Supertasters relish food more

One person in four is a "supertaster" able to detect the most subtle nuances of food, says a study.

It is believed to be a genetic trait that determines what individuals eat and what illnesses they will develop.

Professor Linda Bartoshuk, of Yale University in Connecticut, said supertasters, who were mostly women, lived in a "neon-lit" world of flavours that was about three times as intense as the "pastel world" of the less-sensitive "non-tasters", who had fewer tastebuds on their tongues.

Supertasters carried a double copy of a gene that made them sensitive to bitter tastes. They tended to avoid sweet, high-fat foods but were also averse to vegetables that might taste unpleasantly bitter, she said.

"Supertasters are picky eaters. They taste bitterness in food that other people don't notice.

"For some, the food world is just slashingly bright and they opt out from many food choices.

"It's related to gender because women are more likely to be supertasters than men.

"Bitter taste is related to hormones in humans," said Dr Bartoshuk. "The degree of bitterness perceived varies with the menstrual cycle. It also goes to a peak in early pregnancy and falls off a cliff at menopause."

Pregnant women might become highly sensitive to bitter taste probably because it was a way of protecting their developing babies from the effects of food poisoning.

Women also tended to differ from men in their taste preferences.

"Female supertasters really don't like high fat so they eat less of it and their cardiovascular profiles are superior than non-tasting females.

"Many males show the opposite pattern, which means that many males who taste fat more intensely also like it more and so they gain weight," she said.

Scientists could identify supertasters by getting them to taste a chemical called prop.

"It tastes incredibly bitter to supertasters, moderately bitter to medium-tasters and basically tastes not at all to non-tasters," Dr Bartoshuk said.

About a quarter of the population are non-tasters and the rest are medium-tasters.