Photo by AndriyKo Podilnyk on Unsplash
This article first appeared on Your Tango and has been republished with permission.
Do you like food that packs heat, so you put it on absolutely everything — even bizarre things like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, pancakes, and fruit salad? Perhaps salty is more your thing and you always go for the salty snacks.
We all have very distinctive taste buds, and what may be delicious to you might be completely revolting to me. But it's our very favorite foods and tastes that can reveal things about our personality type.
What is the link between your personality type and your favorite foods? Here's what the six food "tastes" say about you.
1. Hot and spicy foods
Some like it hot, and that includes you. You're a daredevil and are willing to try almost anything. Change doesn't scare you — boring does. You'll go hotter and hotter, and will try to resist drinking water unless you absolutely have to.
Capsaicin, the molecule that generates the heat sensation, is thought to decrease the risk of stomach cancer, but that's not why you enjoy heat so much. When we ingest hot sauce or chili peppers, the hot sensation isn't just warm — it actually hurts. People who go for super-hot court danger and pain without much risk, and feel relief when the heat ends.
"People also come to like fear and arousal produced by rides on roller coasters, parachute jumping, or horror movies," Paul Rozin, psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania wrote in the journal Motivation and Emotion. "Eating a hot pepper may be a form of masochism, an intentional soliciting of danger."
2. Bitter foods
Bitter foods such as coffee, unsweetened chocolate, olives, endives, bitter melon, escarole, and kale are known to help manage cholesterol levels and assist in metabolizing fats, but some people just can't get past the bitterness.
According to a study published in the journal Appetite, if you like bitter-tasting foods and drinks, you might have a number of dark personality traits including selfishness, sadism, and narcissism. If bitter is your thing, you may not only be antisocial, but a psychopath as well.
Researchers Christina Sagioglou and Tobias Greitemeyer, of the University of Innsbruck in Austria, found that bitter taste preferences were linked to some very unpleasant personality traits. "General bitter taste preferences emerged as a robust predictor for Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, and everyday sadism," wrote the researchers.
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3. Salty foods
If you crave potato chips, your body may actually be telling you that you have a mineral deficiency and need to get more potassium, calcium, and iron into your diet.
People who love salt tend to like to go with the flow, but still get frustrated with life's little annoyances, such as not being able to get a spot out on their clothing or getting stuck in traffic. While they're competitive and ambitious, they still believe in destiny.
4. Sweet foods
As a rehabilitated (hopefully) candy-addict, I can tell you that if sugar is your thing, it's very difficult to get over it. Sure, there are sugar substitutes, but they don't have the same kind of sweetness going for them.
If you prefer sweet foods, you tend to like to walk on the wild side and take chances. If you're specifically into chocolate, you're helpful, emotionally vulnerable, charming, flirtatious, and somewhat of a drama queen.
But don't worry — you'll feel much better after you have your share of peanut butter cups, or Kit Kat bars... or half of your little brother's Halloween candy.
5. Tangy or citrus foods
If you crave tangy, citrus or sour foods, you may be anxious, stressed, and on high alert as far as your health goes. Luckily, the very things you crave can boost your immunity and lower your stress levels.
6. Savory foods
People who want savory foods — such as tacos, cheeses, and steak — have a tendency to be a bit serious and may have a dry sense of humor. You enjoy all different kinds of spices as long as they aren't hot, and you have a very refined sense of taste.
You're a genius at noticing details and for using all your senses (in addition to taste), like smell, touch, and even sound when eating or drinking.
You may enjoy a combination of these tastes, and that's great. The more open you are to trying new flavors and tastes, the more foods choices you'll have.
