Specific Appetite in Humans
There is very little strong evidence for specific appetite in humans. However, it has been demonstrated that humans have the ability to taste calcium, and indirect evidence supports the idea that patients on kidney dialysis who develop hypocalcemia prefer cheese with greater amounts of calcium added. Exercise also increases the preference for salt. Addison’s disease is known to induce a specific craving for sodium, although other diseases causing hyponatremia may not induce the same response. Extreme sodium depletion in human volunteers has been demonstrated to increase the desire for high-salt foods.
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Famous quotes containing the words specific, appetite and/or humans:
“I recognize in [my readers] a specific form and individual property, which our predecessors called Pantagruelism, by means of which they never take anything the wrong way that they know to stem from good, honest and loyal hearts.”
—François Rabelais (1494–1553)
“Fear regulates. Appetite impels.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“Because humans are not alone in exhibiting such behavior—bees stockpile royal jelly, birds feather their nests, mice shred paper—it’s possible that a pregnant woman who scrubs her house from floor to ceiling [just before her baby is born] is responding to a biological imperative . . . . Of course there are those who believe that . . . the burst of energy that propels a pregnant woman to clean her house is a perfectly natural response to their mother’s impending visit.”
—Mary Arrigo (20th century)