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What is the advantage to having tastebuds?

AhnimusAhnimus Posts: 10,560
edited June 2007 in A Moving Train
From an evolution perspective - besides "God did it!" - why would we have evolved tastebuds that make bad things taste good? Shouldn't we find vegetables and stuff far tastier than salt and lard?
I necessarily have the passion for writing this, and you have the passion for condemning me; both of us are equally fools, equally the toys of destiny. Your nature is to do harm, mine is to love truth, and to make it public in spite of you. - Voltaire
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  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    I thought it was to differentiate between what is harmful and what is not?

    But that's probably wrong.

    Don't care so much really. Not having a sense of taste must be awful!!

    Imagine never being able to enjoy chocolate? Or pineapple?
    NOPE!!!

    *~You're IT Bert!~*

    Hold on to the thread
    The currents will shift
  • geniegenie Posts: 2,222
    Ahnimus wrote:
    From an evolution perspective - besides "God did it!" - why would we have evolved tastebuds that make bad things taste good? Shouldn't we find vegetables and stuff far tastier than salt and lard?

    i don't know :( nature doesn't seem to be on our side when it comes to chocolate mmm :D
  • geniegenie Posts: 2,222
    Jeanie wrote:
    I thought it was to differentiate between what is harmful and what is not?

    But that's probably wrong.

    Don't care so much really. Not having a sense of taste must be awful!!

    Imagine never being able to enjoy chocolate? Or pineapple?

    I agree!!
    speaking of pineapple, today i've eaten pizza with becon & pineapple mmm..it was delicious. is there anything else that goes well with pineapple??
  • surferdudesurferdude Posts: 2,057
    genie wrote:
    is there anything else that goes well with pineapple??
    RUM!!!!!!
    “One good thing about music,
    when it hits you, you feel to pain.
    So brutalize me with music.”
    ~ Bob Marley
  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    genie wrote:
    I agree!!
    speaking of pineapple, today i've eaten pizza with becon & pineapple mmm..it was delicious. is there anything else that goes well with pineapple??

    Stawberries. :)

    Kiwi fruit. :)

    Oooh! And canteloupe!! (rockmelon) :D

    Oh and watermelon! ;)

    But I'm rather partial to pineapple on pizza too. ;)
    NOPE!!!

    *~You're IT Bert!~*

    Hold on to the thread
    The currents will shift
  • RolandTD20KdrummerRolandTD20Kdrummer Posts: 13,066
    I always thought the more calorie dense foods tasted better to us from a survival and longevity perspective. Salt who knows maybe it's a tasting blood salt thing that triggers something primitive, or just salty sea water that does the same ingrained since mammals essentially lived in, then crawled out of the sea...
    Progress is not made by everyone joining some new fad,
    and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
    over specific principles, goals, and policies.

    http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg

    (\__/)
    ( o.O)
    (")_(")
  • surferdudesurferdude Posts: 2,057
    Ahnimus wrote:
    From an evolution perspective - besides "God did it!" - why would we have evolved tastebuds that make bad things taste good? Shouldn't we find vegetables and stuff far tastier than salt and lard?
    You've boxed yourself into a paradigm where you believe their purpose is to prolong our lives through good dietary choices. Maybe they serve the exact opposite function, they make making the "smart" choice harder, a built in mechanism to shorten stupid peoples lifespans.
    “One good thing about music,
    when it hits you, you feel to pain.
    So brutalize me with music.”
    ~ Bob Marley
  • AbookamongstthemanyAbookamongstthemany Posts: 8,209
    The thought of not being able to enjoy some good thai food or strawberries and cream is just sad.

    or tiramisu!!!

    :)
    If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.

    Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
    -Oscar Wilde
  • geniegenie Posts: 2,222
    Jeanie wrote:
    Stawberries. :)

    Kiwi fruit. :)

    Oooh! And canteloupe!! (rockmelon) :D

    Oh and watermelon! ;)

    But I'm rather partial to pineapple on pizza too. ;)

    aww, thank you so many frutily delicious suggestions! i'm getting more hungry as i read this post

    P.S Jeanie, did you know message pit started limiting the use of images, including smilies *unhappy face*
  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    genie wrote:
    aww, thank you so many frutily delicious suggestions! i'm getting more hungry as i read this post

    P.S Jeanie, did you know message pit started limiting the use of images, including smilies *unhappy face*

    Well I do love my fruit and veg. :)

    Yeah, I know ALL about the smilie limits. :( And I'm STILL not happy about it!
    NOPE!!!

    *~You're IT Bert!~*

    Hold on to the thread
    The currents will shift
  • geniegenie Posts: 2,222
    surferdude wrote:
    RUM!!!!!!

    rum is my choice of alcohol. hmm....next time i'll try your advice ;)
  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    Abookamongstthemany wrote:
    The thought of not being able to enjoy some good thai food or strawberries and cream is just sad.

    or tiramisu!!!

    :)

    YUM!! Exactly abook!! Just too sad if we couldn't enjoy all those delicious flavors. :)
    NOPE!!!

    *~You're IT Bert!~*

    Hold on to the thread
    The currents will shift
  • geniegenie Posts: 2,222
    Jeanie wrote:
    Well I do love my fruit and veg. :)

    Yeah, I know ALL about the smilie limits. :( And I'm STILL not happy about it!

    i think i'm more sad for you than for myself :( i use to love seeing your smilie posts, they made the whole board look happier :)
  • catefrancescatefrances Posts: 29,003
    if we didnt have taste buds we could eat shit and think it was chocolate. and that just ain't right. :D:p
    hear my name
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  • AbookamongstthemanyAbookamongstthemany Posts: 8,209
    Jeanie wrote:
    YUM!! Exactly abook!! Just too sad if we couldn't enjoy all those delicious flavors. :)

    You just have to manage the not so great tasting stuff most of the time so you can treat yourself to the yummies. :)

    I friggin hate tofu and meat substitutes but I do try to get used to them because it's important to my health and of course, I love the animals. :) I used to not want to eat tofu at all but this year I've really started to come around.
    If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.

    Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
    -Oscar Wilde
  • AhnimusAhnimus Posts: 10,560
    RolandTD20Kdrummer wrote:
    I always thought the more calorie dense foods tasted better to us from a survival and longevity perspective. Salt who knows maybe it's a tasting blood salt thing that triggers something primitive, or just salty sea water that does the same ingrained since mammals essentially lived in, then crawled out of the sea...

    That makes sense. Most of what is bad for us is manufactured. Naturally tasty foods would be fruits and such which aren't bad for us. I like your answer Roland.
    I necessarily have the passion for writing this, and you have the passion for condemning me; both of us are equally fools, equally the toys of destiny. Your nature is to do harm, mine is to love truth, and to make it public in spite of you. - Voltaire
  • AbookamongstthemanyAbookamongstthemany Posts: 8,209
    catefrances wrote:
    if we didnt have taste buds we could eat shit and think it was chocolate. and that just ain't right. :D:p

    :D
    If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.

    Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
    -Oscar Wilde
  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    genie wrote:
    i think i'm more sad for you than for myself :( i use to love seeing your smilie posts, they made the whole board look happier :)

    Yes well apparently we aren't supposed to be too happy around here these days! :rolleyes:

    Anyway, back to taste buds, we should make some delicious pineapple frozen daquiris and munch down on our Fair Trade chocolate when we have our girlie night! :)
    NOPE!!!

    *~You're IT Bert!~*

    Hold on to the thread
    The currents will shift
  • RolandTD20KdrummerRolandTD20Kdrummer Posts: 13,066
    Ahnimus wrote:
    That makes sense. Most of what is bad for us is manufactured. Naturally tasty foods would be fruits and such which aren't bad for us. I like your answer Roland.

