The science that could make you crave broccoli more than chocolate
The Science That Could Make You Crave
Broccoli More Than Chocolate
Link- https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/02/neurogastronomy/516267/
Summary- The
beginning of this article explains how the preferences of sweet tasting foods
are biologically ingrained into our brains. An assistant professor of exercise
and nutrition science at St. Catherine University in St. Paul Minnesota,
explained that in an ancient portion of the brain bitter food triggers warning
signs to suggest that a plant is poisonous. Subsequently, thousands of years
ago, this intuition would keep a person alive, but in todays world this preference
leads to unhealthy diets and obesity. In an emerging new field in
neurogastronomy, its focus is to change how people perceive the flavor of
foods. In 2015, the International society of neurogastronomy was launched, and
has since received support from the National Institute of Health. The article
explains that people perceive different foods based on a combination of what
they experience from their senses. For example, the retro nasal smell signal combines
with the brains orbitofrontal cortex to give a more enhanced taste of flavor.
Neurogastronomy focuses on how food molecules in the brain are interpreted by
these senses, and how these molecules influence brain regions that control
emotion, memories, food preferences, cravings, and appetite.
As
researchers learn more about how flavor affects peoples brain and behavior with
neurogastronomy, they are learning how to improve diets on personal, genetic,
and cellular levels.
I
find this article extremely interesting because as researchers learn more about
flavor and manipulating the brain, people could ultimately perceive flavors
differently. It is clear that is ongoing research is beneficial, and will
continue to be beneficial in the health field because clinicians have already been
able to better understand how smells plays a role in food satisfaction and
desire for people who have conditions and illnesses. These findings are clearly
linked to physiological psychology because through brain activity with the
senses, people may think differently about the food they are eating, which ultimately
affects what a person consumes on a day to day basis.
This research article did not exactly give a research study that concluded making foods sweeter with allow people to eat more of those types of foods. In America, we do have a growing problem with obesity and consumption of foods high in fats. It is creative to think about how to get people to enjoy healthier food options like vegetables instead of eating fatty foods. Neurogastronomy is a study with how food molecules are interrupted by the brain based on people's senses. Recently, I have seen a new product called "The Right Cup" which incorporates a cup that has a certain smell, like oranges or berries, and it is suppose to trick the mind into thinking you are drinking a sweet drink instead of water. It took several years for this to be developed and processed. It is dealing with the same ideas that this article suggests with the olfactory and taste sensations. When the person drinks from this special cup, it has a sweet scent on the rim of the cup. It tricks the person drinking water in thinking it is has a taste to it. This is revolutionary and unharmful.
ReplyDeleteThe article mentions possibly genetically modifying vegetables, for example, in order to give it a sweeter taste rather than a bitter taste. To me, this is extreme, costly, and harmful. Changing the way something tastes only because people would rather eat junk food defeats the purpose of finding the liking for vegetables. It loses the value of eating healthy when it really is not the real thing. One thing that was mentioned was that humans evolved in preferring sweeter tastes rather than bitter. This was used as a defense mechanism to ensure a person did not consume something poisinous. Although this is an interesting perspective, it seems unlikely to explain how people prefer sweet tasting things more due to this. Thousands of years people would crop and eat vegetables because that was what were available to them. People in the present prefer sweet things because it is more available and easier to access. There are people in cities who do not have fresh vegetables and fruits in their local neighborhoods. Instead, they have corner stores with chips and soda. People prefer sweeter things because it is easier and cheapier, usually. I feel like people should focus on promoting healthy eating habits at a young age. Infants can begin eating solid foods at six months old. If the parent is enthusiastic and takes it slow to showing them new foods, children will be more willing to try and eat "gross vegetables."
