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Taste Aversion

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Hannah Hay

Psychology 100

Mr. Wede

4/8/14

Taste Aversion

            Has just the thought of a certain kind of food ever made you sick? Not just in the way that the food is not your preference of choice, but in the way that whenever you hear it or think about it, it makes you feel physically ill? This may seem like a feigned reaction just so you could have an excuse to avoid having to eat a particular food, but in actuality, it can be a response to a bad past experience regarding that food. It has been shown that humans are apt to have an aversion to foods if they become sick afterwards, and is known as the concept of taste aversion. Within my life, I have known multiple people who have taste aversion to foods such as chili, lemons and even shrimp. As for myself, I have run across taste aversion with at least two kinds of food. But the most prominent taste aversion I have experienced would have to be with the common dessert, Jell-O.

It began when I was in the fourth grade and one of the kids within my class was celebrating their birthday by serving out cake and Jell-O. As I sat at my desk and finished eating my cake, I turned towards the to be infamous Jell-O. Prior to this event, I have never eaten Jell-O before, so I didn’t know what to expect it to taste like. As I even took the first bite, I detested the flavor and the strange texture of the Jell-O. Though I disliked the first bite, I decided that I should finish it so that it wouldn’t go to waste. Afterwards, my stomach felt terrible and throughout the whole day I just wanted to go home. Needless to say, the Jell-O did make me sick by the time the day was over. This internal turmoil lasted for two days, keeping me out of school. Ever since that day, the near mention of Jell-O gives me a bad taste in my mouth and the sight of it makes me want to cringe. This is a prime example of taste aversion, because not only do I reject the option of having Jell-O, but I have a bad connotation connected with it because of my past experience of eating it.

So the next time someone at your breakfast, lunch or dinner table turns down eating a certain food, do not simply see it as being picky or rude because it could possibly be that the person has a taste aversion to it.

Sick to my stomach

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Sometimes there is just that one food or beverage that no matter how appealing it looks, you avoid it at all cost because it makes you sick to your stomach. When a food or beverage causes an adverse effect, usually nausea or vomiting, to the point where you are afraid to have it again at a later time it is known as taste aversion. A reaction to the food or beverage may or may not happen right after ingestion, but can happen up to 6 hours later. For some people, they may be able to get over their aversion after some time, whether it is months or years, but for others they could have that aversion for the rest of their life.

When I was in elementary school, like any other child, I LOVED chocolate milk. I always got it with my lunch no matter what they were serving, and on the rare occasion the only time I did not have chocolate milk was when I felt like having milk and cereal together.  But one day my love for chocolate milk disappeared in a heartbeat.

I grabbed my carton of chocolate milk after stepping of the lunch line like I did during lunch every day.  I sat down at my table and open the carton; except when I went to drink my chocolate milk this time it tasted nothing like my beloved chocolate milk usually did. With that first sip of milk, I felt my lunch wanting to come back out the way it went it. I thought that the carton of milk just went bad before their time, so I attempted to drink another carton of milk. But it was the same outcome. I felt my lunch wanting to come back up. Realizing that it was futile, I gave up on eating or drinking anything chocolate related. To this day I still have an aversion to chocolate because of this event. I thought I got better at one point as I was able to eat brownies, but the aversion came right back and once again.

Aversions to certain foods or beverages could be an ingrained survival mechanism that has some sort of evolutionary advantage. Especially with allergies, people are not born with a list that says “this is what I am allergic to” rather we have to learn to trial and error. For me I am not allergic to chocolate the way I am allergic to seafood, but the nausea and vomiting someone experiences from taste aversion could be the body’s natural way of saying “this is bad. DON’T eat!”