We have a running debate chez Freberg regarding the best diet strategies. Mr. F dines on absolutely the same Jenny Craig options every day (Complete Start Cereal, Turkeyburger, Meatloaf, and Chocolate Cake). His motto for dieting has always been “Boring is Good.” I like variety, and order a bit of this and a bit of that for my weekly menus.
Caroline Goukens and her colleagues may have shed some light on our differences [1]. They demonstrate that hungry people react differently to menu choices than satiated people. In their experiments, hungry people (who hadn’t eaten for four hours before being tested) were more likely to crave variety in their snack choices than satiated people (who ate a piece of cake at the beginning of the experiment).
So does this mean that I’m hungrier most of the time than Mr. F? I can’t imagine that’s the case, as we eat nearly the same amount of food and he’s a bit bigger than I am.
I think part of the issue is our status as tasters. Roger is a “supertaster,” whereas I apparently am a “non-taster.” Not only is taste a more dramatic sensation for him, but we also noted that his sense of taste adapts very slowly. If we’re eating something yummy, like the carrot cake we had yesterday, the first bite for me is much more dramatic than say the tenth bite. Roger does not relate to that experience. He and Karen both complain that the last bite is better than all that came before, which of course is a bit of a problem if one needs to stop eating fast enough to maintain a healthy weight.
So here’s my theory about boring. My sense of taste is duller and adapts quickly, which makes variety attractive to me. Roger and Karen have acute, slow-adapting senses of taste, which they control by limiting their intake to just a few foods while dieting.
I wonder if any of the participants in Goukens et al. were dieting? Oh, and you can take a quicky test to see what kind of taster you are here, although the standard method is to dye your tongue and count the papillae….
1. Goukens, C., DeWitte, S., Pandelaere, M., & Warlop, L. (2007). Desires and variety seeking. Journal of Consumer Research, 34, 386-394.
13 Comments
Bassett · September 13, 2007 at 9:34 pm
Hi Laura-
I see you like football and have some expertise in the area of psychology and I was wondering if you could help me out. I am trying to understand, from a psychological makeup, what kind of a person Bill Belichick, coach of the Patriots is. If you have some time to email, please shoot me one at thejetblog@gmail.com
Sincerely,
Brian Bassett
http://www.thejetsblog.com
nvannucci · September 18, 2007 at 8:06 pm
Hi Professor Freberg-
I actually found this research very interesting. I ended up taking the taster test and discovered that I am a normal taster. It made a lot of sense since I definitely like a variety of foods but it really all depends on how it is prepared. On the other hand, I had my my boyfriend take the test as well, and he is a supertaster. I always wondered why we had such different tastes in food. He is a VERY picky eater, and I tend not to be. It all makes sense now. Thanks for the article! Very interesting!
Laura Freberg · September 19, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Glad you enjoyed. I’m interested in your feedback on the adaptation question. Do you and your boyfriend differ in how that last bite tastes? My hypothesis is that supertasters adapt more slowly (that last bite is pretty good!), but normal and non-tasters may adapt more quickly (first bite is way better than the last). I have no data to back this up yet, but I’d be curious about your opinions.
jsaqqa · September 21, 2007 at 10:39 am
Hi professor Freberg. I also took the quick taste quiz and the results showed that I am a normal taster. This did not surprise me very much, because with most items I eat, the last bite is not as good as the first. While reading the blog I wondered if there is a difference in the way diets affect normal tasters, super tasters and non tasters? Would it be helpful for someone on a diet to know their taste bud ratio and the way food certain foods affect the taste?
Laura Freberg · September 21, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Here is an article about supertasting and dieting, but since the author is still arguing that salt, sweet, and bitter tastes are localized on the tongue (old idea, not considered accurate today), I don’t know how well informed he is:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061113/diet_taste_0611113/20061117?hub=CanadaAM
Here is another interesting approach:
http://health.lifestyle.yahoo.ca/channel_section_details.asp?text_id=1555&channel_id=2041&relation_id=23720
I would agree that supertasters are less likely to eat vegetables–they taste too strong.
This is probably the best article I found, as Linda Bartoshuk literally “wrote the book” on supertasting:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=10863567&ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVAbstractPlus
BBurt · September 28, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Hello!
I’m in your Biopsych class. I thought this article was very interesting. I took the test and I’m a supertaster, which explains a lot!! I’ve always liked really bland foods. I never use salad dressings. I also have a really sweet tooth, the vegetables I like are the sweet ones, like carrots.
nicole_g · September 30, 2007 at 4:14 pm
Hi Professor Freberg!
I’m in your biopsychology class and this topic intrigued me! After trying out the experiment, I found out that I am a supertaster. I do not like foods that are spicy. I love bland foods. Also, when I go out to eat, I tend to order the same thing every time. One weird thing about the study was that supertasters tended to dislike vegetables. I love vegetables but I usually do not like fruits/sweets. I’m wondering if in my case, I perceive sweets as sweeter than they are. In terms of adaptation, I definitely can relate to the last bite is the best.
c.busso · October 2, 2007 at 8:50 pm
I took the test and I am a non-taster. The part about being insensitive to bitter foods definitely fits me. I like very salty and sour foods. I don’t like very sweet things, but I don’t think it said anything about that. Also, for me the first bite is the best and sometimes I get bored of food before I am even done eating it. The description says I taste food less intensely than others and I think that’s true. It kind of makes me sad though!
KatyL · October 17, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Hello Proffessor Freberg
Well I took the test and I am a non-taster just as I assumed. I am glad to be open to trying new things, since I am a vegetarian you have to get creative with your meals otherwise you don’t get enough nutrients plus it’s fun for me to try new recipes although they don’t always turnout great the first time. I enjoy black licorice, I wonderif other non-tasters do as well? Do you?
reggie · March 14, 2008 at 9:20 pm
I came to the conclusion that I too adapt slow to taste, I always save the best piece for last because I knew it was the best tasting. Although sometimes eating every bite from the first one to the last seems the same, somehow I always enjoy the last bite the most. Which brought me to the topic on marijuana. Why do people say when they are high, their tast is super sensative? I would actually like to know the biology part behind that.
Laura’s Psychology Blog » How good are you at catching fake smiles? · November 12, 2007 at 9:29 pm
[…] One of my favorite sites for interactive science content is the BBC. We looked at their supertaster site earlier, and tonight I had a lot of fun with their “fake smile” detector test. This test is based on Paul Ekman’s analysis of facial expression. Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to watch 20 videos and decide which are showing people with genuine or fake smiles. […]
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[…] Why is it that I always equate food with love? Laura says it is because I am a ’super taster.’ […]
Laura’s Psychology Blog » Are you a supertaster? · May 6, 2008 at 9:27 pm
[…] Personally, I think knowing one’s taste status can be rather useful in planning diets and just understanding the eating patterns of others. One feature that characterizes the supertaster is a “passion” for food, and I think Mr. F and our daughters definitely have that. Our latest project is to adapt our cheesecake recipe to include chocolate. We have lots around here. Mr. F bought 50 pounds of chocolate–definitely a supertaster! This is only one of the 5 10-lb bars he has in our pantry. […]
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