Sight plays an important role in the process of food perception and even digestion. It is proved not only by scientists, but by life as well. So, if you choke down a useful salad looking at junk food that contains a large amount of carbohydrates, the tasteless greens will seem a delicacy to you.
Let’s consider, for example, spinach, broccoli or green beans. You need to really love these useful foods in order not to hate them when you eat them five days on end and not to hate them till the end of your life. The researchers from the Nestle Research Center in Switzerland decided to conduct an experiment: what if in the process of useful food absorption look at unhealthy but favorite foods?
As always, volunteers were invited, and they confirmed the assumptions scientists had made. Our sight makes food taste better. This is how the so-called cross-modal interaction, which underlies sensing, works. It turns out that its assistance in forming a holistic view of the external world works fine with our favorite feeling – a feeling of appetite – as well. It naturally regulates it.
Think about it. A dish at a restaurant or at home seems tastier if it looks appetizing. For example, to eat a piece of white boiled fish, you need to make some effort, persuading youself that it is dietary and healthy food. But if the fish lies on a beautiful plate, surrounded by colorful vegetables, seasoned with aromatic (low-fat!) sauce, it has a chance to be eaten immediately!
