Pass us a box of Quality Street and we’ll grab a handful. Offer us plate of salad and we’ll probably say no.
But why? Why is it that we have such an affinity for sweet foods, despite the fact they’re really bloody bad for us?
It’s one of the most unfair eventualities in life – we’re so much more likely to eat sweet foods than we are any that have actual nutritional value. But it turns out there’s a perfectly understandable explanation for it – it’s actually a survival mechanism.
Nutritional scientist and associate lecturer at the London South Bank University, Dr Adam Cunliffe, explained the whole thing to us.
‘We’re not actually born liking very much,’ the expert said. ‘We’re not really born liking anything except mother’s milk and sweet tastes, so we acquire likes over time.’
The doctor explained there are lots of theories about why we’re born with so few likes and so many dislikes, but noted the predominant thinking that’s widely accepted is that ‘it’s a protective mechanism to ensure we suckle’.
Essentially, if we were born not liking sweet tastes, we wouldn’t be keen on our mother’s breast milk, and therefore we wouldn’t be able to survive.
‘It ensures the basic food that we’re going to require to live from the moment we’re born is immediately palatable to us,’ Dr Cunliffe said.
So that’s why we’re having Starbucks hot chocolates on the daily, is it? Good to know.
