Why do we like some foods and not others?

It's not just a matter of taste. When we eat food, all our senses are awakened. "The first visual sensations are important. Great chefs work on their plates to create color. Monotony has less sensory impact", explains Alexandre Benani. Director of research at the CNRS and a biologist by training, he works on sensations of hunger and satiety.

Once vision has passed, the sense of smell comes into play. The researcher takes a very telling example: passing by a bakery, when the smell of pastries makes the mouth water, even without being hungry. " Food smells are learned and a past food experience, associated with pleasure, guides our eating behavior. "

This also works for the rejection of a food like rotting meat, for example.

Touch can also have an effect on our liking for a food. Is it sweet, cold, soft, etc.? Our sense of hearing tells us about a food's crunchiness and texture in the mouth. Last but not least, taste is essential for sensing flavors and aromas and getting our taste buds going. But whether we like a food or not, the process also and above all takes place in the brain.

The brain, a key parity

In his research, Alexandre Benani also investigates which neurons activate which signals and under which conditions. Signals can be sent to the hypothalamus to inform reserves. This is called homeostasis: the process by which intestinal activity is regulated to maintain a more or less balanced weight.

At the taste bud level, five basic flavors can be distinguished: salty, acidic, sweet, bitter and umami, a flavor from Japan that literally means "tasty" and can be found in foods such as mushrooms or seaweed, for example.

Bitterness "isthe taste of adults", explains Alexandre Benani. "But you have to work at it. With repetition, you end up liking it. We'll appreciate a beer more and more, for example, gradually, as we grow up." Cooks often find bitterness interesting, as it balances out a dish.

As for sweetness, the researcher explains that genetics also have an impact on our tastes. "Sugar is innate. The brain is programmed to like it. [...] Historically, it's a safe food, a source of energy and high in calories. Sugar gives a feeling of satiety and it's rich, so it increases pleasure tenfold."

Preferences are also shaped by education, culture, family environment... But also in utero. The specialist tells us that, according to the results of an experiment, if a mother regularly cooks a particular spice when she's pregnant, she's more likely to enjoy it.if a mother regularly cooks and consumes a particular spice during pregnancy,"her baby will memorize the flavor, which crosses the placental barrier. He will then be more inclined to eat that spice. As an infant, it will even express mimics of pleasure when it perceives the scent. There is indeed a foetal programming of sensoriality."

Thereafter, personal experience plays an important role. "The first 1,000 days can influence taste, and the brain memorizes.

Taste memory

Tastes are also the fruit of learning. Alexandre Benani explains: "when we've already had experience of a food and if, for example, it was toxic or bad, the brain learns to reject it."

Food choice questions memory, and preferences function via the memory zone. The part of the brain called the "hippocampus" is powerful in memorizing a rejection. We are reminded, for example, of the experience that gave us food poisoning. Or the one that gave us positive emotions. when we have a good taste experience, "neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin are released in the brain, creating a reflex loop". We like a food, the brain remembers it and it can make us want to eat it again.