Can you develop a taste for good nutrition?

Satisfy your taste buds...healthfully

Do food preferences make a difference nutritionally? That depends. If your tastes lean toward fruits and other healthy foods, you're probably at an advantage. And taking a lifetime pass on brussels sprouts—or other specific foods you find distasteful—probably doesn't matter if you get needed nutrients elsewhere.

But it could be a different story if a dislike for vegetables, an aversion to fruits, or a wariness of grains is making it difficult to meet nutritional requirements. For instance, can you list the number of fruits you like on one hand? Do days go by without anything green on your plate? Is white the only color bread you like? Don't despair. Eating healthy doesn't have to mean giving up taste and flavor in food. In fact, an understanding of what makes food enjoyable—or not—and implementing some simple strategies could help make meals and snacks both healthier and more tempting.

The Influence of Flavor

Not surprisingly, research shows that people respond primarily to the sensory appeal of food, or what chefs refer to as “flavor.” Think of the aroma of coffee brewing…the sound of popcorn popping…the vibrant color of a mango…the silky texture of chocolate.

While all our senses are involved in determining whether we find food mouth-watering or unappealing, taste and smell probably play the most active roles. Some experts consider taste a more primitive sense than smell. That's because most people can detect the subtleties among thousands of different odors. Our taste buds, on the other hand, are assigned the job of gathering more basic information. They can only distinguish four tastes: salt, sweet, bitter, and sour. Some experts believe there is also a fifth, called umami, which is the savory taste of soy.

Without a sense of smell, food would taste pretty boring. It's your nose that allows you to pick up the delicate differences in flavor—to know if you're eating chicken, not turkey, or that a food is seasoned with cinnamon, not nutmeg. This is why when something like a cold interferes with your ability to smell, it's difficult to taste your food.

Your Genes and Your Taste Buds

Scientists have learned that your taste buds may be partially to blame for some likes and dislikes. About one-quarter of the population inherits a super sensitivity to certain tastes, particularly bitter and sweet tastes, as well as chili peppers and alcohol. If you find grapefruit juice too bitter, you may be a supertaster. Same goes if artificial sweetener with sucrose leaves your lips in a pucker. Or if salsa—even the mild variety—sends you diving for water.

In contrast, if you top your coffee off with two or three packages of sweetener, down grapefruit juice with gusto, and can eat hot salsa to your heart's delight, you might be a nontaster. These people are unfazed by the same tastes that make supertasters cringe. The rest of us are “tasters”—with a taste sensitivity somewhere in between.

Taste sensitivity is partially linked to the number of taste buds a person is born with: Supertasters average 425 taste buds per square centimeter on the tips of their tongues, compared to 184 for tasters and 96 for nontasters.

An evolutionary explanation might be behind taster status, some experts believe. The majority of supertasters are women. Studies have also found that pregnant women are more likely to be super sensitive to bitter tastes—especially during the first trimester—in response to higher hormone levels. The fact that women are more taste sensitive may be nature's way of ensuring a healthy pregnancy. With a heightened perception of bitter tastes, women are less likely to ingest potentially poisonous substances, which are more likely to be bitter tasting.

Environmental Factors

While your taster status may help explain why you hate grapefruit juice or love chili peppers, your ancestors aren't responsible for all your food habits. You may start out with more or fewer taste buds than your neighbor, but many other factors play a large role in determining what foods you like and dislike. These include:

An innate human preference for sweets, which crosses all cultures. Experts theorize that this preference may have evolved to help ensure survival—nature's way of encouraging us to eat foods high in calories.
Other sensory factors, including smell and flavor, that make food appealing.
A natural hesitancy toward unfamiliar foods. Evidence indicates that the more children and adults are exposed to foods, the more likely they are to accept them. For young children, it may take as many as 10 exposures.
Psychological associations, such as liking a particular food because the smell reminds you of pleasurable memories or developing a dislike for a food you ate before getting sicnk.
Social and cultural conditioning. Animal studies support theories that food choices are influenced by traditions and expectations. When untrained rats are introduced into a colony of rats that has been conditioned to avoid a particular food, the untrained rats adopt the colony's preferences.
Convenience. In surveys, people report that ease of preparation influences whether they like certain foods.
Personality. Studies show that sensation seekers are more likely to try spicy and unknown foods while more conservative personality types are less willing to try new foods.

Can You Grow to Like Healthier Foods?

You probably can't change a strong aversion to carrots or other foods you've always disliked. But it is possible to improve the nutritional content of your diet in enjoyable, flavorful ways. Start with these strategies:

Learn about good nutrition. Surveys indicate that people who are nutrition conscious are more likely to try novel foods.
Identify foods you like in all the food groups. Skip the spinach if you truly hate the taste. There are plenty of other leafy greens, including romaine lettuce, kale, and Swiss chard.
Cultivate your nose. Take time to smell food as it cooks. And eat slowly. Holding food in your mouth longer gives you a better chance of tasting and smelling it. Studies show that odor pleasantness significantly correlates with a liking for and willingness to try foods.
Try other tricks to increase the flavor of food. Consider colors, textures, shapes, and temperatures. For instance, if it's the consistency of yogurt you don't like, try adding granola or dried fruit.
Exercise regularly. One study showed that women exercisers between the ages of 18 and 24 were more likely to eat healthy foods than nonexercisers.
Cut back on fat. After following a reduced-fat diet for 12 weeks, adults in one study rated fatty foods as less pleasant than they did before the diet.

Finally, learn about healthy ways to sweeten or enhance foods. For instance, sweeten meats with sauces made from fruit, nectars, or jams. Or enhance vegetables with olive oil, crushed garlic, and spices.