Most nutritious than green food Red food is more appetizing

The color decides with: Red foods whet the appetite
Italian researchers have found in a recent study that the color of food has a significant impact on which food we choose. Red, therefore, whets the appetite, because this color signalizes the brain with a higher nutrient content.

Color of the food plays a role
Years ago, scientists from the Max Planck Institute reported on a study that showed that those who see food get an appetite. At the time, the researchers discovered that eating delicious foods increased the concentration of various hormones responsible for regulating food intake in the blood. "A mechanism that could lead us to eat a piece of cake just two hours after breakfast," says Petra Schüssler from the Max Planck Institute. But the color of the food can stimulate the appetite, as Italian researchers have now found out.

If we have the choice between different colored food, we are more likely to red foods. This seems to have something to do with associating red foods with higher nutrient levels. (Image: FomaA / fotolia.com)

Assessment of the nutritional value of a food
In a study by the "International School for Advanced Studies" (SISSA) in Trieste, scientists have found that the color red stimulates our appetite. According to the research published in the journal Scientific Reports, the brain uses a "color code" to estimate the nutritional value of a food.

"According to some theories, our visual system evolved to discover particularly nutritious berries, fruits and vegetables in the jungle foliage," said neuroscientist and coordinator of the new study, Raffaella Rumiati, according to a report by "Neuroscience News".

Red stands for maturity
Red is considered a sign of maturity. Fully ripe fruits usually contain more sugar than green ones, which provide significantly less calories. The preference for red foods was probably also a survival advantage in primeval times.

"The redder an unprocessed food is, the more nutritious it is usually," said Francesco Foroni from SISSA. "Green foods, on the other hand, tend to contain fewer calories."

Calorie content of red foods higher
The current study showed that our eyes and the processing of the visual impressions are apparently still adjusted to this coding. Subjects in the Italian survey estimated the calorie content of red foods almost consistently higher, while green products were considered less rich.

"This also applies to processed or cooked foods in which the color loses its effectiveness as an indicator of calories," said Giulio Pergola of the University of Bari. Scientific research has shown that cooked foods are favored over natural foods.

"Cooked foods are always preferred because they contain more nutrients in the same amount than natural foods," says Rumiati. The color in processed food is no longer an indication of the nutrient content. Nevertheless, the old evolutionary mechanism works here. And you could use that.

Colorize foods red
The findings could help, for example, in the marketing of food and treatment of eating disorders. "Today, much is being done to promote healthier food," said Rumiati. "For example, people are trying to convince people to eat foods that have fewer calories."

So it would be an idea to help low-calorie foods turn red to make them more popular. "Maybe food coloring could be used to produce significant results, even if they are artificial," says Rumiati.

The US has been experimenting with colored food for some time. In the future, pink pineapples and purple tomatoes are to be available there to serve the health. However, these plants are genetically modified. (Ad)