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Small tricks can increase your appetite for healthy foods
In fact, every human being knows that nutrition plays an important role in keeping our body healthy. Unfortunately, unhealthy food seems to taste especially good. So how can you make healthy food tasty? Psychologists from the US have discovered a very simple measure that can increase the appetite for healthy.
Healthy food is trendy
Recently, a study was published that showed that more and more Germans eat healthier and more often on fat, sugar and meat. On the fruit and vegetable consumption, the trend but apparently little effect. Consumption is stagnant. But how can you get people to eat more healthy vegetables? US psychologists have figured out how to do that.
Many people associate food that does not taste so good with "healthy food." The health benefits of food should therefore rather be waived, my US psychologists. But they found a simple trick on how to encourage people to eat more vegetables. (Image: M.studio/fotolia.com) Health Benefits of Herbal Food
At least five to ten servings of fruits and vegetables should be consumed per day, diet experts advise.
The vegetable foods maintain health and protect against disease. For example, it has long been known that the higher the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as stroke or heart attack, the higher the consumption of vegetables and fruit.
This relationship is not clear for cancer, but is assumed. In addition, certain plant substances in fruits and vegetables help with weight loss.
Healthy food is considered less tasty
But many people have such vegetable food only a few days of the week on the plate. How can you change that? Psychologists from Stanford University in California have now discovered in an investigation how to boost the consumption of vegetables.
"Paradoxically, it can be counterproductive to point out the health benefits of eating as people classify foods they find particularly healthy to be less palatable," write Bradley Turnwald researchers in JAMA Internal Medicine journal..
In addition, previous research has shown that healthy food is perceived as less satisfying and satisfying.
For example, scientists found in a study that volunteers who were given a milkshake that had been shown to be low in calories had a higher concentration of the starvation hormone ghrelin than subjects who received the same beverage, but assumed that it was a high-calorie drink.
Just change the name of the food
In the current study, the researchers conducted a test in a canteen at their university, which showed how to get people to gain access to vegetables.
They simply changed the names of the food offered and chose "decadent" names according to their statements.
For example, zucchini instead of "zucchini" (basic name) as "slow-roasted caramelized zucchini bites" (pleasure message) or as "low-calorie choice zucchini" (negative health message) or as "nutrient-rich green zucchini" (positive health message) offered.
For 46 days, several different types of vegetables were available with the categorizations mentioned. The presentation and preparation were not changed during this period.
Emphasizing the health benefits of disadvantage
The scientists found that more people resorted to the food with the culinary names and served significantly more vegetables a day.
Compared to the vegetables with the basic name, the varieties with the pleasure message were selected more often by 25 percent. Compared to the food with the positive and the negative health message, the difference was 35 and 41 percent, respectively.
The amount of vegetables the canteen visitors loaded on their plates was 23 and 33 percent larger than the neutral and restrictive names.
"While we have the intuition to emphasize the health benefits of healthy foods, this study shows that the emphasis on health can discourage healthy choices when choosing healthy options," said Turnwald, according to a statement from the university.
Healthy food is tasty
Their simple and cost-effective strategy for changing the descriptions of healthy foods could have a significant impact on the consumption of nutritious foods.
"Healthy foods can be enjoyable and delicious," says the study author. "They just are not described that way. If people do not believe healthy foods taste good, how can we expect them to make healthy choices? "
But other tips and tricks may also help people to choose healthy foods.
For example, studies show that most people enjoy the best of home-cooked food, and of course, they have the advantage of choosing the - healthy - ingredients themselves.
In addition, it is often advised to create a nice ambience to whet the appetite. (Ad)