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 Sciences1 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 food2 have left many people struggling to accept fare that simply does not taste as good to them as it does to others3，pointed out John Hayes，assistant professor of food science，who was lead investigator4 on the study.

Diets high in salt can increase the risk of high blood pressure and stroke.That is why public health experts and food companies are working together on ways to help consumers lower salt intake through foods that are enjoyable to eat.This study increases understanding 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 weeks5.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 foods such as cheese，Hayes noted.“For example，cheese is a wonderful blend of dairy flavors from fermented milk，but also bitter tastes from ripening that are blocked by salt，”he said.“A supertaster finds low-salt cheese unpleasant because the bitterness is too pronouncedo6.”

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 explained，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 difterences in food preference because supertasting7 is not limited to bitterness. (476)

詞匯：

publicize v.引起公眾對(duì)…的注意;(用廣告)宣傳 ferment v.(使)發(fā)酵

geneticist n.遺傳學(xué)家

dietary adj.飲食的;規(guī)定食物的 acuity n.敏銳;尖銳

注釋：

1.Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences：即Penn State University-College of Agricultural Sciences賓州州立大學(xué)農(nóng)學(xué)院。Penn是Pennsylvania的縮寫(xiě)，是美國(guó)賓夕法尼亞州州名。賓州州立大學(xué)建于1855年，在全國(guó)共有24個(gè)分校。在句中，Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences用作定語(yǔ)，修飾food scientist。

2.well-publicized efforts to reduce the salt content in food：大力宣傳減少食物含鹽量的做法

3.1eft many people struggling to accept fare that simply does not taste as good to them as it does to others：使得許多人努力去接受適合其他人而不適合他們口味的食物。fare相當(dāng)于food。

4.1ead investigator：研發(fā)項(xiàng)目負(fù)責(zé)人

5.…carefully screened participants who sampled salty foods as soup and chips，on multiple occasion，spread out over weeks：……經(jīng)過(guò)仔細(xì)篩選的實(shí)驗(yàn)參與者，他們?cè)趲字軆?nèi)的不同時(shí)間里品嘗了湯和薯?xiàng)l等含鹽食物。

6.too pronounced：此處pronounced為形容詞，意為very noticeable，conspicuous(明顯的，顯著的)。

7.supertasting：超重味感