Some People Do Not Taste Salt Like Others

    Low-salt foods may be harder for some people to like than others，according to a study by a Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences¹ food scientist. The research indicates that genetic factors inf1uence some of the difference in the levels of salt we like to eat.

    Those conclusions are important because recent ，well-publicized  efforts to reduce the salt content in food²  have left many people struggling to accept fare that simply does not taste as good to them as it does to others³，pointed out John Hayes，assistant professor of food science ，who was lead investigator⁴ on the study.

    Diets high in salt can increase the risk of high blood pressure and stroke.  That is why public health experts and food companies are working together on ways to help consumers lower salt intake through foods that are enjoyable to eat. This study increases understanding of salt preference and consumption.

    The research involved 87carefully screened participants who sampled salty foods such as soup and chips，on  multiple occasions ，spread out over weeks⁵. Test subjects were 45 men and 42 women ，reportedly healthy ，ranging in age from 20 to 40 years. The sample was composed of individuals who were not actively modifying their dietary intake and did not smoke cigarettes. They rated the intensity of taste on a commonly used scientific scale，ranging from barely detectable to strongest sensation of any kind.

    "Most of us like the taste of salt. However，some individuals eat more salt ，both because they like the taste of saltiness more ，and also because it is needed to block other unpleasant tastes in food. "said Hayes.  "Supertasters，people who experience tastes more intensely ，consume more salt than do nontasters.  Snack foods have saltiness as their primary flavor ，and at least for these foods， more is better ，so the supertasters seem to like them more. "

    However ，supertasters also need higher levels of salt to block unpleasant bitter tastes in foods such as cheese ，Hayes noted.  "For example ，cheese is a wonderful  blend of dairy flavors from fermented milk ，but also bitter tastes from ripening that are blocked by salt ," he said. "A supertaster finds low-salt cheese unpleasant because the bitterness is too pronounced⁶."

    Hayes cited research done  more than 75 years ago by a chemist named Fox  and a geneticist named Blakeslee ，showing  that individuals  differ in their ability to taste certain chemicals. As a result ，Hayes explained ，we know that a wide range in taste acuity exists ，and this variation is as normal as variations in eye and hair color.

    "Some people ，called supertasters，describe  bitter compounds as being extremely bitter ，while others ，called nontasters，find these same bitter compounds to be tasteless or only weakly bitter. "he said. "Response to bitter compounds is one of many ways to identify biological differences in food preference because supertasting⁷ is not limited to bitterness. "

 

词汇:

publicize /"pʌblɪsaɪz / vt.     引起公众对……的注意;(用广告)宣传

dietary / "daɪətərɪ / adj. 饮食的;规定食物的

ferment /fəˈment / vt.      (使)发酵

geneticist / dʒəˈnetɪsɪst / n.   遗传学家

acuity / əˈkju:əti/ n.  敏锐;尖锐

 

注释:

1.Penn  State  College  of  Agricultural  Sciences: 即 Penn State  University-College of  Agricultural Sciences 宾州州立大学农学院。Penn 是 Pennsylvania 的缩写，是美国宾夕法尼亚州州名。宾州州立大学建于1855年，在全国共有 24 个分校。在句中，Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences 用作定语，修饰 food scientist。

2.well-publicized efforts to reduce the salt content in food:有关减少食物含盐量的大力宣传的做法.

3.left many people struggling to accept fare that simply does not taste as good to them as it does to others:使得许多人努力去接受适合其他人而不适合他们口味的食物。fare 相当于 food。

4.lead investigator:研发项目负责人

5.… carefully screened  participants  who sampled  salty  foods  as  soup  and  chips，on   multiple occasion ，spread out over weeks:……经过仔细筛选的实验参与者，他们在几周内的不同时间 里品尝加了盐的食物，如汤和薯条。

6.too pronounced:此处 pronounced 为形容词，意为 very noticeable ，conspicuous(明显的，显著的)。

7.supertasting：  超重味感

Which of the following applies to supertasters in terms of bitter taste?

