What a woman eats during pregnancy may shape her child’s taste preferences for life, reports Medical News Today.
When an expectant mother eats something with a strong flavor, the child also absorbs this through the amniotic fluid, giving them a taste for the food while still in the womb.
"Things like vanilla, carrot, garlic, anise, mint – these are some of the flavors that have been shown to be transmitted to amniotic fluid or mother’s milk," explained Julie Mennella, from the The Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia.
"For example, eating broccoli while pregnant means there’s a better chance your baby will like broccoli more than another baby would, whose mother did not eat broccoli."
Genetics also play a role in determining taste preferences, at least when it comes to bitter tastes. Researchers at the Monell Center have discovered a particular protein called Serca3, which serves to shorten bitter taste sensations by causing taste cells to stop signaling the brain.
Mice which lacked the Serca3 gene were more sensitive to bitter tastes and found them more unpleasant. The researchers think similar genes may exist for sweet and savory tastes as well, but further studies are needed.
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