I was listening to a sports radio talk show the other day, and the host was describing his visit to Chicago.
He and his co-workers grew hungry, and visited a popular, restaurant-laden section of town.
"And on this street were tons of restaurants", he stated.
"They had good food.
And then they had healthy food.
We chose the good food!" I'm writing to you today to prove that the assumption that healthy foods are the worst-tasting, and unhealthy foods the best tasting, is untrue.
For me to ask you to eat poor-tasting food for the rest of your life in order to obtain health benefits is crazy.
Most people wouldn't do it, and neither would I.
We could find other ways to boost our health instead, like staying active within the community or exercising regularly.
Fortunately for us, we can consume highly nutritious and health-promoting foods AND truly enjoy and relish in each and every bite we take; there is a way! Acquired taste Think back throughout your life to all the times when you first tried a new food or drink item, and hated it.
Coffee and beer come to my mind, as does lettuce and other vegetables.
I was disgusted by their taste.
With a little persistence, however, my taste buds began to warm up to the new flavors.
Foods that once offended my taste buds, I now salivated for! No one likes beer their first time, but fast forward ten years later, and they are sitting at the bar discussing hops and malts ratios with their buddies.
Just like a computer, taste buds are programmable.
They learn to like the foods that you eat most often.
I Ain't Cravin' No Celery Unless you were raised in a hippie commune or by the Mediterranean Sea, you were likely presented with a poor panel of dietary choices to eat from.
The flavor and texture of the foods you chose are now deeply ingrained in your taste buds, and are labeled by the body as good-tasting foods.
"Well, no, I like these foods because they really DO taste good!".
Actually, you only like them because you've been eating them your entire life.
They are deeply programmed within your taste buds.
Any food item eaten regularly will eventually taste "good" to the palate.
Do you trust in the ability of the taste buds to acquire and enjoy new tastes? Are you willing to take the plunge and give up over-seasoned and unhealthy foods in exchange for their "bland", healthy substitutes? Like with any lifestyle switch, your body will need a little time to adapt.
Beginning a new exercise regimen is grueling for 2-3 weeks, but then the body begins to crave the exercise.
Long-term runners claim that they feel bad only when they don't exercise, because the body begins to expect it.
The way the body responds to dietary changes is identical.
I never thought I would enjoy the tastes of fresh fruit and vegetables as much as I do now.
To arrive here required several days of eating what seemed like crappy, unfulfilling meals.
I would regularly glance at the fridge while eating and fantasize about drowning my food in ranch or soy sauce, or covering it with cheese! Those cravings eventually subside once the taste buds have been reprogrammed.
Salt - Screwing Everything Up Salt is a major offender when it comes to desensitizing our taste buds.
Fruits and vegetables actually contain quite a bit of natural sodium.
This is where we get our sodium from, for it is only soluble in its natural form.
There is no digestible sodium in salt, therefore it has zero nutritional value.
When we add salt to our foods, taste buds become strongly desensitized.
Normally delicious tasting vegetables start to taste rather bland.
What is unfortunate about this cycle is that the more salt you add to your dish and then become accustomed to, the more salt you need to add in the future to obtain a noticeable and satisfying taste.
When you eliminate salt from your diet, you will experience a period where food tastes quite bland, while the taste buds reset themselves.
This can take 2-3 weeks.
Once they return to their normal state, food tastes fresh and full of flavor.
Certain flavors of food that were long covered up with salty additives now present themselves in your food, and your taste buds begin the process of labeling these tastes as "good".
This stimulates the creation of new synapses in the brain that reinforce this response, leading you in the direction of better overall health.
Thanks so much for reading, and PLEASE leave all comments and suggestions below.
To the BEST of heath, Brian
He and his co-workers grew hungry, and visited a popular, restaurant-laden section of town.
"And on this street were tons of restaurants", he stated.
"They had good food.
And then they had healthy food.
We chose the good food!" I'm writing to you today to prove that the assumption that healthy foods are the worst-tasting, and unhealthy foods the best tasting, is untrue.
For me to ask you to eat poor-tasting food for the rest of your life in order to obtain health benefits is crazy.
Most people wouldn't do it, and neither would I.
We could find other ways to boost our health instead, like staying active within the community or exercising regularly.
Fortunately for us, we can consume highly nutritious and health-promoting foods AND truly enjoy and relish in each and every bite we take; there is a way! Acquired taste Think back throughout your life to all the times when you first tried a new food or drink item, and hated it.
Coffee and beer come to my mind, as does lettuce and other vegetables.
I was disgusted by their taste.
With a little persistence, however, my taste buds began to warm up to the new flavors.
Foods that once offended my taste buds, I now salivated for! No one likes beer their first time, but fast forward ten years later, and they are sitting at the bar discussing hops and malts ratios with their buddies.
Just like a computer, taste buds are programmable.
They learn to like the foods that you eat most often.
I Ain't Cravin' No Celery Unless you were raised in a hippie commune or by the Mediterranean Sea, you were likely presented with a poor panel of dietary choices to eat from.
The flavor and texture of the foods you chose are now deeply ingrained in your taste buds, and are labeled by the body as good-tasting foods.
"Well, no, I like these foods because they really DO taste good!".
Actually, you only like them because you've been eating them your entire life.
They are deeply programmed within your taste buds.
Any food item eaten regularly will eventually taste "good" to the palate.
Do you trust in the ability of the taste buds to acquire and enjoy new tastes? Are you willing to take the plunge and give up over-seasoned and unhealthy foods in exchange for their "bland", healthy substitutes? Like with any lifestyle switch, your body will need a little time to adapt.
Beginning a new exercise regimen is grueling for 2-3 weeks, but then the body begins to crave the exercise.
Long-term runners claim that they feel bad only when they don't exercise, because the body begins to expect it.
The way the body responds to dietary changes is identical.
I never thought I would enjoy the tastes of fresh fruit and vegetables as much as I do now.
To arrive here required several days of eating what seemed like crappy, unfulfilling meals.
I would regularly glance at the fridge while eating and fantasize about drowning my food in ranch or soy sauce, or covering it with cheese! Those cravings eventually subside once the taste buds have been reprogrammed.
Salt - Screwing Everything Up Salt is a major offender when it comes to desensitizing our taste buds.
Fruits and vegetables actually contain quite a bit of natural sodium.
This is where we get our sodium from, for it is only soluble in its natural form.
There is no digestible sodium in salt, therefore it has zero nutritional value.
When we add salt to our foods, taste buds become strongly desensitized.
Normally delicious tasting vegetables start to taste rather bland.
What is unfortunate about this cycle is that the more salt you add to your dish and then become accustomed to, the more salt you need to add in the future to obtain a noticeable and satisfying taste.
When you eliminate salt from your diet, you will experience a period where food tastes quite bland, while the taste buds reset themselves.
This can take 2-3 weeks.
Once they return to their normal state, food tastes fresh and full of flavor.
Certain flavors of food that were long covered up with salty additives now present themselves in your food, and your taste buds begin the process of labeling these tastes as "good".
This stimulates the creation of new synapses in the brain that reinforce this response, leading you in the direction of better overall health.
Thanks so much for reading, and PLEASE leave all comments and suggestions below.
To the BEST of heath, Brian
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