Taste Thermostat: What It Is and Why You Should Lower It
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!
It all has to do with something called the “taste thermostat.” And it needs to be reset in order for our brain and taste buds to enjoy more subtle flavors of fruit and vegetables.
What is the taste thermostat?
Your taste thermostat is what allows you to enjoy the perceived flavor of food. If your taste thermostat is high, then you won’t enjoy the subtle flavors of whole foods. But when you lower it, you’re able to notice and enjoy the flavors of fruit, vegetables, and other whole foods.
The typical western diet consists of foods that are filled with artificial flavors. That’s why our pallet is used to exaggerated taste profiles. It’s accustomed to flavors created for pre-packed foods rather than the natural ones found in whole foods.
And that’s why we’re more prone to enjoy a bowl of Apple Jacks more than an apple. That prepackaged cereal was engineered to tap into your brain’s reward center.
Noah 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 sugar-filled soda made with all kinds of artificial flavoring.
Lowering your taste thermostat: Good news for sugar-addicts!
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.”
And here’s the crazy part: According to the study, most of the participants stopped craving sugar within just one week.
That’s crazy – it only took one week to reset their taste thermostat. And 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 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.
Click here to learn how Noah was able to break his soda addiction by lowering his taste thermostat (the same steps can be used to break almost any food addiction).