The funny discovery made about the virus responsible for Covid-19

If you are extremely sensitive to bitter foods, there is a good chance that you are more resistant to the Covid-19 virus. In any case, that’s what a recent study published in the medical journal suggests. JAMA Network Open. According to its authors, individuals belonging to the category of “super-tasters” would indeed be less affected by the effects of the Coronavirus.

You must know that the super-tasters are individuals who have the ability to detect the bitterness and tastes of foods more strongly than others. In most cases, they have an aversion to foods such as cabbage, asparagus, spinach or grapefruit. Two genes are responsible for this condition.

As part of the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 2,000 patients from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Among those who have tested positive for Covid-19, there is only a very small percentage of super-tasters.

A large-scale study

The authors of this study wanted to learn more about the loss of taste and smell caused by Covid-19. This team led by Dr. Henry Barnham of Sinus and Nasal Specialists in Louisiana began by conducting taste tests on 100 patients with Coronavirus. After studying the results, they noticed that none of these individuals was a super-taster. They therefore felt that this merited further investigation.

Between the 1^is July and September 30, 2020, they extended their search to 1,935 patients. The latter passed the same taste tests as the first group. The volunteers had to lick three strips containing different tastes. Their perception of these tastes would allow researchers to know if they were super-tasters or not.

Less vulnerable patients

Thanks to this test, scientists were able to categorize these patients into 3 groups. Of the 1,935 volunteers, 508 were super-tasters, 917 were medium tasters and 510 were non-tasters. Among them, 266 individuals tested positive for Covid-19 after a PCR test.

The researchers then found that only 5.6% of those infected were super-tasters, compared to 39.1% among average tasters and 26.4% among non-tasters. These results suggest, according to them, that there is therefore a link between sensitivity to taste and the severity of the disease. For now, they have concluded that super-tasters are less vulnerable to Covid-19.

To find out more, more in-depth studies are needed.

– .