A new study by the University of Connecticut finds that people who have very sensitive taste buds are much less likely to drink too much alcohol. People who are sensitive to bitter tastes are more likely to abstain from too much drinking while those who are less sensitive are more likely to drink more.

'Some of the differences in oral sensation are under genetic control, and these differences can explain some of the variability in what we like and ultimately choose to eat and drink,' said Valerie B. Duffy, one of the researchers who ran the study. Duffy also said that the variation in taste sensation in humans is completely normal.

The study was conducted among 84 volunteers who were asked to rank the bitterness of five different solutions containing PROP, which has a bitter flavor.

'Individuals who cannot taste the bitterness of PROP, or taste the bitterness of PROP as weak, are called nontasters,' says Duffy. 'Those who taste the most bitterness are called supertasters.'

The study said that the so-called nontasters experienced a greater number of positive taste sensations like sweetness and were less adverse to bitterness and other negative sensations. The sensitivity to bitterness may have led supertasters to limit their alcohol consumption.

The results of the study are set to be released in the November issue of the journal, 'Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.'