I have a confession to make….
Some of you that know me well are already aware of my problem. Others may be somewhat shocked! Okay…here goes…
I HAVE A BAD SWEET TOOTH! There…I said it. While I do try to stay away from chewy and hard candy, chocolate and other desserts are my doom. I was pleasantly surprised when I read an article about our GENES having more to do with our taste buds than simply just a lack of will power and discipline. It’s a good thing that I have a big piece of chocolate cake waiting for me at lunch!
The study conducted by Monell and the QIMR Berghofer Research Institute reveals that a genetic variant means that sweets simply seem sweeter to some.
“Eating too much sugar is often seen as a personal weakness,” study author Danielle Reed said. “Just as people born with a poor sense of hearing may need to turn up the volume to hear the radio, people born with weak sweet taste may need an extra teaspoon of sugar in their coffee to get the same sweet punch.”
The researchers tested 243 pairs of identical twins, 452 sets of fraternal twins and another 511 individuals before determining that genetic factors were responsible for an approximately 30 percent difference in perception of sweet tastes.
Shutterstock“Our findings indicate that shared experiences, such as family meals, had no detectable ability to make twins more similar in taste measures,” Reed pointed out.
In other words, it’s nature rather than nurture that’s behind your sweet tooth — or lack thereof.