    Your thread has turned into "what do you like to taste"...lol

    I think it's basically anything from a calorie perspective that improves longevity from starvation. Also there's some kind of symbiotic thing like eating tomatoes. Red is usually a sign of poison warning to stay away.

    Also...I sure as hell want to know who had the balls to eat the first lobster...
    Progress is not made by everyone joining some new fad,
    and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
    over specific principles, goals, and policies.

    http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg

    (\__/)
    ( o.O)
    (")_(")
  • catefrancescatefrances Posts: 29,003
    RolandTD20Kdrummer wrote:
    Also...I sure as hell want to know who had the balls to eat the first lobster...


    not to mention that first oyster. they are ugly suckers but mm mmm they are yummy. :D
    hear my name
    take a good look
    this could be the day
    hold my hand
    lie beside me
    i just need to say
  • AhnimusAhnimus Posts: 10,560
    RolandTD20Kdrummer wrote:
    Your thread has turned into "what do you like to taste"...lol

    I think it's basically anything from a calorie perspective that improves longevity from starvation. Also there's some kind of symbiotic thing like eating tomatoes. Red is usually a sign of poison warning to stay away.

    Also...I sure as hell want to know who had the balls to eat the first lobster...

    There is also some difference in personal tastes, I wonder what that's about. I know tastes are developed through exposure, but I wonder how that plays into the evolution thingy.
    I necessarily have the passion for writing this, and you have the passion for condemning me; both of us are equally fools, equally the toys of destiny. Your nature is to do harm, mine is to love truth, and to make it public in spite of you. - Voltaire
  • catefrancescatefrances Posts: 29,003
    Ahnimus wrote:
    There is also some difference in personal tastes, I wonder what that's about. I know tastes are developed through exposure, but I wonder how that plays into the evolution thingy.

    maybe it doesn't. maybe it is just as you say ryan - an exposure thing.

    dr suess' green eggs and ham is all about that. :)
    hear my name
    take a good look
    this could be the day
    hold my hand
    lie beside me
    i just need to say
  • normnorm Posts: 31,146
    catefrances wrote:
    if we didnt have taste buds we could eat shit and think it was chocolate. and that just ain't right. :D:p

    well there's your answer......always getting to the heart of the matter cate.....:D:D
  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    Abookamongstthemany wrote:
    You just have to manage the not so great tasting stuff most of the time so you can treat yourself to the yummies.

    I friggin hate tofu and meat substitutes but I do try to get used to them because it's important to my health and of course, I love the animals. I used to not want to eat tofu at all but this year I've really started to come around.

    Oh well I reckon fresh stuff, particularly when herbs and spices are included is pretty yummy. :) So that's no hardship. And yes treats are also VITAL to a balanced diet! ;)

    Abook do you have hard tofu or the silken kind?
    I slice up the hard stuff and sprinkle it with Middle Eastern seasoning and lightly fry it in a teeny bit of olive oil and then serve it on a big salad topped with tzatziki. Or it's pretty yummy if you sprinkle it with Thai seasoning and have it on a thai style salad with mint, bean shoots, capsicum, fresh thai basil, roasted peanuts, corriander, whatever fresh salad you like and a lime and chilli dressing.
    And I always add the silken tofu to stir fried vegies and flavour it with a little soy sauce. Very yummy with brown rice. :)

    I can't quite give up on eating the animals.:o But I live with a vegetarian so the majority of my meals are vegetarian. But I do have small quantities of meat each week. I was a vegetarian for a while but my taste buds do still like meat. :)
    NOPE!!!

    *~You're IT Bert!~*

    Hold on to the thread
    The currents will shift
  • RolandTD20KdrummerRolandTD20Kdrummer Posts: 13,066
    Ahnimus wrote:
    There is also some difference in personal tastes, I wonder what that's about. I know tastes are developed through exposure, but I wonder how that plays into the evolution thingy.

    Actually that's a very good question. Perhaps this is an undesirable trait that we have "selected in" (i.e. hospital incubated premature birth) v.s. natural (nature) selected out birth.

