infant tastes

Infant Taste
(Name)(Course)February 26, 2018(Faculty)Infant Taste
On several occasions, mothers, and nannies experience the moment when the child dislikes the food prepared for them and when forced to eat they end up throwing up. In this case, at the infant stage, the baby is usually aware of the how food tastes and has a fully functional taste buds. Nehring et al. (2015) explain that the infant taste buds are more than that of the adults and develop when the baby is still inside the mother’s womb. The infant taste bud has a sense of what is sweet and what is bitter during birth. However, Yuan et al. (2016) explain that the reaction of the infants to foods that are salty does not appear until the infant reaches five months. As a result, babies prefer sweet taste hence the reason why the love the mother’s milk and will in all occasions show signs of disgust when they are presented to with food that tastes or smell bitter and sour.
Such food such as fruits and vegetables that mostly infants consume vary in taste and hence infant preferences vary. Blair (2017) explains that the taste preference of infants can use to describe their taste as they grow up. In his study, explains that children that consumed vegetables and fruits less during their infant stage were two and a half times more like also to consume less of the same fruits and vegetables when they are six years old. However, Barton (2017) states that it is possible to manipulate the children taste by exposing the mother to the variety of food and vegetables during pregnancy as they consume the contents of amniotic fluid.

Also, the breast milk contains traces of the taste of the food and vegetables that the mother consumes after birth. Therefore, infants consuming breast milk over time develop a taste preference for the meals contained in the mother’s diet.
In summary, infants have very sensitive taste buds than adults and at developing their taste preference even before they are born. Their taste buds can recognize the difference between sweet and bitter and in many cases influence what they consume during the early months. Also, there taste preference for food can be influenced at an early age. That is as early as when they are still in their mother’s womb. Once born, they tend to prefer what is contained in their mother’s diet.
References
Barton, A. (2017, April 13). Infants should be eating peanuts for six months, allergists say. Retrieved February 25, 2018, from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/infants-should-be-eating-peanuts-by-six-months-allergists-say/article33503474/
Blair, B. (2017, March 25). Children’s taste preferences may be determined in infancy. Retrieved February 25, 2018, from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health-advisor/childrens-taste-preferences-may-be-determined-in-infancy/article20654097/Nehring, I., Kostka, T., von Kries, R., & Rehfuess, E. A. (2015). Impacts of In Utero and Early Infant Taste Experiences on Later Taste Acceptance: A Systematic Review–3. The Journal of nutrition, 145(6), 1271-1279.
Yuan, W. L., Lange, C., Schwartz, C., Martin, C., Chabanet, C., de Lauzon-Guillain, B., & Nicklaus, S. (2016). Infant Dietary Exposures to Sweetness and Fattiness Increase during the First Year of Life and Are Associated with Feeding Practices–3. The Journal of nutrition, 146(11), 2334-2342.