Vegetable taste

Why is that children hate vegetables and elderly people relish them? Here's one explanation and also a benefit of getting older. According to a study conducted by the University of Washington, USA, it appears that vegetables taste better as one gets older. This is because sensitivity to bitterness declines with age.

In the study, 329 women between the age of 21-84 were tested for their responses to a bitter medicine and asked what foods they enjoyed and what they actually ate. The researchers found that "the younger the woman, the stronger was the reaction to the medicine". Elderly women reported an increasing preference for green vegetables, whole grain foods, bitter fruits like grapefruits and lemons and drinks like coffee and tea. "Age was the best predictor of healthy diets," the study concludes. The study was recently presented at a conference organised by the agriculture department of the University of Washington.