4 Food, Folklore, and Flavor Preference Development
4.7 CONCLUSION
Over the course of pregnancy and lactation, a variety of factors interact to determine the food choices of mothers. While many of their food choices are driven by internal factors such as cravings and aversions, others may be influenced by environmental fac-tors such as their cultural food practices and beliefs. Regardless of why women consume particular foods during pregnancy, emerging evidence reveals that such food choices can be detected by the fetus and young infant because of flavor changes in amniotic fluid and mother’s milk. Although more research is needed to understand the mechanisms involved in early flavor learning, repeated exposure to flavors in amniotic fluid, moth-ers’ milk, as well as to actual foods familiarizes infants to a wide range of flavors that influence their acceptance of foods and flavors at weaning. In other words, pre- and early-postnatal exposure, at the least, predisposes the young infant to accept the now-familiar flavor and facilitates the transition from fetal life through the breastfeeding period to the initiation of a varied solid food diet.
To be sure, many continue to learn and develop preferences for flavors and foods experienced later in life. The data reviewed in this chapter reveal that the development of preferences for culture-specific flavors has its beginnings during gestation and breast-feeding. It is the first, but not the only, way in which children learn about what foods are acceptable and preferred by their mothers. Strong adherence to cultural practices and beliefs during pregnancy, lactation and early childhood, helps to ensure that their children will learn to appreciate and prefer the flavors typical of their culture and will in turn pass on these cherished food practices to the next generation.
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