THE SCIENCE BEHIND PICKY EATERS
Taste and smell, along with the trigeminal nerve—responsible for face stimulation and motor functions like biting, chewing, and swallowing—create the whole experience of flavors and other sensory impressions of food and drinks including their temperature. Taste buds are located on the back and front of the tongue, as well as on the roof, sides and back of the mouth, and in the throat. The tongue is divided into five basic tastes “zones”: Sweet, Bitter, Sour, Salty and Savory. Kids’ cravings for sweets are due to their to identifying sweets with energy-rich foods, while they interpret bitterness as a warning sign of a harmful substance.
