Which Gender has the Ability to Identify Correct Flavors Faster? Tasneem Nada
7th Grade Science
Ms. Eizmendi
2-16-15
Introduction I got his idea while reading an article about the difference of taste buds in men and women. There are five flavors that we taste. They are sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savory. Smell and sight sometimes play a role in what we taste. When we take a bite into a cookie, we don't expect it to taste sour or salty, and when we smell pasta cooking, we don't think it a cake. I also learned about the term "supertaster" which is a person who experiences the sense of taste with greater intensity than average people. The average amount of taste buds us between 5,000-10,000. This term was first coined in the 1990s. Women are more likely to be supertasters, especially ones from Asia and Africa. I experimented to see which gender could identify the correct flavors of food faster than the other. I did a
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Taste the difference: How our genes, gender and even hormones affect the way we eat. The Independent.
Retrieved from:http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/taste-the-difference-how-our-genes-gender-and-even-hormones-affect-the-way-we-eat-2130680.html Reference 2-
Duffy, V.B., Davidson, A.C., Kidd, K.K., Speed, W.C., Pakstis, A.J., Reed, D.R., Snyder, D.J., and Bartoshuk, L.M. (2004), Bitter Receptor Gene Bitterness and Alcohol Intake. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 28: 1629-1637.
Retrieved from: http://ysm.research.yale.edu//article.jsp?articleID=77 Reference 3-
Corbin, Cameron (2006), Sex Differences in Taste Preferences in Humans. Unpublished Senior Thesis. Wofford College, Spartansburg, SC. 1-30
Retrieved from: http://webs.wofford.edu/pittmandw/psy451/fall06CC.pdf
The RUBRIC for this assignment is HERE.
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-Ms. Eizmendi (this message is also in the Comments, so you can erase
Modern human brain sizes are significantly smaller than Neanderthal’s and so are their brain cavities. TAS2R38 is the gene that controls taste. For Neanderthals, having a bitter taste “system” could have kept them from poisoning themselves by accident.
Yeomans, Martin R. "Understanding Individual Differences in Acquired Flavour Liking in Humans." Chemosensory Perception 3.1 (2010): 34-41. Print.
According to Gans in his book Popular Culture and High Culture: An Analysis and Evaluation of Taste (1974), people make choices from the available content provided by a homogenous society and the relationship between the choices exist because they are based on similar values and aesthetic standards. This constitutes why there are diverse taste cultures and taste publics in America. Rather than belonging to one taste culture, I consider myself an omnivore because I “often make cultural choices from any menus (9),” meaning that I embody bits and pieces of different taste cultures.
This goes back to the idea of how culture frequently imprints concepts in our minds of how we should behave and how we are supposed to act. With the help of corporations and media, society continues to apply pressure on women regarding how much food they consume, how they behave around food and behavior or place in the kitchen. The gender specific duties of a woman implemented by our culture entail that females adopt a healthier or lighter style of eating. Women are supposed to eat salads or consume their meals politely and femininely because society tells them to. The woman is considered as the nurturer, the homemaker, the salad eater, and the kitchen cook. The man however is the hunter, the caveman, the meat eater, and the one with the robust appetite. The man is the one who is expected to develop a liking towards meat and junk foods. In a research study that was conducted at the University of British Columbia, researchers investigated individual’s opinions on vegetarians and omnivores. The participants of the study were asked to rate the omnivores or vegetarians personality based on limited information including their weight, height, activities and most importantly, their gender. The participants that evaluated the individuals noted that the vegetarians were the more virtuous and moral
Mazzeo, Suzanne E., and Cynthia M. Bulik. "Environmental and genetic risk factors for eating disorders: What the clinician needs to know."
Nurnberger, John. "Alcoholism Is a Genetic Disorder." Alcohol Abuse. Ed. Christine Watkins. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Unraveling the Genetics or Alcohol...
