Do you really know? Why do our tastes change as we get older?
Aug 4, 2025
Ever wonder why your childhood nemesis, broccoli, is now a dinner guest? The podcast dives into the science behind changing taste preferences as we age. It explores how children's early love for sweet and salty flavors shift over time. As we grow, our taste buds decline, impacting flavor sensitivity. External factors also play a role in our evolving palates. Discover the fascinating journey from picky eater to adventurous foodie!
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Children's Evolutionary Taste Preferences
- Children prefer sweet and salty tastes due to evolutionary adaptations.
- Sweetness signals energy-rich foods, while bitterness warns of toxins, shaping early taste preferences.
Children's Hypersensitive Taste Buds
- Children have hypersensitive taste senses with about 10,000 taste buds, twice the adults' number.
- This hypersensitivity decreases with age, making adult tastes more complex and less sensitive to bitterness.
Taste Buds and Aging Effects
- Taste buds detect five basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami.
- Taste buds regenerate every 10 days but slow with age, causing reduced appetite in older adults.