Taste Thermostat

Discover one of the most powerful secrets to developing and enjoying healthier nutrition.

Transcript:

Have you ever wondered how some people can eat so healthy and actually seem to enjoy it? You’ll see them enjoying a piece of fruit like it’s a piece of chocolate cake! 

There’s a reason and it has to do with resetting your taste thermostat. According to New York Times Best Selling Author and founder of nutritionfacts.org, Dr. Greger, we need to reset our taste thermostat to allow our brain and taste buds to enjoy more subtle flavors of fruit and vegetables. 

The typical western diet consists of foods that are filled with artificial flavors. It’s no wonder our pallet is used to exaggerated taste profiles from pre-packed foods rather than the more subtle flavors of natural foods. So there’s a reason that you don’t enjoy an apple as much as a bowl of Apple Jacks. That prepackaged cereal was engineered to tap into your brain’s reward center. 

My husband used to be a soda addict before I got a hold of his nutrition. Early on in our relationship, I encouraged him to try switching to flavored sparkling water. I still remember the first time he tried La Croix sparkling water – to him it tasted bland. He was used to a sugary filled soda made with all kinds of artificial flavoring. 

Stop for a moment...does this sound like you?

You might be thinking, “But Kara, I have an uncontrollable sweet tooth!”

Thankfully, resetting your taste thermostat is easier than you might think. 

A two-week study that focussed on cleaning up people’s nutrition in order to reset their taste thermostat led to participants enjoying whole foods. In fact, 95% of the participants in the study said: “sweet foods and drinks tasted sweeter or too sweet, and … said moving forward they would use less or even no sugar.” According to the study, most of the participants stopped craving sugar within the first week.

It only took one week for their taste thermostat to reset. That meant replacing their prepackaged foods and sugary drinks with more whole foods.

Much of your taste and food enjoyment is controlled by your brain. The “feel-good” messengers in our brains: dopamine (the “reward hormone”), serotonin (the “happiness hormone”), oxytocin (the “love hormone”), endorphins (our own body’s natural opioids) control your appetite and food cravings.

So, back to my husband. After Noah had begun to clean up his diet, eating and drinking healthier, cleaner options became more enjoyable. He was able to kick his soda addiction to the curb.

Now instead of soda, he enjoys sparkling water with a lime.

He even traded his Starbucks specialty drinks for black coffee.

One of his favorite soda’s used to be Mountain Dew...but when he tried a sip last year, guess what his response was? It’s too sweet! 

So look for the healthy swaps you can make in your diet. Instead of a sugary granola bar, grab an apple next time you need a snack. Instead of soda, squeeze a lemon into carbonated water. 

And within time, you start to appreciate the more subtle flavors you experience in natural foods.