{"id":4636,"date":"2021-11-30T10:02:08","date_gmt":"2021-11-30T16:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/?p=4636"},"modified":"2021-11-30T20:28:44","modified_gmt":"2021-12-01T02:28:44","slug":"food-preferences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/food-preferences\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Preferences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I\u2019ve been pondering food preferences. I prefer ice in my\nwater. I hate sweetened tea. I love hot coffee, like iced coffee with milk, and\ncannot stand room temperature coffee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The origin of some of my preferences is clear. My dislike\nfor sweetened tea began when I was three or four. My grandmother wouldn\u2019t let\nme have a glass of sweet tea until I\u2019d had one without sugar. At some point, the\nsweetened tea began to taste overwhelmingly sweet and I no longer preferred it.\nBut I can\u2019t explain my coffee preferences or why I like blanched broccoli\nbetter than raw broccoli (even in salad). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

While my tastes lean toward specific preparations of a wide\nvariety of foods, others only like a narrow variety of flavors or textures.\nSome preferences may be learned. Others stem from visceral response. Still others\nmay be attached to memories that aren\u2019t specifically food related.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there are preferences related to biology. Some foods can activate the mesolimbic reward system in a manner similar to alcohol and frequently abused drugs. For instance, studies have shown that consuming fat and sugar<\/a> produces an increase in the synthesis and secretion of opioids and dopamine within the central reward system. No wonder it\u2019s so hard to get kids to stop eating sugary treats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, it\u2019s preferable for food to be pleasing to our\nsenses. But if that leads to habitually unhealthy food choices, perhaps\npleasure shouldn\u2019t be the primary goal of an eating plan. And while most of us might\nargue it\u2019s not, we tend to choose each individual meal within our plan based on\nwhat we find appetizing that day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key is how often what we find appetizing in the moment\nis at odds with our overarching health plan. For some people, the two will\nalmost always be in sync. For me, the problem area doesn\u2019t fall so much in\nplanned meals. I love fresh vegetables, meat, poultry, and fish fixed millions\nof different ways. And I love playing with flavors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My problem area is quick grab meals and snacks. I am more\nlikely to want to reach for chips, crackers, or chocolate than raw carrots as a\nsnack. As long as that\u2019s rare, it\u2019s no big deal. When it\u2019s daily, it\u2019s not\nhealthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many ways for me to manage my choices. And because\nI love to sink my teeth into a fresh tomato or juicy peach, it doesn\u2019t take too\nmuch planning. But watching my grandchildren, I wonder whether that management\nwill be more difficult for them. Their preferences are being set with a less\nrobust variety of fresh, unprocessed food and many more packaged products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think we\u2019ve already answered that question with the increase in childhood obesity<\/a> and type 2 diabetes. And yet, I\u2019m not sure we\u2019ve spent much time researching the issue from a parenting for healthy eating perspective. Which brings me to the reason I\u2019m pondering food preferences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There seems to be a huge opportunity for learning and\nteaching. I love a good opportunity!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Fed Up?<\/a><\/blockquote>