Deakin researchers Dr Russell Keast and PhD student Jessica Stewart, working with colleagues at the University of Adelaide, CSIRO, and Massey University (New Zealand), have found that humans can detect a sixth taste — fat. They also found that people with a high sensitivity to the taste of fat tended to eat less fatty foods and were less likely to be overweight. The results of their research are published in the latest issue of the British Journal of Nutrition.
“We are now interested in understanding why some people are sensitive and others are not, which we believe will lead to ways of helping people lower their fat intakes and aide development of new low fat foods and diets.”