    I think some things like fried starchy foods (carbs) is universal, and lightly charred Bar-B-Q fat is to die for tasty.

    For some foods, the primal instinct is just too strong to not go "ooga-booga yummy"!
    Progress is not made by everyone joining some new fad,
    and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
    over specific principles, goals, and policies.

    http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg

    (\__/)
    ( o.O)
    (")_(")
  • catefrancescatefrances Posts: 29,003
    cutback wrote:
    well there's your answer......always getting to the heart of the matter cate.....:D:D


    hi. my name's cate and i'm a chocoholic. :D:D
    hear my name
    take a good look
    this could be the day
    hold my hand
    lie beside me
    i just need to say
  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    Ahnimus wrote:
    There is also some difference in personal tastes, I wonder what that's about. I know tastes are developed through exposure, but I wonder how that plays into the evolution thingy.

    Wouldn't that have to do with what food was available?

    Humans probably had to try different things available to them in their environment in order to survive? Different things being available in different areas hence differences in tastes?
    NOPE!!!

    *~You're IT Bert!~*

    Hold on to the thread
    The currents will shift
  • AhnimusAhnimus Posts: 10,560
    RolandTD20Kdrummer wrote:
    Actually that's a very good question. Perhaps this is an undesirable trait that we have "selected in" (i.e. hospital incubated premature birth) v.s. natural (nature) selected out birth.

    I think some things like fried starchy foods (carbs) is universal, and lightly charred Bar-B-Q fat is to die for tasty.

    For some foods, the primal instinct is just too strong to not go "ooga-booga yummy"!

    So maybe... what's good for us, does taste good, but... the food industry has capitalized on it with bad foods, like HDL cholestoral vs. LDL cholestoral?
    I necessarily have the passion for writing this, and you have the passion for condemning me; both of us are equally fools, equally the toys of destiny. Your nature is to do harm, mine is to love truth, and to make it public in spite of you. - Voltaire
  • AhnimusAhnimus Posts: 10,560
    Jeanie wrote:
    Wouldn't that have to do with what food was available?

    Humans probably had to try different things available to them in their environment in order to survive? Different things being available in different areas hence differences in tastes?

    I can see that, but then... why do I like corn and my brother likes peas, whereas I don't like peas and he doesn't like corn?
    I necessarily have the passion for writing this, and you have the passion for condemning me; both of us are equally fools, equally the toys of destiny. Your nature is to do harm, mine is to love truth, and to make it public in spite of you. - Voltaire
  • AbookamongstthemanyAbookamongstthemany Posts: 8,209
    Jeanie wrote:
    Oh well I reckon fresh stuff, particularly when herbs and spices are included is pretty yummy. :) So that's no hardship. And yes treats are also VITAL to a balanced diet! ;)

    Abook do you have hard tofu or the silken kind?
    I slice up the hard stuff and sprinkle it with Middle Eastern seasoning and lightly fry it in a teeny bit of olive oil and then serve it on a big salad topped with tzatziki. Or it's pretty yummy if you sprinkle it with Thai seasoning and have it on a thai style salad with mint, bean shoots, capsicum, fresh thai basil, roasted peanuts, corriander, whatever fresh salad you like and a lime and chilli dressing.
    And I always add the silken tofu to stir fried vegies and flavour it with a little soy sauce. Very yummy with brown rice.

    I can't quite give up on eating the animals.:o But I live with a vegetarian so the majority of my meals are vegetarian. But I do have small quantities of meat each week. I was a vegetarian for a while but my taste buds do still like meat. :)

    Either are ok...but I don't really enjoy them still. I'm just better at getting over it now. Your suggestions sound yummy. :) I live where meat and BBQ are a big deal....so it's definitely a change.

    I still haven't given meat up completely either try as I might...I would like to eventually be a full vegan but I've got a lot of work before that ever happens.
    If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.

    Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
    -Oscar Wilde
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