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From:	Tom Mc (124.169.113.15)
Subject:	Tasting Fat
Date:	March 27, 2012 at 4:21 am PST

Ate my first ever sapote today. What a treat. Creamy, caramel, date/pear-like.

On to my topic: Tasting Fat. Dr D says that we have no taste receptors for fat. I just listened to a radio show discussing the process of tasting, and it's in clear discord with this concept.

To summarise and paraphrase the podcast:

Salty, bitter, sour, sweet, umami (brothy...Umami is associated with detecting amino acid/ protein content). Fat has been identified as a sixth taste, with the taste receptors perhaps even able to discern the type of fat present in the food.

CSIRO (Australia's peak government scientific body) food scientists have been using MRI imaging of the brain, along with producing "model foods (manufactured food according to an experimental design)", so they can vary the structure and the composition of the food, add flavours etc, and then track them with their instruments.

They discuss taste buds as essentially nutrient detectors, in that the taste of particular foods relates to the nutritional value of them. The sensation of flavour is produced by a combination of tasting and smelling at the same time. We have a "retro nasal passage" that goes from the back of the throat into the nasal cavity. We are literally smelling from the inside when we eat food. The brain receives the taste impulses, and it also receives the smell impulses, & puts it all together as a picture in the mind, which forms the idea of a flavour. Taste and smell receptors work in conjunction with each other. And of course perceiving flavour is layered with the memory of tasting and eating certain flavours, along with cultural associations etc.

Book: "Neurogastronomy: How The Brain Creates Flavour, & Why It Matters", by Gordon M Shepherd, presents the concept that smell stimulates the nose from the back of the throat (the "retro-nasal passage").

By and large, taste buds are chemical sensors. Apparently the same receptors are found in other partsof the body, including down the digestive tract, in the liver, in adipose tissue, as well as other areas. Even though we're not conscious of the chemical reception performed by these receptors located elsewhere in the body, it is believed they form a role in some sort of a feedback process (to let us know to avoid certain foods in the future etc).

They also point out that it is a myth that certain parts of the tounge only taste certain types of flavour (though they do say that certain parts are more sensitive to certain nutrients than other parts).

This is a link to the podcast if anybody is interested:
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/rnfirstbite/taste-plus-smell-equals-flavour/3906468

My point in writing this? I'd always assumed that we tasted fat, & when Dr. D presented the idea that we can't taste fat, this seemed strange, so I stayed interested in the concept. It's possible that the work of these CSIRO scientists is flawed. I personally believe that it is irrelevant whether or not we can taste fat, as it has no impact on the rest of what Dr D presents. Neverthless, Dr D, this may be something that needs to be reviewed for subsequent editions of "801010 Diet" (?). Any comments appreciated.

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