It would be possible to take pleasure in doing a diet. According to the researchers, it would be enough to train your brain to consume healthy foods.
“I have a furious desire for a green salad without sauce for dinner.” A desire that may seem a little far-fetched, even masochistic. Yet a study published recently in the journal Nutrition and Diabetes suggests that it is possible to become fond of healthy food. According to this study, it would suffice to train your brain for this purpose.
Gradual loss of taste for junk food
American doctors at Boston University decided to do a nutritional experiment on a group of 13 obese men and women. Among these people, 6 are observed a diet during a period of six months. The doctors made an MRI of their brain at the beginning and at the end of the experiment, in order to evaluate the evolution of their psychological state.
At the end of the semester, the researchers found “an increased sensitivity to healthy foods” in the frontal cortex, the area of the brain where addictions are located, of the participants who followed the diet. They “therefore saw their desire for healthy food increase, to the detriment of junk food,” notes the study’s lead author, Prof. Roberts.
Results to be confirmed
The brain would therefore get used to consuming certain types of food in the long term and could transform our food tastes by giving us a penchant for healthy foods. These results are certainly encouraging… but uncertain. “More research over a longer period of time, with more participants and exploring more areas of the brain is needed to confirm our theory,” says Prof. Roberts.
But doctors remain optimistic about these findings. Indeed, if they are confirmed, it could make weight loss through diet more enjoyable. Because it is true that depriving yourself of the foods you love over a long period of time can be very painful psychologically, which often results in resignation or regaining weight, once the diet is over.
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