A:They like bitterness in foods as well as saltiness B:They like high-salt cheese as it has intense bitter taste C:They prefer high-salt cheese，which tastes less bitter D:They prefer high-salt cheese as it is good to health

苦陷症 bitter pit

Feeling anxious Your mood may actually change how your dinner tastes, making the bitter and salty flavors recede, according to new research. This link between the chemical balance in your brain and your sense of taste could one day help doctors to treat depression. There are currently no on-the-spot tests for deciding which medication will work best in individual patients with this condition. Researchers hope that a test based on flavor detection could help doctors to get more prescriptions right first time.
It has long been known that people who are depressed have lower-than-usual levels of the brain chemicals serotonin or noradrenaline, or in some cases both. Many also have a blunted sense of taste, which is presumably caused by changes in brain chemistry. To unpick the relationship between the two, Lucy Donaldson and her colleagues at the University of Bristol, UK, gave 20 healthy volunteers two antidepressant drugs, and checked their sensitivity to different tastes. The drug that raised serotonin levels made people more sensitive to sweet and bitter tastes, the team reports in the Journal of Neuroscience. The other, which increased noradrenaline, enhanced recognition of bitter and sour tastes.
In healthy people, volunteers whose anxiety levels were naturally higher were less sensitive to bitter and salty tastes. "What hasn’t been done beore is to look precisely at which tastes are affected in depression," says Donaldson. Now the results are in, "we can discriminate between the chemicals and the tastes that seem to be altered," she says. Testing sensitivity to sweet and sour tastes could potentially help doctors to pick up on which chemicals are dipping, guiding them when choosing which drug to rectify the problem.
Currently, doctors rely on physical and emotional symptoms to make a best guess at an individual’s imbalance, prescribe a drug and wait about a month to check on any improvement. Good doctors have about a 60-80% success rate in selecting the right drug the first time, says psychiatrist Jan Melichar, a co-author on the paper. Are there any decent tests for prescribing drugs for depression "No. We do a best guesstimate," says Melichar. "I’m excited by this finding because in 3, 5 or 7 years we could have a simple taste test. "
Next, the team plans to perform similar tests in depressed people, and in healthy volunteers given another brain chemical called tryptophan. This chemical would lower the healthy subjects’ levels of serotonin, as actually happens in depressed patients.
The work has also generated interest from flavor houses--companies that develop chemicals for the food and drink industry--who are interested in making foods taste just as sweet with half the amount of sugar. "Theoretically there would be the possibility of enhancing your meal with drugs that affect brain chemicals so that things would taste better--you couid have a ’designer taste tablet’," Donaldson says.
Which of the following is TRUE as to the results of the research

A:Increased serotonin weakens sensitivity to the tastes of bitter and sour. B:The more anxious people are, the more sensitive to sour taste. C:The tryptophan can add healthy people’s serotonin amount. D:The tryptophan can lower healthy people’s serotonin level.

Low-salt foods may be harder for some people to like than others, according to a study by a Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences food scientist. The research indicates that genetic factors influence some of the difference in the levels of salt we like to eat.
Those conclusions are important because recent, well-publicized efforts to reduce the salt content in food have left many people struggling to accept fare that simply does not taste as good to them as it does to others, pointed out John Hayes, assistant professor of food science, who was lead investigator on the study.
Diets high in salt Can increase the risk of high blood pressure and stroke. That is why public health experts and food companies are working together on ways to help consumers lower salt intake through foods that are enjoyable to eat. This study increases understanding of salt preference and consumption.
The research involved 87 carefully screened participants who sampled salty foods such as soup and chips, on multiple occasions, spread out over weeks. Test subjects were 45 men and 42 women, reportedly healthy, ranging in age from 20 to 40 years. The sample was composed of individuals who were not actively modifying their dietary intake and did not smoke cigarettes. They rated the intensity of taste on a commonly used scientific scale, ranging from barely detectable to strongest sensation of any kind.
"Most of us like the taste of salt. However, some individuals eat more salt, both because they like the taste of saltiness more, and also because it is needed to block other unpleasant tastes in food," said Hayes. "Supertasters, people who experience tastes more intensely, consume more salt than non-tasters do. Snack foods have saltiness as their primary flavor, and at least for these foods, more is better, so the supertasters seem to like them more."
However, supertasters also need higher levels of salt to block unpleasant bitter tastes in foods such as cheese, Hayes noted. "For example, cheese is a wonderful blend of dairy flavors from fermented milk, but also bitter tastes from ripening that are blocked by salt," he said. "A supertaster finds low-salt cheese unpleasant because the bitterness is too pronounced."
Hayes cited research done more than 75 years ago by a chemist named Fox and a geneticist named Blakeslee, showing that individuals differ in their ability to taste certain chemicals. As a result, Hayes explained, we know that a wide range in taste acuity exists, and this variation is as normal as variations in eye and hair color.
"Some people, called supertasters, describe bitter compounds as being extremely bitter, while others, called non-tasters, find these same bitter compounds to be tasteless or only weakly bitter." he said. "Response to bitter compounds is one of many ways to identify biological differences in food preference because supertasting is not limited to bitterness.
Which of the following applies to supertasters in terms of bitter taste

