tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6485729541580426717.post645952517795074952..comments2024-03-11T00:26:35.303-07:00Comments on The Many Banes of My Existence by Alexis: Eat, Drink, and Be Merry Since I CannotAlexisARhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09797016673203467911noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6485729541580426717.post-9966150668636357032017-02-10T00:22:53.923-08:002017-02-10T00:22:53.923-08:00My suspicion regarding super-tasters, evolutionari...My suspicion regarding super-tasters, evolutionarily speaking, is that back in the day, it kept them from eating things that shouldn't be eaten. Others may have noticed that certain people seemed less likely to die or become violently ill from what they ingested when experimentation was necessary, and others emulated them. Then when food became abundant, the trait became about as obsolete as the appendix. One thing that has helped picky eaters through more modern famines is that what's available in many modern famines (think "The Long Winter" of the Little House series) is that the type of food available in famines is usually stuff like potatoes or flour - not greasy stuff that would be inedible to super-tasters. Any given situation could differ, though, and place a picky eater in a troublesome spot. And I can say all I want about my Donner Party list, but I have to wonder how much of that stuff I might find a way to keep down if my survival depended on it. I suspect there are things I couldn't get down no matter what, but I could be wrong.AlexisARhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09797016673203467911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6485729541580426717.post-26760270164241725482017-02-09T08:24:16.777-08:002017-02-09T08:24:16.777-08:00I wanted to clarify, "And, I suppose that if ...I wanted to clarify, "And, I suppose that if there are super tasters, the opposite exists. I guess that would lead those individuals to food aversion and favor towards foods that are a lot stronger tasting." By food aversion, I mean that those individuals would not take as much pleasure in eating just due to the fact that they do not perceive taste as strongly, and would hence find more foods to be bland, and not feel drawn to consumption. <br /><br />Also, HANG in there ... not hand. Beccanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6485729541580426717.post-86243874865613725332017-02-09T08:19:38.220-08:002017-02-09T08:19:38.220-08:00Regarding the taste buds, from an evolutionary per...Regarding the taste buds, from an evolutionary perspective wouldn't picky eating serve to lessen the availability of food that an individual would judge as "safe" to consume -- since taste (in pre-modern terms) was used as a mechanism for determining what was safe to eat and what was not? Someone with greater aversion would then, hypothetically, limit the number of foods that they were willing to eat even if they were nutritionally beneficial, based on taste alone. Obviously in the world of today (at least by American standards, putting aside socioeconomic constraints), this isn't nearly as problematic, though for our ancestors who were eating to survive, having aversion to a more readily available safe healthful food, could lead to malnutrition, depending on how severe the aversion was (in instances where the aversion was so strong vomiting was induced, thus avoidance of the offending food which could then cause nutritional issues if this food was in high availability, with low/no access to other more tolerable resources). I'm not sure if this makes sense as I have written it out here, and I am resisting the urge to write about various different possible scenarios, but this was my original idea. We discussed this in Neuroanatomy, and even though we did not talk about taste as it relates to cognition and intelligence, the survival/evolutionary basis is a pretty overwhelming basis for how we understand brain function today. <br />I do agree with your observation, however, that picky eating does seem to be more prevalent among the educated. Or, at least "selective" eating. I have a friend who is a fairly picky eater for a grown man in his 40's. He's just not a typically hungry person. He's been known to take the meat, cheese, and tomatoes from a sandwich, and only eat the bread and the lettuce. However, he likes vegetables that people typically do not like -- he loves Brussel sprouts, asparagus. He's incredibly intelligent and can speak several different languages. He's well traveled and well read. I'm a super taster, and I wanted to test him ... though his liking more bitter/acidic vegetables makes me question whether or not he is. And, I suppose that if there are super tasters, the opposite exists. I guess that would lead those individuals to food aversion and favor towards foods that are a lot stronger tasting. <br /><br />I don't ... lots of different things to consider. But, I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in as food for thought! <br /><br />Sorry you're still mending! Hand in there :) Beccanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6485729541580426717.post-4930697932412044722017-02-08T02:06:27.234-08:002017-02-08T02:06:27.234-08:00I've had flan. I liked it.
You're smart ...I've had flan. I liked it.<br /><br />You're smart not to sign the waiver. knottyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10127277724751832329noreply@blogger.com