Our Tastes For Certain Foods May Be Written in Our Genes

Are you a person who just can’t stand broccoli? Well, your revulsion of the sprout-topped vegetable may run deeper than just stubbornness — your food preferences could be written into your genetic code.

Italian researchers studying the genetic basis of food cravings have discovered 17 genes related to liking specific foods including dark chocolate, artichokes, bacon, coffee and of course broccoli. Additionally, in separate studies the team also discovered genes linked with salt perception and metabolizing certain types of food.

Together, the series of studies bolsters a branch of research called nutrigenetics, which focuses on understanding the way our genes affect our choice of foods and our body’s ability to process these foods. Researchers believe the studies could contribute to personalized diets that make healthy foods tastier by catering to people’s preferences.


If the Genes Fit

The research team from the University of Trieste and the Burlo Garofolo Institute for Maternal and Child Health in Italy performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to locate the specific genes responsible for certain food preferences. A GWAS identifies genetic variants within snippets of DNA, harvested from blood or cheek swabs, that are linked to certain traits in groups of individuals.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2014/06/05/our-tastes-for-certain-foods-may-be-written-in-our-genes/#.U5KlvHJdXfI

I truly believe that.
I have always liked Mediterranean foods, I even like my vegetables cooked that way - and doing my fathers family tree I traced people (not too far back as a lot of his family have passed away and I couldn't get answers) back to Corsica and France.

I've always always had an affinity with France and all things French that I've e never been able to explain.


Have you ever looked as blood group diets? They also explain preferences for, and dislikes for certain food groups. Really interesting.

I'll do a thread later if I remember and we can all,see if we match our blood type preferences.