A:They like bitterness in foods as well as saltiness. B:They like high salt cheese as it has intense bitter taste. C:They prefer high-salt cheese which tastes less bitter. D:They prefer high-salt cheese as it is good to healt

Low-salt foods may be harder for some people to like than others, according, to a study by a Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences food scientist. The research indicates that genetic factors influence some of the difference in the levels of salt we like to eat.
Those conclusions are important because recent, well-publicized (大力宣传的) efforts to reduce the salt content in food have left many people struggling to accept food that simply does not taste as good to them as it does to others, pointed out John Hayes, lead investigator on the study.
Diets high in salt can increase the risk of high blood pressure and stroke. That is why public health experts and food companies are working together on ways to help consumers lower salt intake through foods that are enjoyable to eat. This study increases understanding of salt preference and consumption.
The research involved 87 carefully screened participants who sampled salty foods such as soup and chips, on multiple occasions, spread out over weeks. Test subjects were 45 men and 42 women, reportedly healthy, ranging in age from 20 to 40. They rated the intensity of taste on a commonly used scientific scale, ranging from barely detectable to strongest sensation of any kind.
"Most of us like the taste of salt. However, some individuals eat more salt, both because they like the taste of saltiness more, and also because it is needed to block other unpleasant tastes in food, " said Hayes. "Supertasters, people who experience tastes more intensely, consume more salt than nontasters. Snack foods have saltiness as their primary flavor, and at least for these foods, more is better, so the supertasters seem to like them more. "
However, supertasters also need higher levels of salt to block unpleasant bitter tastes in foods such as cheese, Hayes noted. "For example, cheese is a wonderful blend of dairy flavors from fermented (发酵地) milk, but also bitter tastes from ripening that are blocked by salt, " he said. "A supertaster finds low-salt cheese unpleasant because the bitterness is too pronounced. "
Hayes cited research done more than 75 years ago by a chemist named Fox and a geneticist named Blakeslee, showing that individuals differ in their ability to taste certain chemicals. As a result, Hayes explained, we know that a wide range in taste acuity(敏锐) exists, and this variation is as normal as variations in eye and hair color.
Supertasters prefer high-salt cheese because

A:it is good to health. B:it is rich in nutrition. C:it has intense bitter tastes. D:it tastes less bitter.

Low-salt foods may be harder for some people to like than others, according to a study by a Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences food scientist. The research indicates that genetic factors influence some of the difference in the levels of salt we like to eat.
Those conclusions are important because recent, well-publicized efforts to reduce the salt content in food have left many people struggling to accept fare that simply does not taste as good to them as it does to others, pointed out John Hayes, assistant professor of food science, who was lead investigator on the study.
Diets high in salt can increase the risk of high blood pressure and stroke. That is why public health experts and food companies are working together on ways to help consumers lower salt intake through foods that are enjoyable to eat. This study increases understanding of salt preference and consumption.
The research involved 87 carefully screened participants who sampled salty foods such as soup and chips, on multiple occasions, spread out over weeks. Test subjects were 45 men and 42 women, reportedly healthy, ranging in age from 20 to 40 years. The sample was composed of individuals who were not actively modifying their dietary intake and did not smoke cigarettes. They rated the intensity of taste on a commonly used scientific scale, ranging from barely detectable to strongest sensation of any kind.
"Most of us like the taste of salt. However, some individuals eat more salt, both because they like the taste of saltiness more, and also because it is needed to block other unpleasant tastes in food. " said Hayes. "Supertasters, people who experience tastes more intensely, consume more salt than do nontasters. Snack foods have saltiness as their primary flavor, and at least for these foods, more is better, so the supertasters seem to like them more. "
However, supertasters also need higher levels of salt to block unpleasant bitter tastes in foods such as cheese, Hayes noted. "For example, cheese is a wonderful blend of dairy flavors from fermented milk, but also bitter tastes from ripening that are blocked by salt," he said. "A supertaster finds low-salt cheese unpleasant because the bitterness is too pronounced. "
Hayes cited research done more than 75 years ago by a chemist named Fox and a geneticist named Blakeslee, showing that individuals differ in their ability to taste certain chemicals. As a result, Hayes explained, we know that a wide range in taste acuity exists, and this variation is as normal as variations in eye and hair color.
"Some people, called supertasters, describe bitter compounds as being extremely bitter, while others, called nontasters, find these same bitter compounds to be tasteless or only weakly bitter. " he said. "Response to bitter compounds is one of many ways to identify biological differences in food preference because supertasting is not limited to bitterness. /
Which of the following applies to supertasters in terms of bitter taste

A:They like bitterness in foods as well as saltiness. B:They like high-salt cheese as it has intense bitter taste. C:They prefer high-salt cheese, which tastes less bitter. D:They prefer high-salt cheese as it is good to health.

