There was a short news item in the journal Science Magazine on some
research on this topic.  Julie Mennella, the researcher, has spoken at
several LLL conferences.  (The original story has a cute baby picture.)

13 July 2000 6:00 PM


    Cultivating Tastes in the Womb


               The power of breast milk to influence an infant for good
or ill looms large in old wives' tales. But now, scientists have shown
that it's
               true when it comes to taste preferences: Women who drank
carrot juice while pregnant or lactating cultivated a taste for carrots
               in their offspring.

               Julie Mennella, a researcher at the Monell Chemical
Senses Center in Philadelphia, divided 46 women in the last trimester of
               pregnancy into three groups: Those who drank carrot juice
during pregnancy and water during lactation; those who did the
               opposite; and those who drank only water. Then, when the
infants were about 6 months old and eating solid food, they were given
               cereal prepared either with water or with carrot juice.
The babies exposed to carrot flavor either prenatally or in breast milk
were
               much more enthusiastic about the carrot porridge than the
plain mix; the other infants didn't show a preference, Mennella's team
               reported at a symposium of the American Psychological
Society in Miami last month.

               The researchers claim this is the "first experimental
demonstration" that such early exposure affects taste preferences. The
work
               indicates that breast-feeding is better than formula,
because it makes children more accepting of new foods, Mennella says.
               Breast-feeding may also help all mammals teach infants
what foods are safe--highlighting the importance of a healthful diet for
               pregnant and lactating moms.

               The research also casts light on why people are so deeply
attached to foods of their cultures, Mennella says. Linda Bartoshuk, a
               Yale psychophysicist who works on the genetics of taste
and calls Mennella's study "wonderful work," agrees. Bartoshuk recalls
               that years ago some wives of foreign students at Brown
University were greatly concerned about getting their usual cooking
spices.
               "They had a strong belief that if they didn't eat the
spices while carrying their child, the child wouldn't be properly
introduced to the
               culture," she says. Now, Mennella's research suggests
they were right.

               --CONSTANCE HOLDEN

               Related sites
               Monell Chemical Senses Center

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