In the course of evolution we have “learned” to orient ourselves towards nutritious and non-dangerous foods for our survival. By decoding information that reaches the brain areas. It talks about it in the insert at the newsstand on Thursday
We are publishing a preview of an article in the new Corriere Salute. You can read the full text on the issue at newsstands for free on Thursday 3 November or in Pdf on the Digital Edition of the «Corriere della Sera».
It seems that the expression “eat with your eyes»Comes from the ancient Romans, who knew how the sensation of watering in the mouth was triggered by” eating with the eyes “, precisely, the dishes of the banquets offered to the gods during funerary rites, which ordinary mortals could not touch. We have all experienced this by looking at a desirable dish: it corresponds to the moment in which some glands produce saliva which, thanks to the mechanical help of chewing, favors chemical reactions and prepares us to ingest and digest food. According to neuroscientist Gordon Shepherd the search for flavor was the first factor involved in the expansion of the primate brain. Today we know that the perception of flavor, and consequently the formation of our preferences at the table, does not depend only on the sense of taste, as is often thought. “It is an experience that it involves all five senses», Explains Carol Coricelli, researcher in Cognitive Neuroscience at the Western University of London, in Canada, author with Sofia Erica Rossi of the book« Guide for hungry brains »(Il Saggiatore).
View
Visual information is the first we rely on. “Seeing the color of food is one of the main elements which allows information to be extracted quickly, even at a distance – underlines the researcher -. Thanks to mechanisms inherited from our ancestors, from the shades of color we recognize if a fruit is ripe without having to taste it. Sometimes, however, the vision can be deceiving. In a dimly-lit room, writer Jane Wheatley organized a dinner of steak, fried potatoes, and peas in 1973. When she turned on the light, the guests noticed that the steak was blue, the potatoes were green, and the peas were red. Many stopped eating what they had appreciated in the dark because when the canonical colors do not match the respective foods, our brain warns us. On the other hand, since childhood we learn to associate red with the tastiest tomatoes, yellow with ripe banana, brown with a cocoa dessert. Seeing the presentation of the food on the plate also affects the flavor. In a 2014 studio, Charles Michel, now an artist and TV chef, served a salad prepared with the same ingredients in three different ways. The 66 participants in the experiment rated the salad served in an arrangement inspired by one of Vasily Kandinsky’s paintings as much tastier than when it was served with the ingredients stacked in the center of the plate or lined up in orderly rows ».
You can continue reading the article on Health Courier on newsstands for free on Thursday 3 November or in Pdf on the Digital Edition of Corriere della Sera.
November 1, 2022 (change November 1, 2022 | 20:04)
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED
#Corriere #Salute #eating #eyes #flavors #felt #senses