Genetics plays a major role in obesity; inherited genes sometimes contribute to the accumulation of fat in the body. Over 200 genes have effect on the weight having repercussions from physical activity, food choices and metabolism. Therefore, genes may increase the vulnerability of a person to become obese. Family eating patterns and social tendencies can also trigger obesity. Moreover, environmental circumstances such as availability of food high in calories and fat and the increase of the portions and combination selections in meals contribute to the development of fat accumulated for years in the body (Whitney & Rolfes, 2011, pg. 277).
Learning to eat differently is no easy task for, especially when someone has eaten the same foods their whole life. It is even harder when the food you are transitioning to is not that appetizing. My uncle was now part of what author Michael Pollan calls the “omnivore’s dilemma.” My uncle knew he needed to eat healthy, but was left w...
Omnivores are very interesting creatures. We are able to digest most plants and animals and therefore have a wide range of food available to us. However, when faced with new potential foods we are “torn between two conflicting emotions” (Pollan 288). These two emotions are neophilia and neophobia. Pollan defines neophilia as “a risky but necessary openness to new tastes” (288) and neophobia as “a sensible fear of ingesting anything new” (288). These two emotions are easily seen in humans, especially myself. Whenever I am introduced to a new food I immediately feel both of these. I am very tempted to try the new food since it might taste good, but on the other hand it may not taste good and may even give me a stomach-ache or food poisoning. The final decision when trying a new food usually depends on how it looks. In Rozin’s studies, he observed these two emotions in rats. The rats would nibble on the new food and wait to see if it affected them negatively, learning not to eat it if it hurt them. Pollan believed that Rozi...
Slutske, W. S., D’Onofrio, B. M., Turkheimer, E., Emery, R. E., Harden, K. P., Heath, A. C., et al. (2008). Searching for an environmental effect of parental alcoholism on offspring alcohol use disorder: A genetically informed study of children of alcoholics. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 117, 534-551.
To understand alcoholism, it must first be understood what this affliction is dependent on. Alcohol is a substance that is made by the fermentation of fruits, grains, or miscellaneous other organic materials. The chemical, alcohol, is a depressant and acts on every cell in the human body. Due to this, the central nervous system, along with the pleasure centers of the brain, are affected resulting in a feeling of euphoria and a sense of well being. After repeated exposure, the brain becomes dependent on this drug to unburden itself whenever it feels the compulsion. Several factors that contribute to alcoholism are the individual’s psychology, genetics, culture, and the individual’s response to physical pain.
Western peoples consume enormous per capita quantities of refined sugar because, to most people, very sweet foods taste very good. The existence of the human sweet tooth can be explained, ultimately, as an adaptation of ancestral populations to favor the ripest-and hence the sweetest-fruit. In other words, the selective pressures of times past are most strikingly revealed by the artificial, supernormal stimulus of refined sugar, despite the evidence that eating refined sugar is maladaptive.
Specifically by the foods that women consume in our western society today. In our industrialized society, fast-food is an extremely convenient way to have meals. Skipping breakfast, artificially flavors and colors, and processed foods are the normal diet for women in America. However, this diet is extremely lacking in the nutrients and foods that our body needs. This deadly combination leads to chronic diseases, and even on some studies, can cause a rise in juvenile crime. The influx of preservatives, antioxidants, thickeners, and homogenisers has been added to almost all foods in society today. “Over the last century, some three million chemicals have been produced in chemical laboratories.” (Food and the Consumer). Chemicals in our foods influence how we feel about our bodies. For instance, when we eat something loaded with high fructose corn-syrup, it will take an effect on our body. Whether it will be by guilt, comfort, or what have you, there is an effect on our
The poor food choices that men and women make is the cause of many illnesses, disease and chronic health conditions. Men and women generally have different thoughts and choices on the topic of healthy food. People’s bad health may be genetically occurred or their exposure to their past nutritional education was not helpful, but their bad health is primarily based upon the poor choices that the individuals choose in daily life.
The cause of alcoholism is a combination of biological, psychological, and cultural factors that may contribute to the development of...