Children develop a taste for vegetables before birth
Parents struggling with picky eaters may soon have a surprising new trick up their sleeves: feeding vegetables to their unborn babies, scientists say.
Researchers found that children exposed to vegetable flavors in the womb still preferred the same foods years later.
A study conducted by Durham University showed that pregnant women were given capsules containing cabbage powder or carrot powder in the late stages of pregnancy.
The scientists then monitored their babies’ reactions before birth using ultrasound scans, again at three weeks old and finally at three years old.
The results were striking.
While children exposed to carrot aroma responded positively to the smell of carrots, they grimaced at the presence of cabbage. Meanwhile, juveniles exposed to kale were observed to smell the fragrant kale but no carrot scent.
Professor Nadja Reissland, lead author of the study, said: “What we are seeing over time is that children are still more positive about the vegetables they were exposed to while in the womb.
“From this, we can hypothesize that exposure to a particular taste late in pregnancy may lead to long-term taste or smell memory in children, potentially shaping food preferences for years after birth.”
The researchers initially tried using vegetable juices during the experiment, but quickly ran into problems.
Professor Reissland laughed: “Some said absolutely not.
“They were choking, they couldn’t make it. I mean, it was all really good juice, it was very expensive.”
The research team believes the findings could one day help combat unhealthy eating habits from the very beginning of life.
Professor Reissland added: “The result of this is a healthier population.”
One of the co-authors of the study, Dr. from the University of Cambridge. Beyza Üstün-Elayan added: “These findings open new ways of thinking about early nutritional interventions, suggesting that flavors from the mother’s diet during pregnancy may silently shape children’s responses to foods years later.”
Second co-author Dr. Benoist Schaal added: “This study confirms that human fetuses can sense the taste of the foods pregnant mothers eat, which may influence what they enjoy for years after birth.”
The researchers acknowledged that the study was small and said much larger studies are now needed.
