Washington: Tried every possible thing to avoid junk food and eat a healthy one but nothing worked? Well, then try out this new formula.
A new study has shown that thinking about your health before picking a food may make you more likely to make a healthy choice even if you don’t think it’s tasty, reports Live Science.
Researchers from the California Institute of Technology conducted a brain-imaging experiment with 33 adult participants who had fasted for at least three hours. While lying in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine, each participant was shown images of 180 different food items, varying from chips and candy bars to apples and broccoli.
To test whether food choices can be influenced by shifting attention toward health, the researchers gave participants one of three instructions: “Consider the healthiness,” “Consider the tastiness” or “Make decisions naturally.”
The researchers found that when the participants were instructed to think about healthiness, they were less likely to eat unhealthy food, even if they considered it tasty. They were also more likely to eat healthy food, including what they had rated as untasty.
The researchers already knew that everyone uses the same area of the brain, the ventral medial prefrontal cortex, when deciding what to eat, but the new scans revealed that a second brain area, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, comes to life when a person is using self-control during the decision-making process.
The researchers also found that being asked to think about healthiness led subjects to say no to foods more often than they did when asked to make decisions naturally.
ANI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.