塩好きは味オンチとは限らない

Hayes and his colleagues were surprised to discover that the supertasters liked more salt rather than less, even though they were more sensitive to it. But after the researchers analyzed the data in more detail, they realized that salt plays a role in tastes besides saltiness.

For instance, salt helps cancel out bitterness, one of the sensations that supertasters experience in Technicolor. This may explain why the supertasters in the study perceived the low-sodium cheddar cheese to be twice as bitter as the Cracker Barrel, and liked it far less than the other study participants did.

"They needed the salt to block the bitterness of the cheese," Hayes explains.

オリジナル論文→Explaining variability in sodium intake through oral sensory phenotype, salt sensation and liking. Hayesa JE,  Sullivanb BS and Duffy VB. Physiology & Behavior. June 2010. 100(4):369-380 
味覚の研究で、味覚が鋭い人は多めの塩分を好む場合があるそうです。これは塩味を感知しにくいのではなく、苦味を消すために塩分を必要とするからだとか。糖分･脂質に関しては、味覚が鋭い人は少な目でも満足できるそうですが、塩分に関しては同じ法則は当てはまらないそうです。
この研究、何が重要かといえば、昨今のアメリカの減塩トレンドに関係しているから。NY市では食品産業に減塩の目安まで設けてるそうですが、味覚が鋭い人たちにとっては味気ない食事になるかもしれません。