When you hate broccoli

When you find vegetables more bitter then it is better 

When you find vegetables like sprouts and broccoli unbearably bitter then you are better at fighting off infection due to a chemical in your nose.

According to the researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, people who hate food like broccoli, sprouts have more receptors that pick up the flavour of these food and work as an early warning system about bacterial invaders.

The receptors, involved in activating the body’s natural defences against common infections were thought to be located only on the tongue. But it is now known to be in the linings of the nasal and sinus cavities also.

About one third of the population does not have the specific version of the bitter taste receptor gene known as TAS2R38 that activates and immune response.

According to Noam Cohen, University of Pennsylvania, the ability to taste does not protect against all infections. During the study, researchers grew cells in lab foods, forming structure that resembled the multi-layered lining of the nose and sinus in order to test how bitter receptors affect the initial stages of the infection process.

The chemicals produced by common bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa activated the TAS2R38 bitter receptor, and caused the air like cilia that line the sinuses to start sweeping away microbial intruders. The activation also resulted in the release into the sinuses of nitric oxide which kills bacteria.