EE2

Ian Roche

WRIT 1133

Professor Leake

21 May 2013

Taste and Nutrition: The Deciders

            As humans we have to eat to provide our bodies with the nutrients we need to sustain life. With so many possibilities of food sources in our lives, how does one choose what we eat? After discussing this with a few classmates it came to my attention that people have a wide variety of food values that direct their food choices. Personally I place the most importance on taste and nutrition when choosing my food. I feel these are the most important because not only will I be able to eat a wide variety of foods the taste stipulation promotes happiness while eating nutritious food due to my other stipulation. Once I had decided on my personal food values I began to ask myself why nutrition and taste would be important to me as an eater. After some research I found that taste is genetically linked and reinforced the common ideas that nutrition is important when maintaining a healthful body.

            Taste is one of five senses and is a sense I associate with happiness. Personally, I was raised believing that taste was a sense to give a feeling of happiness. While this is true and argued by Pollan the piece written by Reed proposes the point that, “To guide food selection, the senses of taste and smell have evolved to alert us to the bitter taste of poisons and the sour taste and off-putting smell of spoiled foods” (213). This point concerning how we need taste to prevent ourselves from eating poison and rotten foods is very interesting to me. We not only eat for the enjoyment of eating, but the taste of food allows us to prevent ourselves from eating dangerous foods at the same time. Everyone has chomped down on a food item and then as the neurological signal travels from the taste buds hit the brain and our faces recoil from the taste. Personally, a similar this experience happened to me, a few years ago my younger brother made some cherry muffins and left them on the counter. A few days later I took a bite of one as I drove down the road, my window quickly flew open and the bite was spit out as quickly as possible, I had never been shocked by a food that should have been sweet and was incredibly bitter. Looking down I found the cherries blue and rotten leaving behind the bitter taste. This was a perfect example of how we use taste to prevent eating foods infected with substances our bodies cannot handle. However, as mentioned about taste has not always been just about protecting myself, it is typically how I judge the pleasure of food.

            When food hits your taste buds and the combination from the smell and the taste combine giving a sense of pleasure, that is one of the major reasons I chose the food I chose. While I feel many people can agree that no eating experience is more satisfying than chomping down on an exquisite and delicious mouthful of food Pollan puts this into words in his essay “Our National Eating Disorder.” Pollan writes, “Our taste buds help, too, predisposing us toward sweetness, which signals carbohydrate energy in nature,” (2). This quote is discussing how our bodies have certain tastes that we desire and associate with the nutrients we need to survive. This idea of predisposition is one that has been researched by many scientists and it has been discovered that our enjoyment of certain tastes relies heavily on our genetic code.

            Each human has a different genetic code, giving rise to our differences physical and some of our mental differences. Genetics is the science of comparing individuals’ genomes to determine what the different sequences mean allowing scientists to understand why individuals are individual. The science of genetics is being applied to nearly every aspect of humans and this is no different for our sense of taste, “Genetic approaches are rapidly yielding new information about our sense of taste” (Kim et al. 448). Science is an ever changing and important field and as it evolves it not only is providing information on traditional science, it can be used to discuss other, more personal problems thought to be similar between most individuals. This data along with data relating certain tastes to specific regions of the human genome show the complexity of our one sense; taste (Kim et al. 448). Another study, conducted by Drewnowski, supports the claim that tasting can be a pleasurable experience, “Sensory responses to the taste, smell, and texture of foods help determine food preferences and eating habits” (237). This quote supports both of the claims concerning taste. It implies that the taste of foods will give people the decision making process to choose their foods. Drewnowski not only continues to say, “Nutrition education and intervention strategies aimed at improving population diets ought to consider sensory pleasure response to foods […]” (237). The previous quote is relating the idea that nutrition, my second food value, is important and can be promoted through the use of foods that combine the positive taste aspect with high nutrition. There is nothing I would rather do than sink my teeth into a sweet and slightly bitter bite of fresh pineapple, as I did over the summer, as this jungle treat combined an unrivaled taste and nutrition, into one food.

