Jump to content

Taste and health


GGreen
 Share

Recommended Posts

Why does everything that taste good bad for us and everything that taste bad for us is good?

 

As a general rule, the most palatble and 'best tasting' foods are those that are calorie dense and high in fat (9 calories per gram vs. 4 for carbohydrates and protein). Nature programmed us this way as a result of the oscillating periods of feast and famine that homo sapiens historically endured. It's inscribed in the human brain to crave calorie dense food that could be readily eaten and allow the body to pack on the pounds as insurance when the next famine comes. But in todays time, when famines never arrive...well you can see the ugly result of that in our modern society.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, really? I find raw foods the most delicious foods I've ever eaten. Of course many of the gourmet raw concoctions aren't exactly healthy either; but to me, nothing tastes better than a sweet, juicy, sun-flavored fruit.

 

Anyway, what you desire is what you have learned and your body acclimated.

some call it addiction; some foods are addicting, as Dr. -- was it Barnard? or Ornish? -- discovered about cheese.

 

We really are NOT slaves to these foods; they are merely habits needed to be broken. Our natural diet is not sugar and fat ladened, caffeine-spiked indulgences.

 

Dr. Fuhrman has written extensively on our "tastes"; click on these colored links to read more:

 

"The more you make healthful meals, and the more days you link together eating healthful foods, the more your brain will naturally prefer to eat that way. Your taste for healthful foods will develop. It has been shown that a new food needs to be eaten about 10 to 15 times for it to become a preferred food. The more days you eat healthfully, the more you will lose your addiction to unhealthful, stimulating substances; and with time, you will look forward to—and prefer eating—a diet that is more natural and wholesome."

_exerption from Disease Proof Blog

 

Here, he discussing Breaking the habit

 

I highly recommend Dr. Fuhrman's Eat to Live and this free blog which has wonderful free (lots in the archives) advice, information, and science.

 

 

ETA:

Listen toDr. Barnard on addictive foods --

 

Go here, click on the right black column of streaming tv to listen to more - there's GREAT stuff by Drs. Esseltyn, Ornish, Barnard, McDougall...

 

And an article here, More Evidence of Fatty Addictive Foods

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A lot of what tastes "good" in modern society is based on habit and the availability of foods high in sugars and simple carbs (even root veggies like carrots and beets have been hybridized to make them much sweeter than they were originally). You can get used to healthier foods (and there are a lot that taste really good!), and might even find at some point that foods you used to think tasted 'good' seem too sweet and/or artificial tasting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why does everything that taste good bad for us and everything that taste bad for us is good?

 

As a general rule, the most palatble and 'best tasting' foods are those that are calorie dense and high in fat (9 calories per gram vs. 4 for carbohydrates and protein). Nature programmed us this way as a result of the oscillating periods of feast and famine that homo sapiens historically endured. It's inscribed in the human brain to crave calorie dense food that could be readily eaten and allow the body to pack on the pounds as insurance when the next famine comes. But in todays time, when famines never arrive...well you can see the ugly result of that in our modern society.

 

Although I find the best tasting foods to be high in protein (and are calorie dense but not fat dense), I think this is a good observation/theory/whatever. I think the question should have been more based towards foods that contain High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...as Dr. -- was it Barnard? or Ornish? -- discovered about cheese.

 

It was Dr. Barnard relaying information on caso-morphins present in dairy based products. 1/10 the potency of morphine--no wonder it's a comfort food for so many. Meat was never so hard for me purge from my diet as cheese was.

 

"The more you make healthful meals, and the more days you link together eating healthful foods, the more your brain will naturally prefer to eat that way. Your taste for healthful foods will develop. It has been shown that a new food needs to be eaten about 10 to 15 times for it to become a preferred food. The more days you eat healthfully, the more you will lose your addiction to unhealthful, stimulating substances; and with time, you will look forward to—and prefer eating—a diet that is more natural and wholesome."

_exerption from Disease Proof Blog

 

That is absolutely true--my own experience is proof of that. Once I would have gagged drinking a chlorella laden drink, but now I look forward to the imbibing the next one...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What Michael states is pretty much textbook, from the nutritional books, I have read but from my current experiences, I think Raven is right.

 

I am trying to reduce fat intake to under 20% of my calories. While reaching that goal (or getting very close), I have noticed that I am losing cravings for high fat food, replacing them with cravings for less fat whole foods.

 

For example, I have no desire to add oils or margarines to food, now. Avocados do not seem as tasty. Last week, I was low on grocery supplies and had an avocado around and ate it but did not really feel like it.

 

On the other hand, corn, peas etc. are starting to taste as I recall candy tasting - very sweet and while I have enjoyed them for some time, now I get desires to seek meals centered around them.

 

Also, I think our society's taste buds are perverted by the Standard Diet. I remember when I quite eating meat and diary. In just a few weeks, fruits that I already ate, seemed to have more flavor and more varied flavor (oranges had multiple tastes.) Also, cheese (especially hard cheeses) started smelling horrible to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used to be a 'more meat less veg' girl, now even though I nostalgically recall my favourite meat dishes, when it's in front of me, my stomach turns!

 

Dairy milk, which I used to love having a big frosty glass full, makes me feel sick. I remember once getting some by accident and how putrid it tasted!

 

I still love yoghurt though - greek yoghurt especially. And cheese. But I try not to eat too much of it.

 

It's funny, in the last four weeks, this being the fifth, since restructuring my diet and being really strict with myself about it, I have eagerly anticipated my cheat day and the goodies I can enjoy. But, strangely, the anticipation is never quite fulfilled or satisfactory in the actualisation. Some of the foods still taste good, but perhaps not quite as fabulous as I remember and noticeably especially is how I feel afterwards... which isn't that crash-hot.

on Saturday I ended up throwing up a whole bunch of rich food I'd put back, aided no doubt by the champagne I'd had but I think it was a mix of the two.

 

The weekend before that my boyfriend and I went out of town for the weekend, and I had packed us all kinds of goodies - cheeses, crackers, chocolates, semi dried tomatoes - but I didn't eat anywhere near as much as I thought and on the way home I felt miserable, just longing for something clean like steamed vegies.

 

I think, in many ways, our attachment to some foods can be psychological, which is something I identified a few months ago struggling to put some consistency into my diet... the need to change the thinking that following a healthy diet is somehow 'depriving' yourself rather than nourishing yourself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...