][ˈfleɪvə] 味觉感知，风味感知

equivalent [ɪˈkwɪvələnt] 等同物，对应物

anosmia (loss of smell) [əˈnɒzmiə] 嗅觉丧失

ageusia (loss of taste) [əˈɡjuːziə] 味觉丧失

dysgusia (taste disorder) [dɪsˈɡjuːziə] 味觉障碍（指口中出现异常味觉，常伴有食欲减退）

metallic [məˈtælɪk] 金属的，含金属的



🪴翻译和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进入【打卡交流群】