            Being a member of a country that is plagued by unhealthy eaters and food that is so processed and manipulated that it can barely be called food I feel it necessary to watch the nutrition of the “food” I ingest. It is a commonly known fact that as a country we are not the healthy and nutritious country we once were. Many blame this on the industrialization of food and this is true, however, personal choice is also to blame. One study shows, “Intake of snack foods, dessert and pizza - foods that are generally nutrient- poor and energy-dense - has increased from about 18% of kcal in the 1970s to 1980s to current intakes of about one-quarter to one-third of the total dietary intake of adolescents” (Van Horn et al. 48). This quote is exposing how not only do we have access to the nutrient poor foods we, as a society, are ingesting them at an alarming rate. Nutrition is an important part of every meal especially when so many horrible and unhealthy choices are available at each meal. Children are the future of the country and unfortunately the multitude of unhealthy foods and lack of exercise is a recipe for an unhealthy future. The study done by Van Horn and her colleagues points to many possible reasons for the unhealthy nature of our nation’s youth, “Likewise, sugar-sweetened beverages constitute approximately half of all beverages consumed by children and have increased calorie intake by 10% to 15%; the intake of milk and pure fruit juice has gradually decreased over the last decade” (48). With an increased intake of empty, non-nutritious foods on the rise and the consumption of nutrient rich foods, such as dairy and fruit, decreasing our nation is having a serious problem with our eating habitats. While government lobbies and commercial food producers will do everything they can to protect these lucrative snacks from falling from grocery store shelves slight diet modification, in addition to physical exercise can help these young children combat their unhealthy bodies. Van Horn points out that while a proper diet is incredibly important so too is being active, “Physical activity is arguably the most powerful tool for healthy psychosocial and physical development; it is the primary prevention tool against obesity and cardiovascular-related comorbidities in children” (48). While physical activity is not a food value when it is used in conjunction with a nutritious and delicious diet one is destined for an amazing dining experience and a healthy body.

            Exercise is crucial in an ever increasing society of large, overweight citizens and to perform during exercise one must treat their body correctly. One way to nurture a healthy body is a nutrient rich diet. While athletes may seem like incredibly fit individuals who are already fit, their diet is incredibly important. As an athlete here at the University of Denver my coach stresses the importance of nutrition in the weeks leading up to a big match. As we approached the National Championship my coach sent a plan of foods that we should indulge in to prepare our bodies for the two day battle that was about to ensue. While athletes may have a varying diet from the typical nutritious diet it is important for people to eat foods that will allow their bodies to perform as needed. In a study done by Gleeson he discusses the effect of diet on the immune system of athletes, “Furthermore, improper nutrition can compound the negative influence of heavy exertion on immunocompetence” (Gleeson 44). This finding is discussing the fact that without the correct nutrition an athlete will exert themselves to a point that their immune system will be affected and proper nutrition can help mitigate this risk. Overall, from the benefits proper nutrition can have on the society to my personal connection to nutrition and sports nutrition is a clear choice as a food value.

            Our taste buds are covering our tongues and in collaboration with many other senses our bodies taste the chemical properties of the food. These sensory responses to the foods have five distinct categories, “Humans experience 5 well-characterized taste qualities: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami, a savory flavor exemplified by the amino acid glutamate” (Kim 448). In the study the five flavors were referenced. These various sensory responses have varying means and severities. As discussed in Reed’s article some of the tastes and the severities of these tastes indicate that the food is poison or unsafe to eat. Other studies were cited discussing how we feel taste is a pleasurable experience. Personally the pleasure of sinking my teeth in to a delicious meal is incredibly satisfying. Especially when I know that the meal is nutritious and will help me when competing. Taste and nutrition are important, however, as food becomes more industrial these qualities are becoming harder to find.

Works Cited

Drewnowski, A. “Taste Preferences and Food Intake.” Annual Review of Nutrition. 17.1 (1997):

            237-253. Online.

Gleeson, M. and NC Bishop. “Elite Athlete Immunology: Importance of Nutrition.”

            International Journal of Sports Medicine. 21.1 (2000): 44-50. Online.

Kim et al. “Genetics of Human Taste Perception.” Journal of Dental Research. 83.6 (2004): 448-

            453. Online.

Pollan, Michael. “Our National Eating Disorder.” The New York Times Magazine. (2004).

            Online.

Reed, Danielle Renee and Antti Knaapila. “Genetics of Taste and Smell: Poisons and Pleasures.”

            Prog Mol Biol Transl Sci. 94.1 (2010): 213-240. Online.

Van Horn et al. “Importance of Nutrition and Physical Activity for Children.” Endocrine Today.

            10.12 (2012): 48. Online.