The choices and acceptance of food are largely determined by taste preferences. General taste refers to the sensation of distinguishing flavors in food. It is the result of chemical substances dissolved in water or saliva stimulating the taste bud cells on the tongue surface, which then excites the cerebral cortex. This is known as chemical taste and includes salty, sweet, sour, spicy, bitter, umami, aromatic, and a myriad of complex flavors. When you suddenly develop a craving for certain foods, it may be a natural response to your body's instinctive needs or a signal from your body indicating a deficiency of a certain nutrient.
Liking Sweet Taste
Sweetness is closely related to the spleen. A sudden love for sweets could be a sign of declining spleen function.
When your spleen deficiency improves, you won't crave sweets as much.
Sweet foods suitable for those with spleen deficiency include: tomatoes, carrots, pumpkins, pears, peaches, apples, bananas, watermelons, honey, etc. These foods have effects such as tonifying, harmonizing the stomach, and promoting the production of body fluids.
Liking Sour Taste
The first thing that comes to mind is pregnancy, as hormonal changes in a pregnant woman's body alter her taste preferences. Additionally, people with poor gallbladder and liver function also tend to favor sour tastes.
Sour foods suitable for those with liver deficiency include: oranges, tangerines, lemons, loquats, grapes, mangoes, pomegranates, vinegar, etc. These foods have effects such as stimulating the appetite, astringency, and securing essence. However, people with spleen diseases should avoid them.
Liking Bitter Taste
Bitterness enters the heart. When heart function declines, one may suddenly become able to or fond of eating bitter foods.
Bitter foods suitable for those with a strong heart fire include: bitter vegetables, bitter melon, turnips, lilies, ginkgo nuts, and other bitter foods. These foods have effects such as purging, clearing heat, drying dampness, strengthening the spleen, nourishing the kidneys, and strengthening muscles and bones. However, people with lung diseases should avoid them.
Liking Salty Taste
People who love salty taste may have an iodine deficiency or kidney deficiency. An overly salty diet can damage the kidneys and also lead to high blood pressure.
Salty foods suitable for those with kidney deficiency include: amaranth, seaweed, kelp, sea cucumber, crab, ham, etc. These foods all have kidney-tonifying effects, but people with heart disease or high blood pressure should eat them sparingly or avoid them.
Liking Spicy Taste
In the theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements, it is said that spiciness enters the lungs, meaning a craving for spicy food indicates excessive lung deficiency.
Spicy foods suitable for those with lung deficiency, coldness, and qi and blood stagnation include: ginger, pepper, chili, green onions, garlic, chives, Sichuan peppercorns, etc. However, people with liver diseases should avoid them.