The Taste of Health: Nature's Bitter Gifts

A plant-based diet is said to protect against aging, heart disease, and cancer. Yet, the given advice to eat more vegetables and fruit often goes unheeded. Some consumers have turned instead to dietary supplements that provide plant-based antioxidants in a more concentrated form. Although these supplements are beneficial to human health in small doses, such compounds can sometimes be toxic. Biologically active phytochemicals also tend to be bitter, acrid, or astringent. The food industry has been removing them from plant foods through selective breeding and debittering processes, in response to consumer demand. Concerning bitter phytonutrients, the consumer faces competing demands of taste, health, and food safety.