? ?Low-salt foods may be harder for some people to like than others, according to a study by a Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences food scientist. The research indicates that genetic factors influence some of the difference in the levels of salt we like to eat.
? ?Those conclusions are important because recent, well-publicized efforts to reduce the salt content in food have left many people struggling to accept fare that simply does not taste as good to them as it does to others, pointed out John Hayes, assistant professor of food science, who was lead investigator on the study.
? ?Diets high in salt can increase the risk of high blood pressure and stroke. That is why public health experts and food companies are working together on ways to help consumers lower salt intake through foods that are enjoyable to eat. This study increases understanding of salt preference and consumption.
? ?The research involved 87 carefully screened participants who sampled salty foods such as soup and chips, on multiple occasions, spread out over weeks. Test subjects were 45 men and 42 women, reportedly healthy, ranging in age from 20 to 40 years. The sample was composed of individuals who were not actively modifying their dietary intake and did not smoke cigarettes. They rated the intensity of taste on a commonly used scientific scale, ranging from barely detectable to strongest sensation of any kind.
? ?"Most of us like the taste of salt. However, some individuals eat more salt, both because they like the taste of saltiness more, and also because it is needed to block other unpleasant tastes in food," said Hayes. "Supertasters, people who experience tastes more intensely, consume more salt than do nontasters. Snack foods have saltiness as their primary flavor, and at least for these foods, more is better, so the supertasters seem to like them more. "
? ?However, supertasters also need higher levels of salt to block unpleasant bitter tastes in foods such as cheese, Hayes noted. "For example, cheese is a wonderful blend of dairy flavors from fermented milk, but also bitter tastes from ripening that are blocked by salt," he said. "A supertaster finds low-salt cheese unpleasant because the bitterness is too pronounced. "
? ?Hayes cited research done more than 75 years ago by a chemist named Fox and a geneticist named Blakeslee, showing that individuals differ in their ability to taste certain chemicals. As a result, Hayes explained, we know that a wide range in taste acuity exists, and this variation is as normal as variations in eye and hair color.
? ?"Some people, called supertasters, describe bitter compounds as being extremely bitter, while others, called nontasters, find these same bitter compounds to be tasteless or only weary bitter," he said. "Response to bitter compounds is one of many ways to identify biological differences in food preference because supertasting is not limited to bitterness. /

Which of the following applies to supertasters in terms of bitter taste?______

A:They like high-salt cheese as it has intense bitter taste. B:They like bitterness in foods as well as saltiness. C:They prefer high-salt cheese as it is good to health. D:They prefer high-salt cheese, which tastes less bitter.

There seems to be a close relationship between drinks and one’s life.
The adolescent(少年)usually loves soft drinks for their sweetness and variety. He knows nothing of sadness and his taste of life is sweetness to the exclusion of all the others. In his eyes, the world is full of facets just as soft drinks are varied in flavor.
Youth sees him on a job or in love. Now, soft drinks will have to give way to coffee, which is bitter yet somewhat sweet and fragrant. It gives a stimulating sensation suggestive of maturity, appealing to him, as he is fickle and moody. At his stage, he begins his career full of ambition and ideals, on the other hand he also needs and aspires after a home of his own. However, either his work or his love affairs may bring small setbacks, for which he is sometimes seen forcing a tearful smile and sometimes smiling through his tears. Considerations of gains and losses seem to him an enjoyment as well as a torture.
Middle age turns him to Chinese tea that gives a delicate fragrance very gradual to come out, only discernable off and on. It is bland an elegant, deep and profound. It never stimulates your sense of taste but a lip of it will leave a faint fragrance lingering in your mouth, Free from impractical longings and fully aware of the evanescent of the sunset, he cherishes every minute of the day and each day of his is sweetened with a simple but real happiness.
The elderly drinks plain boiled water which is devoid of saccharin, caffeine or theophyline (茶碱). It tastes insipid yet a slow sipping will doubtless yield a wee bit of sweetness. He has been tossed in life’s storms and taught by rough and bitter experience to know better than to care about glories and successes which appear to him now as transient as a fleeting cloud. For this is the time he can sit comfortable in an armchair letting his mind wander. All that happened in the past and all that exist in the world seem to him as plain and insipd as water...
Why do the middle-aged people prefer tea according to the author

A:They become practical and want to save money. B:They like the faint and lingering fragrance of the Chinese tea. C:Coffee is too bitter for them to drink. D:Hot tea is good for their healt

The (course) of the Korean War was bitter, bloody and frustrating.

A:battle B:duration C:outcome D:whole