Seriously Hate Veggies? Blame Your Genes | Men's Health Magazine Australia

Seriously Hate Veggies? Blame Your Genes

For many of us it can be a struggle to hit our five serves of veggies on the daily, but for some it’s a down right disgusting process and science has figured out why.

New research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2019 has found that some people’s aversion to the taste of leafy green vegetables is due to a specific gene that makes certain compounds unpalatable. 

“We’re talking a ruin-your-day level of bitter when they tasted the test compound,” said study author Jennifer Smith. “These people are likely to find broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage unpleasantly bitter; and they may also react negatively to dark chocolate, coffee and sometimes beer.”

RELATED: Fruit And Vegetables Make You More Attractive, According To Study

The researchers explain that everyone inherits genes that affect their tastebuds in different ways. People with two copies of the variant called AVI aren’t sensitive to bitter tastes from certain chemicals, people with one copy of AVI and one called PAV can perceive the bitter taste and those with two copies of PAV can’t handle the bitter taste. 

Everyone inherits two copies of a taste gene called TAS2R38. People who inherit two copies of the variant called AVI aren’t sensitive to bitter tastes from certain chemicals. Those with one copy of AVI and another called PAV perceive bitter tastes of these chemicals, however, individuals with two copies of PAV, often called “super-tasters,” find the same foods exceptionally bitter.

RELATED: Are Frozen Fruits And Vegetables As Good As The Fresh Option

The study analysed food-frequency questionnaires from 175 people and found that people with the PAV form of the gene were more than two and a half times as likely to rank in the bottom half of participants on the number of vegetables eaten. This was regardless of the however much salt, fat or sugar they ate. 

“We thought they might take in more sugar and salt as flavour enhancers to offset the bitter taste of other foods, but that wasn’t the case. Down the road we hope we can use genetic information to figure out which vegetables people may be better able to accept and to find out which spices appeal to super tasters so we can make it easier for them to eat more vegetables,” Smith said.

This article originally appeared on Women’s Health

More From

Trent Know running
Why I Run: Trent Knox

Why I Run: Trent Knox

In 2016, Trent Knox founded the 440 Run Club, a group who meet each Saturday morning at 5am at Sydney’s Bronte beach. While the club has been pivotal in Knox’s sobriety journey, this year he began training for events like the Sydney Marathon and fell in love with running all over again