Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Salt Tooth Over Sweet Tooth

According to Live Science writer, Sara G. Miller, there's such a thing as a salt tooth, in addition to the more commonly known sweet tooth. It was discovered that certain people carry a gene that make them crave or want a taste of salt more than normal. The variation of a gene known as TAS2R48 that were found in some of the people that took part in this study. These people were more likely to eat an overload of sodium compared to the people who did not have the gene variant. This research was presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions meeting just recently. The lead author of this study is a Ph.D student at the University of Kentucky College of Nursing would like to identify the gene variant that a person has in order to help them make better food choices. I think this idea is fantastic and could really help the obesity problem that is found in the United States. It is also a good idea for people with food allergies and diseases. In order to this, there is need for more research in this area in order to comprehend how a person's genes impact how much sodium they eat.

On average, the limit of the sodium in a person's diet is supposed to be 2,300 milligrams per day. If this is exceeded, high blood pressure can be developed. In those who had the variation of the gene TAS2R48, they were nearly twice likely to exceed the supposed milligrams of sodium per day. These gene has previously been linked to sense of taste when looking at a person's perception of bitterness. This can be one of the reasons why people with the variation avoid broccoli and dark, leafy greens. So those with the gene variation, taste bitter and taste salt more intensely. Or maybe a theory is that the bitter taste of food is masked with salt through increasing the consumption of sodium, according to Smith. During the study, food diaries were looked at for more than 400 people, their DNA was also analyzed and all participants had a heightened risk for heart disease. In addition to salt consumption, saturated fat, sugar and alcohol consumption was looked at,but no variations in the gene effected this.    

3 comments:

  1. I have never heard of this before, but it does make a lot of sense that there is a such thing as a salt tooth. It is so odd that people with the variation avoid broccoli and other vegetables. Could the gene be a result of their ancestors' diet or does it derive from something else? I wonder if there will be more studies done on this variation.

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  2. I have actually heard of people having a "salt" tooth over a sweet tooth. I think it is very interesting and a great idea that they are trying to find ways to control the consumption of sodium. A lot of sodium is not good for a person therefore if there is a way that makes people not want to eat salty things it is a good thing. It could even be beneficial for people that are overweight.

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  3. As a person who prefers salty foods over sweet treats I agree that there should be a better way to control the craving of salt. Like sugar, salt causes many diseases that can easily be avoided with better diet. However, with the gene variation people who crave salt will have a biological advantage on top of new eating habits to help them change the amount of salt they consume.

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