* Taste buds first appear when a fetus is seven or eight
weeks old and are functioning by the third trimester of
pregnancy.
* When kids stick their noses up at spinach and ask for
"mamtakim," perhaps it is natural. Sweet foods in nature such
as mother's milk and fruit are rich in the calories infants
and children need for growth; extremely bitter plants and
berries may be a warning of a poisonous plant.
* Ever wonder why you can't taste foods when you have a cold?
It's because the cold dulls your sense of smell, which is
largely responsible for taste perception.
* Burning your tongue kills some taste buds, but they
regenerate within a few months.
* The taste "umami" means "deliciousness" or "wonderful
taste" in Japanese. Umami is the taste effect of monosodium
glutamate (MSG), which is described as brothy, meaty and
savory.
Are You a Super Taster?
Try this test to see whether you're a super taster: Using a
hole punch, punch a hole in the middle of a one- inch square
of wax paper. Place the hole on the tip of your tongue. Swab
some blue food coloring on the exposed part of the tongue
and, using a magnifying glass and a flashlight, count the
number of fungiform papillae (the pinkish circles). Super
tasters will have dozens of papillae; non-tasters will have
only five or six.
(C) 2002 Dr. Reuven Bruner, PhD. All Rights Reserved. Contact
him at: POB 1903, Jerusalem, 91314, Israel; Tel: (02) 652-
7684; Mobile: 052 865-821; Fax: (02) 652- 7227; Email:
dr_bruner@hotmail.com
