Hate Meat? It May Be in Your Genes
Hate Meat? It May Be in Your Genes
May 2, 2012 -- Whether we like or loathe the smell of a frying pork chop may depend on our genes, a new study shows.
The study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, is one of the first to show how genes may shape our food choices.
"People who are instinctively vegetarian or vegan or instinctively heavy meat-eaters, it could definitely have some sort of underlying biological component to it," says Kara Hoover, PhD, a biological anthropologist and assistant professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She was not involved in the current research.
"When you consider that our food preferences are driven by flavor, which is the intersection of taste and odor, with a heavier emphasis on odor, clearly genetic variation in humans is going to make a difference in how we prefer food," Hoover tells WebMD.
People detect odors thanks to tiny chemical receptors that sit on nerve cells inside the nose. In total, we have genes for about 400 different smell receptors that help sense about 10,000 different odors.
Some of those receptors detect the steroid androstenone, which is found in high concentrations in male pigs.
Farmers have known for some time that uncastrated male pigs can produce meat with a strong odor, so most commercially raised animals in the U.S. are castrated to get rid of the smell, which is known as boar taint.
Previous research found that people who have two copies of a gene that helps sense androstenone -- scientists think that's about 70% of the population -- are able to smell the chemical. These people can have a mixed reaction to the pork.
"For those who are very sensitive to it, it's really disgusting. It's a sweaty, urine-like odor," says researcher Hiroaki Matsunami, PhD, an associate professor of molecular genetics and microbiology at Duke University in Durham, N.C. "For others, you can smell it, but it's not as bad. Those people say it smells fragrant, chemical, or sweet."
In contrast, people with only one copy of the gene or who carry another gene variant for the receptor aren't as bothered by the aroma of androstenone. They find the odor to be weak or unnoticeable.
Hate Meat? It May Be in Your Genes
Study Shows Some People Carry Genes That Make the Smell of Meat More Intense and Unpleasant
May 2, 2012 -- Whether we like or loathe the smell of a frying pork chop may depend on our genes, a new study shows.
The study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, is one of the first to show how genes may shape our food choices.
"People who are instinctively vegetarian or vegan or instinctively heavy meat-eaters, it could definitely have some sort of underlying biological component to it," says Kara Hoover, PhD, a biological anthropologist and assistant professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She was not involved in the current research.
"When you consider that our food preferences are driven by flavor, which is the intersection of taste and odor, with a heavier emphasis on odor, clearly genetic variation in humans is going to make a difference in how we prefer food," Hoover tells WebMD.
How Genes Influence Smell
People detect odors thanks to tiny chemical receptors that sit on nerve cells inside the nose. In total, we have genes for about 400 different smell receptors that help sense about 10,000 different odors.
Some of those receptors detect the steroid androstenone, which is found in high concentrations in male pigs.
Farmers have known for some time that uncastrated male pigs can produce meat with a strong odor, so most commercially raised animals in the U.S. are castrated to get rid of the smell, which is known as boar taint.
Previous research found that people who have two copies of a gene that helps sense androstenone -- scientists think that's about 70% of the population -- are able to smell the chemical. These people can have a mixed reaction to the pork.
"For those who are very sensitive to it, it's really disgusting. It's a sweaty, urine-like odor," says researcher Hiroaki Matsunami, PhD, an associate professor of molecular genetics and microbiology at Duke University in Durham, N.C. "For others, you can smell it, but it's not as bad. Those people say it smells fragrant, chemical, or sweet."
In contrast, people with only one copy of the gene or who carry another gene variant for the receptor aren't as bothered by the aroma of androstenone. They find the odor to be weak or unnoticeable.
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