The Crazy Ways Relationships Affect Your Tastebuds

Photo: Stocksy/Kayla Snell
When a casual relationship turns into something more serious, it's natural for some of your habits and traits to morph a little. Maybe in your single days you loved taking up the entire bed, but now you're happy to share your pillow with your SO. Or you used to swear you hated reality TV and then bae introduces you to Top Gear and now you're hooked. But you wouldn't exactly expect your tastebuds to change. Except they kind of do—at least according to new research.

A new study published in the journal Appetite points to new data showing that your taste and smell preferences can change over time to match what your partner likes. Freaky, right? They studied 100 couples who had been together ranging from three months to a year and a half and found that the longer two people had been in a relationship, the more synced up their preferences were.

The study found that the longer two people had been in a relationship, the more synced up their preferences were.

Here's why: First, when you're in a relationship, what you eat starts to change slightly since obviously you want to enjoy the bulk of your meals with your partner. The study points out that one person in the relationship may change more of his or her eating habits than the other—but in the end, changes are made. And when you start eating a new certain food or meal on a regular basis, that can change your taste preferences. It's similar to how if you feed a baby sweet potatoes and fruit purees, he or she is more likely to grow up with a sweet tooth versus a baby fed veggie-based purees early on.

So next time you get that "what do you want for dinner" text, take your sweet time texting back. It's more impactful than you think!

Speaking of healthy relationships, here, wellness couples share their top tips. And these are the most common problems couples have, according to a therapist.   

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