Research indicates that bacteria living in your gut can generate cravings for certain foods, which may reveal why tastes that appeal to some, are less appetising to others.
Food for thought
Humans are crawling with bacteria. In fact, microbial genes outnumber human genes by 100 to one in the intestinal microbiome.
Considering that you feed your gut bacteria every time you eat, notably, a relationship between taste sensitivity and specific bacteria develops over time.
According to a recent study involving food researchers at the University of Milan, “from birth, people are hard-wired to crave sweet and salty flavours and reject bitter foods. However, later in life, preferences change as a result of repeated food experiences.”
That said, the researchers go on to suggest that “microbes in the gastrointestinal tract could have a potential direct role in shaping individuals’ eating behaviour,” which can partially explain why our tastes change over time.
You are what you eat
According to Dr Anton Janse Van Rensburg, a specialist in gut health “it is highly likely that your bacteria will affect your taste, considering that your gut starts at the mouth and ends at the anus”.
You start digesting food in your mouth via enzymes in your saliva, but you also have bacteria in your mouth that assist the process and can manipulate human eating behaviours by generating cravings for foods that enhance their fitness.
Dr Van Rensburg says, “the big issue is that we don’t have enough of the right bacteria in our microbiome. This is partly because more babies today are borne via Caesarean section and don’t swallow their mother’s vaginal fluid. Secondly because of the quality of our soil and the food we eat, most of the population has what we call dysbiosis, which is a term for microbial imbalance”.
When this happens, “the intestinal wall starts becoming worn out and leaky”, which means that toxins can leak out into the bloodstream, causing what is known as “metabolic endotoxemia”, believed to be a root cause for many illnesses, he explains.
“This is why probiotics – the good bacteria, are so important”, asserts Dr Van Rensburg: “Taking a high dose of a multiple spore-biotic strain product for 60 days can help you to heal your gut by colonising the good bacteria that provide us with nutrients”, rather than feeding strains of non-benefitting “bad” bacteria serving to manipulate their own cause for survival.
So what’s the verdict?
Dr Van Rensburg supports the notion that “it’s very much a case of nurture”, affirming that we are not born with certain food and taste preferences, and that it is possible to adapt to eating foods that we may not enjoy as much, by simply eating more of them.
Closing thoughts
What we eat determines what grows within us – and what grows within us determines what we eat… it’s that simple.
So there you go, eat your greens, and eat some more! Ready to find out exactly which foods will help nurture a balanced microbiome? Email hayley@keepevolvingsa.com and take a free personalised nutrition assessment to guide your journey towards optimal health.
References:
Alcock. J. et al (2014) Is eating behavior manipulated by the gastrointestinal microbiota? Evolutionary pressures and potential mechanisms. Available at Pubmed [online] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4270213/
Cattaneo. C. et al (2019) New insights into the relationship between taste perception and oral microbiota composition. Available at Scientific Reports – Pub Med [online] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6401163/
Senghor. B. et al (2018) Gut microbiota diversity according to dietary habits and geographical provenance. Available at Science Direct [online] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452231717300143
Gasque. G. (2018) An Appetite for understanding appetite. Available at PLOS Biology [online]
https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2002838