If you like the taste of kale and prefer your coffee black, you may have a predisposition to bitter foods, according to a new study shared by NPR.
The study found people without a specific taste receptor gene were less sensitive to bitter compounds and consumed significantly more vegetables compared to those who had the receptor gene. In fact, during the course of a year, individuals without the receptor gene consumed approximately 200 more servings of vegetables than their counterparts.
University of Connecticut researcher Valerie Duffy said the most surprising finding was people who are sensitive to bitter tastes ate fewer vegetables overall, not just the bitter ones. Duffy believes people with the receptor gene simply assume all green vegetables taste too bitter.
If you think you don’t like vegetables, you can learn to like them. The key is figuring out ways to make vegetables taste less bitter. Adding salt or roasting vegetables can cut the intensity of bitter and bring out their sweetness. For recipes and more tricks to make bitter vegetables taste sweeter, check out this article from Weight Watchers.
