Eli5 why do we have tastebuds?

Question

Do they serve a purpose beyond letting us know if we enjoy eating something?

In: 0

Answer 1

Here’s a quick snippet from a google search

> The sense of taste must have carried an evolutionary advantage to have evolved in the first place. Beauchamp says that taste-sensing systems in the mouth perform two essential tasks: umami and sweet detection help animals find energy-dense nutrients, and bitter detection helps them avoid toxic substances.

[source](https://www.nature.com/articles/486S16a#:~:text=The%20sense%20of%20taste%20must,helps%20them%20avoid%20toxic%20substances.)