Children benefit from exposure to 'exotic' foods

According to psychologist Patricia Pliner at the University of Toronto, food neophobia -- or the unwillingness to try new foods -- is a survival tactic left over from the days when our ancestors foraged in the woods at mealtime.

"It stopped them from eating things that might have killed them," she explains. "But now we forage at the grocery store, so a fear of eating new foods isn't really that useful."

But while food neophobia may no longer be necessary, any parent of a picky eater will agree it is still a major problem.


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