2699: How to Learn From What Your Taste Buds Are Telling You by David Cameron-Smith of LesMills

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[00:00:38] [SPEAKER_00]: This is Optimal Health Daily, How to Learn From What Your Taste Buds Are Telling You by David

[00:00:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Cameron-Smith of LesMills.com and I'm Dr. Neal, your very own personal narrator.

[00:00:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Hey there, welcome to a Thursday edition of Optimal Health Daily.

[00:00:53] [SPEAKER_00]: This is one of a few shows where we read to you from blogs for free so that you don't have to

[00:00:58] [SPEAKER_00]: read them yourself, except on Fridays. That's where I answer your questions.

[00:01:03] [SPEAKER_00]: And with that let's keep this intro nice and short so we can get right to today's post

[00:01:07] [SPEAKER_00]: as we optimize your life. How to Learn From What Your Taste Buds Are Telling You

[00:01:16] [SPEAKER_00]: by David Cameron-Smith of LesMills.com

[00:01:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Taste is more than a sense. It is a powerful emotional manipulator. Whether it's the rush of

[00:01:25] [SPEAKER_00]: perlatives that accompany a sip of expensive wine or the secret pleasures of stolen chocolate,

[00:01:31] [SPEAKER_00]: our sense of taste can trigger a wide array of behaviors and feelings.

[00:01:36] [SPEAKER_00]: From the most committed gastro snob to the harried eat-and-run type,

[00:01:40] [SPEAKER_00]: food has the ability to drive us all to extremes. And this link between food and

[00:01:45] [SPEAKER_00]: emotion is hardly trivial. It's deeply rooted in who we are and how we live our lives,

[00:01:50] [SPEAKER_00]: including our attitudes to diet and nutrition. The joy of food begins at birth. Babies quickly

[00:01:57] [SPEAKER_00]: learn to separate good, like sweet and salty, from potentially dangerous, like bitter, sour,

[00:02:04] [SPEAKER_00]: and spicy. This is because our tongues are littered with receptors that distinguish between

[00:02:08] [SPEAKER_00]: tastes from repellent to desirable. As children, we love sweet food, with all our

[00:02:20] [SPEAKER_00]: kids having small stomachs relative to their energy and growth needs. They need concentrated

[00:02:26] [SPEAKER_00]: energy, and a great form of energy is sweet foods. Because children have heightened tastes,

[00:02:33] [SPEAKER_00]: even something with a mildly bitter edge, such as Brussels sprouts, can have them reacting

[00:02:37] [SPEAKER_00]: with horror. But as the years pass, we change. We might even begin to crave the burn of chili

[00:02:43] [SPEAKER_00]: sauce and the bitterness of coffee. This is a combination of our taste receptors becoming dulled

[00:02:49] [SPEAKER_00]: by the complex lessons that come from foods with mildly addictive properties. The buzz of

[00:02:54] [SPEAKER_00]: coffee is a powerful stimulant that keeps us coming back, despite its bitter taste. Pain

[00:03:00] [SPEAKER_00]: is also, rather strangely, mildly addictive. The painful pleasure of spicy food means many

[00:03:06] [SPEAKER_00]: people crave increasingly incendiary curries and chili sauces. The taste buds of the tongue

[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_00]: are hardwired through many nerve highways into the brain. The nerves that start in the tongue

[00:03:17] [SPEAKER_00]: become entwined and connected with other sensory nerves that originate in the nasal passages

[00:03:22] [SPEAKER_00]: and the pressure sensors from the mouth. In response to the smell and taste of food,

[00:03:28] [SPEAKER_00]: the temporal lobe of the cerebellum, the large reasoning and sensory part of the brain,

[00:03:32] [SPEAKER_00]: becomes activated. Like a Christmas tree lighting up, the neural messages converge,

[00:03:37] [SPEAKER_00]: sending jolts of electricity from the temporal lobe to other parts of the brain,

[00:03:41] [SPEAKER_00]: including those that regulate speech, are linked to emotions, and importantly, those related

[00:03:47] [SPEAKER_00]: to memory. It only takes a mouthful of some foods to trigger complex sensations and emotions.

