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第二篇
Some People do Not Taste Salt Like Others
Low-salt foods may be harder for some people to like than others,according to a study by a Penn State
College of Agricultural Sciences food scientist.The research indicates that genetic factors influence some of
the difference in the levels of salt we like to eat.
Those conclusions are important because recent,well-publicized efforts to reduce the salt content in food
have left many people struggling to accept fare that simply does not taste as good to them as it does to others,
pointed out John Hayes,assistant professor of food science who was lead investigator on the study.
Diets high in salt can increase the risk of high blood pressure and stroke.That is why public health ex-
perts and food companies are working together on ways to help consumers lower salt intake through foods that
are enjoyable to eat.This study increases undersfanding of salt preference and consumption.
The research involved 87 carefully screened participants who sampled salty foods such as soup and
chips,on multiple occasions,spread out over weeks.Test subjects were 45 men and 42 women,reportedly
healthy,ranging in age from 20 to 40 years.The sample was composed of individuals who were not actively
modifying their dietary intake and did not smoke cigarettes.They rated the intensity of taste on a commonly
used scientific scale,ranging from barely detectable to strongest sensation of any kind.
"Most of us like the taste of salt.However,some individuals eat more salt,both because they like the
taste of saltiness more,and also because it is needed to block other unpleasant tastes in food,"said Hayes.
"Supertasters,people who experience tastes more intensely,consume more salt than nontasters do.Snack
foods have saltiness as their primary flavor,and at least for these foods,more is better,so the supertasters
seem to like them more."
However,supertasters also need higher levels of salt to block unpleasant bitter tastes in food such as
cheese,Hayes noted."For example,cheese is a wonderful blend of dairy flavors from fermented milk,but al-
so bitter tastes from ripening that are blocked by salt,"he said."A supertaster finds low-salt cheese unpleasant
because the bitterness is too pronounced."
Hayes cited research done more than 75 years ago by a chemist named Fox and a geneticist named
Blakeslee,showing that individuals differ in their ability to taste certain chemicals.As a result,Hayes ex-
plained,we know that a wide range in taste acuity exists,and this variation is as normal as variations in eye
and hair color.
"Some people,called supertasters,'describe bitter compounds as being extremely bitter,while others,
called nontasters,find these same bitter compounds to be tasteless or only weakly bitter,"he said."Response
to bitter compounds is one of many ways to identify biological differences in food preference because super-
tasting is not limited to bitterness."
It is true that_________.
A:nontasters like to share salty cheese with supertasters
B:nontasters consume more salt because they like intense tastes
C:supertasters like the taste of saltiness to block sweet tastes in food
D:supertasters like snack foods more as they contain higher levels of saltiness