People with more taste buds are more likely to become professional chefs or wine tasters than people with fewer taste buds. Now, researchers have developed a new tongue test that allows you to test your taste buds at home.
To test your taste buds, you need some blue food coloring, a piece of paper with a 7mm-wide hole punched through it, and a magnifying glass.
To test your taste buds, put some blue food coloring onto the tip of your tongue. While the tongue will change color with the dye, but the tiny structures known as papillae, which hold the taste buds, stay pink.
Next put a piece of paper with a 7mm-wide hole punched through it on the front part of the tongue and, using a magnifying glass, count how many pink dots are inside the hole.
Insensitive "non-tasters" will have fewer than 15 papillae, average tasters between 15 and 35, and "super-tasters" will have over 35 papillae.
According to researchers, non-tasters make up one-quarter of the population, tasters 50 percent, and super-tasters make up the rest.
It is possible to educate your taste buds, though some people will naturally taste better than others, researchers noted.
BBC News March 24, 2003
Now you have a definitive, simple and inexpensive method to know if extra taste receptors present a problem with your following the nutrition plan.
It’s important to remember that your taste buds may not be the best indicators of what foods are good for your body. Many people, especially those who are overweight, have developed a link between their taste buds and their brain that cause their body to produce insulin the moment they eat anything sweet.
This can sabotage weight loss efforts because you will keep on having cravings for sugar and grains. The good news is that your taste buds can be re-educated. This is simply a matter of "cleaning" your palate of grains to eliminate your body’s learned response to sugar.
Once your palate is cleared of grains, you’ll notice that foods will taste better than ever.
This entire process is described in detail in my new book, The No-Grain Diet.
If food cravings present a challenge for you, consider the use of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). For instructions on how to perform this simple, yet effective, technique you can view my free, 25-page EFT manual. You can also try my newly expanded EFT Series on DVD or VHS, which provides even more in-depth knowledge and advice, including a new presentation on incorporating proper nutrition into your life for optimal physical and emotional health.