Why can’t some people just have the dose of salt that the cook has put into the food? We all know someone who, eat what he eats, sprinkles it first with the salt shaker as if there were no tomorrow.
Now, research by the University of Kentucky, whose results have been presented at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association, has revealed the existence of a genetic variation that makes people feel a special preference for very salty foods.
This variant has been detected in the TAS2R38 gene which, previously, had been linked with preference for bitter foods.
The finding raises interesting questions. On the one hand, the first conclusion would be to think that the taste for bitter and salty flavors has similar roots, although the researchers also think that this association can be a mechanism of the organism to make the salt masks the bitter taste.
And, on the other hand, more practical, the discovery opens the door to future research to try to get those people who feel a disproportionate attraction for salt, moderate that impulse.
