Trick or treat? This confection may be more pleasing to some taste buds than it is to others.
Credit: Photos.com
Posted on 07/31/2009 10:28:27 PM PDT by neverdem
Trick or treat? This confection may be more pleasing to some taste buds than it is to others.
Credit: Photos.com
If you take your coffee without sugar or your pancakes without syrup, chances are you've got some European ancestry in your blood. New research reveals that people whose early relatives lived in Europe are more sensitive to sweet tastes than those whose ancestors came from other parts of the world.
Scientists led by Alexey Fushan of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders in Bethesda, Maryland, asked 144 people from various ethnic backgrounds to rank the sweetness of nine solutions ranging from 0% to 4% sugar. The volunteers' sucrose sensitivity turned out to be strongly associated with two variants of a gene called TAS1R3, which plays a major role in encoding the main carbohydrate sweet taste receptor.
Consulting a reference collection of DNA from 1050 people from around the world held by CEPH, the French gene database, the scientists found that most Europeans have both of the sweetness-sensing variants. The variants are less widespread in people from Asia and the Middle East and are least prevalent in Africans, the team reports in the 11 August issue of Current Biology.
Co-author and geneticist Dennis Drayna says the disparity may be evolutionarily significant. "People who study diet and evolution have pointed out most of the high sugar–containing plants like sugarcane are tropical plants," he notes. "So in northerly latitudes, you have to be more sensitive to sugar to find calories." Molecular biologist Stephen Wooding of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas agrees that the difference may be adaptive. But he says the particular adaptation isn't yet clear.
I’m a first-generation American of European ancestry and I like extra Amaretto syrup in my latte and butter and extra syrup on my pancakes. So much for that theory!
Most of my blood is Italian and I love sweet coffee and the like.
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Well, I like sugar in my coffee (that is, when I drink coffee)...
...but I’d rather sprinkle a small pinch of powdered or confectioner’s sugar on my pancakes than use syrup.
Pancakes exist to allow multiple layers of syrup to float above the plate, thus maximizing the plate's syrup capacity. Similarly, waffles have intented squares on them to maximize tha amount of butter and syrup held.
You’re making me hungry. Let go my Eggo....
Looking in the mirror is a good way to tell where your ancestors came from as well.
Where's my government check so I can deal with my inability to tolerate the increasing levels of sugar in my foods and beverages?
Hey, you’d better apply for a research grant to confirm that.
German anceastry. Black coffee, no sugar; iced tea, no sugar; french toast, no powdered sugar, pancakes, no sugar; etc ...
I like pancakes with only butter, no syrup ... ever.
I think it only has to do with whether you prefer sweet or savory items, not your ancestry. I would rather sit down to a well cooked steak than a ice crean sundae.
Some people are kike that. :)
3rd generation Norge/English here... and for me, waffles are just an excuse to pour on pints of maple syrup, because it would sound silly to ask for just a bowl of syrup and a spoon. :-)
I think that Italy is in Europe.
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This *proves* that the campaign to tax sugary beverages originated with the honkies!If you take your coffee without sugar or your pancakes without syrup, chances are you've got some European ancestry in your blood. New research reveals that people whose early relatives lived in Europe are more sensitive to sweet tastes than those whose ancestors came from other parts of the world.Thanks neverdem.To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.The Neandertal EnigmaFrayer's own reading of the record reveals a number of overlooked traits that clearly and specifically link the Neandertals to the Cro-Magnons. One such trait is the shape of the opening of the nerve canal in the lower jaw, a spot where dentists often give a pain-blocking injection. In many Neandertal, the upper portion of the opening is covered by a broad bony ridge, a curious feature also carried by a significant number of Cro-Magnons. But none of the alleged 'ancestors of us all' fossils from Africa have it, and it is extremely rare in modern people outside Europe." [pp 126-127] |
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However, the Italian bloodlines, especially those of Southern Italians, are heavily influenced by Greeks from Asia Minor and various North African peoples. Scicilians were invaded by all kinds of people from the South and East over their history. Same with Spaniards and Portugese. They were Muslim for 500 years. Maybe the sweet tooth snuck in there from that.
My wife is from Lubeck, Germany and she's almost addicted to 'Marzipan'. And so is our oldest daughter. And when Christmas comes and the Marzipan from Germany arrives from the relatives, its like junkies finding 10 pounds of heroin laying in the street.
Marzipan: a confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal.Now I can't stand it, I'm Irish and German. BUT as a kid I LIVED on Kellogg's Frosted Flakes (Theeeeey're GREAT!). And I even put MORE sugar on it!
So much for Europeans not liking sugar, harrumph!
But, this isn’t what the study said. It just concluded that mostly people of european ancestry have this polymorphism, and it makes them more sensitive to sweetness, meaning that they may use less sugar than someone who doesn’t have this polymorphism.
I’d rather use whole fruit jam than syrup.
When I was a kid I ate pancakes with butter only, and still use low sugar syrup sparingly.
If I am hungry, I want savory, not sweet. I have no trouble foregoing sugar, but nice greasy cheesburgers are my downfall.
My ancestors were from Denmark, Scotland, and France. Interesting article.
For those of you who are challanged gegraphically, here's a southern treat that may not make it to the northern parts. Maple syrup is good but pure Cane Syrup, not molasses or sorghum is a taste treat. It is increasingly hard to find in chain grocery stores but can be ordered from several makers web sites.
Irish/English/German mix here. I drink nothing sweet and really hate anything sweet that isn’t supposed to be sweet. There is nothing more disgusting in the world than a perfectly good cuke being turned into a sweet pickle! ICK!
Hubby and I are both equally european in descent, both 1/2 second generation american born and both 100% euro, he likes sugar in coffee and I don’t. I don’t really like sweet drinks at all. A good cold soda once in a while that is about it. But I put sugar on cereal and he does not. The kid takes after him in this, as in most things.
English, Welsh, Scots, French, and German ancestry here: I concur with your analysis.
To paraphrase Monty Python, "Butter, butter, butter, waffles, and butter."
Sweetened whipped cream; syrups; sugar in coffee AND tea; extra thick frostings and icings....
I think you have to distinguish between sensitivity to sweetness and liking sweetness. Personally, I dislike whole wheat bread because it tastes too sweet to me -- well, not nearly sweet enough for dessert, but sweet enough to ruin anything that's not supposed to be dessert! So I think I'm pretty sensitive to sweet. OTOH, when I do want something sweet, it ain't gonna be whole wheat bread. ;-)
I agree with that! And, for me, it should include chocolate.
In my family, it’s a last little bit of potato after dessert. :’)
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