B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Loss of taste and smell is a commonly reported symptom of COVID-19, but a new study suggests that how people react to bitter flavours generally may play a role in whether or not they contract the virus and how sick they may become from it.
A recent study published in the medical journal JAMA Network Open analyzed more than 1,900 patients and found that “supertasters” – people who are overly sensitive to bitter flavours – were less likely to test positive for COVID-19.
Those who find bitter foods tolerable or don’t register bitter tastes were significantly more likely to test positive for the disease, to be hospitalized, and to be symptomatic for a longer duration than their supertaster counterparts.
Bitter taste receptors (T2Rs), including a specific one called T2R38, are found in the taste buds of your tongue and determine how you perceive bitter foods like broccoli, cilantro, or kale, for example.
The study notes that when T2R38 in particular is stimulated it produces nitric oxide, helping to kill or prevent pathogens from replicating in the respiratory tract – the point of entry for viruses like COVID-19.
Building on previous research, the study looked at a sample of 1,935 people from July 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020.
Twenty-six per cent of participants were considered supertasters, 47 per cent were average tasters, and 26 per cent were non-tasters.
Supertasters – people with the most taste buds on their tongue – often find bitter foods like broccoli, cilantro, kale, or green tea overwhelming, whereas non-tasters can’t detect bitter flavours at all.
So-called average tasters have fewer taste buds and usually enjoy more bitter, savoury foods.
By the end of the study, 266 participants tested positive for COVID-19. Only 15 of those were categorized as supertasters prior to infection.
Thirty-nine per cent of those who tested positive for COVID-19 (104 participants) were categorized as average tasters prior to infection, and 55 per cent (147 participants) were categorized as non-tasters.
Of those who contracted the disease, 55 required hospitalization, 86 per cent of which were classified as non-tasters. No supertasters became sick enough to require hospitalization.
Although the study is limited, researchers suggest that a simple bitterness test may help doctors anticipate the clinical course of patients who test positive for COVID-19.
“This could draw a path for future research regarding other possible roles of the T2Rs in innate immunity, especially in the form of potential therapeutics, prioritization of vaccinations, and possible roles against other upper respiratory tract pathogens (i.e., influenza),” reads the study.
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.