Salt Taste

Your result, the one DNA position behind it, and what the research says.

6/10 confidence.

About Salt Taste

Salt is detected mainly by a sodium channel on the tongue, but TRPV1 - the receptor better known for chili heat - appears to contribute a second route, particularly at higher concentrations. Studies looking at why people differ in how salty food tastes, and in how much salt they add, have examined this position alongside the sodium channel genes. This is a different position in TRPV1 from the one on the Spice Sensitivity card, and linkage between them was measured rather than assumed.

Good to know: What tastes correctly salty adjusts to habit over a few weeks. TRPV1 is better known for chili heat and appears to contribute a second route for salt. This is a different position in TRPV1 from the Spice Sensitivity card, and the two were checked for linkage.

Fun fact: Salt is the only taste that is pleasant at low concentration and unpleasant at high, which is thought to reflect the body needing some sodium but not much.

Discovery: TRPV1's contribution to salt perception has been examined since the 2000s.

The Variant

The single variant behind this trait

Gene: TRPV1

Variant (rsID): rs4790522

Location: Chr 17:3,566,559

dbSNP rs4790522

The studies

Genetic Variation in Taste Receptor Genes (SCNN1B, TRPV1) and Its Correlation with the Perception of Saltiness in Normotensive and Hypertensive Adults (Tapanee P et al., International journal of hypertension, 2021)

Salt taste perception, dietary salt intake, cardiovascular health and genetic variation in Zambian adults with HIV (Masenga SK et al., Frontiers in physiology, 2025)

Other lifestyle traits

Sense of Smell: A change next to APOE, linked in an older-adult study to how well people identify smells.

Asparagus Odor Detection: A marker in a cluster of smell-receptor genes that is linked to how readily you notice the distinctive smell asparagus gives urine.

Bitter Taste: Three linked changes in a bitter taste receptor that set how strongly you taste the bitter compounds in broccoli, kale and Brussels sprouts.

Back to All Traits

Content updated September 2026.

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