I found this study to be particularly interesting, because it touched upon the health problem that America has been facing for a long time. Today, conditions like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc. can all be linked to what kinds of foods a person consumes daily. This research looked into why we tend to choose certain foods over others. It made a lot of sense to me that we choose sweeter foods because they produce more pleasurable sensations. I also found it interesting how we don't typically prefer vegetables because of the way our brain works, in that we avoid bitter tasting foods that may be poisonous to us. I did not know anything about Neurogastronomy prior to reading this article, so it was intriguing to see an in-depth analysis of our behavior patterns when it comes to food selections. However, I feel like there is still a certain component of eating foods that goes beyond the sensation of sweet vs. bitter. For example, I don't particularly care for eating Brussel's sprout. Even if I were to perceive the flavor as sweet rather than bitter, I would still just essentially feel like I'm eating sweetened Brussel's sprout, which still doesn't sound like it would be appealing to me. I understand where this research is going, however. I think that this study brings us closer to a healthier lifestyle for Americans, which would be hugely beneficial.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this article, I had no idea that there was even a field called neurogastronomy. I have always been aware of the fact that there are evolutionary factors in why we desire certain foods and drinks. Sugars were rare throughout the history of life, therefore we desire it. Same with fats. I did not know, however, that bitter foods were related to poisons. This surprises me due to the fact that bitter foods can be so essential to our health. This all relates to motivation. The motivation to consume certain foods over others is based around our evolution. This study is interesting because it considers the physiological processes that occur when we encounter foods that we desire versus when we encounter foods that we do not. Manipulating the way we perceive the foods that are good for us will motivate us to eat more of them and eventually make us healthier.
ReplyDeleteThe title of this article really caught my attention, and reading it really interested me. I never knew that the desire for sweet foods was actually biologically ingrained in our minds. After reading that it made a lot of sense and how cravings effect us and our thoughts. As Danny stated I also had no prior knowledge of the field of neurogastronomy and what it entailed. Food is a vital part of our lives and studying how it interacts with our senses is beneficial. The new research in this field will help people to better understand how the brain and food relate. Health is an important factor to life and this research could help people grasp their cravings and how to handle them. The scientists involved in this field say in the article, “We’re attempting to really challenge each other and apply our science and our craft to address global questions in health.”. This research could bring positive influences to the health industry and really tell a lot about how our everyday brain processes really operate.
ReplyDeleteThis is my first time hearing about the field of neurogastronomy, and I think it is hugely important to aiding in America's obesity epidemic. I have read a lot of articles supporting the fact that we only crave sugar when we are exposed to it. Thus, if you don't eat a diet high in sugar, your body won't want it. I'm sure this research can generalize to other tastes as well. Unfortunately for Americans, processed sugar is in most of the items we eat today, and I think younger generations are definitely suffering because of it. I think this article brings an interesting perspective to this dilemma. I feel like it is too late for many people now to reverse the effects of sugar/junk foods on their brain because it is so ingrained in the American lifestyle, but perhaps as these researchers are saying, we can change the way people view healthy food by altering the way their brains perceive it. Rather than trying to remove the junk food, it makes plenty of sense to make health food more appealing.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Braquelle! I was fascinated by the idea that different food molecules are interpreted differently in the brain and that these molecules affect not just our food cravings, but our memories and emotions too. I also love the ideas expressed by some of the other comments about using this knowledge as a tool to fight obesity and other diet-related illnesses. However, whenever I hear of some new finding or technology and how it could help, the cynic in me can't help but think of the harm it could cause. Imagine neurogastronomy finds dozens of molecular compounds that the brain interprets as pleasurable, sweet, savory, and delicious. Now imagine McDonald's uses that information to make their french fries the most chemically delicious substance in the world, combining every desirable molecule to facilitate instant addiction to them. It may sound ridiculous, but it's hard to imagine junk food manufacturers not wanting to enhance the desirability of their products. If these molecules act on a neurological level, we may even be unaware why that Snickers Bar tastes so much better than it used to.
ReplyDeleteChristopher Mullin
I found this study to be very interesting because I do not have the best eating habits. I am trying so hard to change this for a while and its hard because of all the processed sugar that goes into most of out foods today. By manipulating healthy foods to make them more pleasurable to eat, this would make changing your eating habits a lot easier.
ReplyDelete