Bitter veggies like kale and hoppy brews like IPAs are often dividing flavors—some love 'em, some hate 'em, and now research suggests that we can at least partially chalk it up to our genes. That's right, Mom and Dad—the same people who flew airplanes of broccoli and Brussels sprouts into your screaming mouth—may be the reason for your green-veggie gag reflex in the first place. Oh, the irony.
In a new Penn State study, researchers found that people who possessed variants of the taste receptor gene TAS2R—including the TAS2R38 variant, which is present in about 25% of the population—were much more sensitive to bitter flavors. In this case, they showed an aversion to hoppier beers, but TAS2R38 has also been linked to distaste for bitter veggies, too. In one previous study, people with the gene variant consumed an average of 200 fewer servings of veggies per year.
"How bitter something tastes has to do with how tightly the bitter compounds in foods bind with bitter receptors on your tongue," says Valerie Duffy, PhD, RD, author of the veggie study and professor in College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources at the University of Connecticut. So, in people who posses the gene variant TAS2R38, these compounds bind very tightly, creating the perception of extreme bitterness.
You don't need a genetic test to know with a fair amount of certainty whether or not you have it this gene variant—if veggies, particularly leafy greens or the cruciferous variety, taste intolerably bitter with no hint of a natural sweetness, chances are good that you do.
But even if you are one of these extreme bitter tasters, there's still hope. "It's all in the preparation," says Duffy. Adding a sprinkle of salt to your veggies can actually block bitter compounds from binding to bitter receptors. So can fat—so don't be afraid to drizzle on some olive oil or use a bit of butter on those Brussels. But the most effective method to combat bitter may be roasting. "When you roast vegetables, that actually converts more of the carbohydrates to sugars, bringing out their natural sweetness and making them much more palatable," says Duffy.
So there you have it, bitter gene or not, now there's officially no reason not to eat your vegetables.