Researchers said there are three main clusters of foods that share similar genetic components:
People's genes play a significant role in why they love certain types of food but dislike others, according to a new study.
[...] The researchers said they found 401 genetic variants that influence which foods the participants liked. Many of these variants affected more than one food-liking trait, but some only affected one particular food.
[...] The food map created in the study suggests there are three main clusters of foods that share a similar genetic component.
One group is made up of high-calorie foods such as meat, dairy and desserts. The second group consists of strong-tasting foods that are known as an acquired taste, such as alcohol and pungent vegetables. The third group contains low-calorie foods such as fruit and vegetables.
The researchers also said that these food groups shared genes that are associated with distinct health traits, such as obesity and cholesterol profiles.
Dr Nicola Pirastu from Human Technopole said that although taste receptors are important in determining which foods people like, it is "what happens in your brain which is driving what we observe".
"Another important observation is that the main division of preferences is not between savoury and sweet foods, as might have been expected, but between highly pleasurable and high-calorie foods and those for which taste needs to be learned," Pirastu said.
Journal Reference:
May-Wilson, S., Matoba, N., Wade, K.H. et al. Large-scale GWAS of food liking reveals genetic determinants and genetic correlations with distinct neurophysiological traits. Nat Commun 13, 2743 (2022). 10.1038/s41467-022-30187-w
(Score: 4, Interesting) by bzipitidoo on Sunday August 21 2022, @05:09PM (3 children)
I have gradually come to understand just how much effort the food industry puts into manipulating us in every way that increases their profit, and the public health be damned. If it happens to help with health or appears to, they of course shout that from the rooftops. But it's pretty clear they don't care about that near as much as profit.
One thing that never passed the smell test was blaming us for being fat. We were told it's our fault, for eating too much and not exercising enough. Or, it's our genes' fault, and obviously no one can do anything about that, which so conveniently absolves everyone of any responsibility at all.
This science strikes me as the public sector trailing way behind and trying to catch up with the commercial food industry in their understanding
(Score: 3, Interesting) by aafcac on Sunday August 21 2022, @05:26PM
If you've got a good income, it's not that hard to avoid most of that stuff, the problem is that you have to be able to afford healthy food and have either the time to prepare it or the money to pay somebody else to. But, the bigger issue tends to be as much about how often we eat as what we eat. If you don't give your body some downtime between meals to clear out the liver's supply of glucose and let the body use some fat for energy, you're just going to have it building up. Cutting back much beyond what you need doesn't really help as your body will adjust to the caloric intake that it expects. So, if you cut 10% of calories in your meals, as is often recommended, you'd likely see a reduction in your metabolism to match that. But, if you cut 10% of your meals, your body still expects the normal number of calories, so a much smaller reduction in metabolic rate. And if you're combining that with reasonable amounts of exercise, the body shouldn't want to hit up the muscles for energy the way that it can if you're starving.
(Score: 3, Informative) by acid andy on Sunday August 21 2022, @06:02PM (1 child)
I saw a new packet of chips labeled Fat Free. When they took out the fat they added sugar to them!
Master of the science of the art of the science of art.
(Score: 1) by aafcac on Sunday August 21 2022, @07:27PM
This is typical. Fat is a flavor component if you take the fat out, then you're also taking flavor out. This will make food bland and rather unappealing, so they'll add other things as a substitute. Usually, that will be sugar, salt, MSG and similar. The result is that you've got something that's likely to be even less healthy than with the fat.
(Score: 3, Funny) by maxwell demon on Sunday August 21 2022, @07:33PM (4 children)
If you are what you eat, does that mean only cannibals are humans?
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Sunday August 21 2022, @07:43PM
Given that people differ, only people who eat themselves would be human.
I've known girls that bite their fingernails. Are they maybe the only humans I've met?
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Sunday August 21 2022, @08:52PM
Only if the people they eat are also cannibals, and the people they ate, etc.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 21 2022, @10:10PM (1 child)
I know you're joking, but an overly specific definition of "what you eat" leads to paradoxes which is how we know it's overly specific. You can't be broccoli one moment, then immediately become a steak just because you took a bite of something different. Therefore we must broaden the definition of "what you eat" and it might be sufficient to stop at "food". While it might take time, sooner or later we're eaten by something. That's only our physical bodies though. It's a bit like saying a computer is only the hardware. By the time we're eaten, the software is erased and then you get in to metaphysics and religion about what we are, who we are, and whether or not anything remains after that. So I conclude that we are in fact, not what we eat unless you only consider the body, and then it's a generality at best. The body eats food, and the body is ultimately food.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by aafcac on Sunday August 21 2022, @11:17PM
It's generally meant that if you eat crap you're body is going to be crap. If you eat healthy food, you're going to be healthy. That is somewhat debatable, eating healthy food in the wrong quantities is probably not going to end well, but eating junk food is definitely going to end badly a some point.