[00:03:53] [SPEAKER_00]: These neural triggers are not always positive. Food can trigger unhappy and painful memories

[00:03:59] [SPEAKER_00]: just as easily as producing a warm glow. It's not surprising, then, that taste is a seriously

[00:04:05] [SPEAKER_00]: powerful part of our being. Because of the role of taste and the complexity of the brain's

[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_00]: responses, eating healthfully means being neither a slave to your tastes nor ignoring

[00:04:15] [SPEAKER_00]: important connections between your taste buds and what makes you, you. It sounds obvious,

[00:04:21] [SPEAKER_00]: but the truth is too many people are drawn to simplistic eating solutions that promise health,

[00:04:27] [SPEAKER_00]: beauty and weight loss if they only eat or drink in exacting an often limited diet.

[00:04:33] [SPEAKER_00]: So before embarking on a dietary path that can sometimes lead to misery,

[00:04:37] [SPEAKER_00]: it's important to acknowledge the important role of taste. If you're trying to stick

[00:04:42] [SPEAKER_00]: a healthy eating strategy, here are a few important tips to remember.

[00:04:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Understanding and harnessing the power of the deep-rooted connections between taste

[00:04:51] [SPEAKER_00]: and our behaviors is never going to be solved by a one-fits-all eating plan. Analyzing your

[00:04:58] [SPEAKER_00]: own food vices and the links between these foods and your emotions is a huge leap towards

[00:05:03] [SPEAKER_00]: developing a healthy eating strategy. Any plans for healthy eating will soon unravel if they

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER_00]: evolve around eating tasteless, unappetizing and boring foods. It's a recipe for disaster.

[00:05:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Research has repeatedly shown that people who have healthier diets focus on how they can add

[00:05:21] [SPEAKER_00]: healthy foods that are also enjoyable. Think of the amazing array of fruits,

[00:05:26] [SPEAKER_00]: nuts and crunchy vegetables that are on offer at any supermarket. Plan ways you

[00:05:31] [SPEAKER_00]: can eat more salads for main meals and fruit for snacks. There are however times to turn

[00:05:37] [SPEAKER_00]: taste buds to max and enjoy. Rather than suppressing your taste and emotions,

[00:05:42] [SPEAKER_00]: give thought to turning your tastes towards the gourmet and exotic. Take the time to enjoy

[00:05:47] [SPEAKER_00]: the occasional spectacular restaurant creation, the richest chocolate or the best artisan cheeses.

[00:05:54] [SPEAKER_00]: The big question is, how occasional is occasional? Take stock and ensure your indulgences

[00:06:00] [SPEAKER_00]: are truly the exception, not the everyday. They'll probably taste better for it too.

[00:06:09] [SPEAKER_00]: You just listened to the post titled, How to Learn from What Your Taste Buds Are Telling You

[00:06:14] [SPEAKER_00]: by David Cameron Smith of LesMills.com and I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:06:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Dr. Neal here for my commentary.

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Every year, people are surveyed and asked to rank the most important things they consider

[00:06:27] [SPEAKER_00]: when they buy food. Do you know what most people rank as their number one reason for

[00:06:32] [SPEAKER_00]: buying a specific food item? Do they buy that food for health reasons? No, but luckily

[00:06:38] [SPEAKER_00]: health and nutrition do usually make it in the top 5. Instead, almost every year, taste is ranked

[00:06:46] [SPEAKER_00]: as the number one reason why people choose to buy certain foods. What's the next one?

[00:06:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Usually the cost or price of that food. Whenever I would counsel patients about making

[00:06:57] [SPEAKER_00]: diet changes, they always wanted to know two things. One, are these so-called healthy foods

[00:07:03] [SPEAKER_00]: going to taste good? And two, how much are these nutritious foods going to cost me?

[00:07:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Just as today's author David said, if you want to eat nutritious foods but they're tasteless and

[00:07:14] [SPEAKER_00]: boring, you're going to stop eating them. We could also predict that if those nutritious

[00:07:19] [SPEAKER_00]: foods are expensive, we'll probably stop buying them too. Luckily, we can find ways to make

[00:07:26] [SPEAKER_00]: nutritious foods taste great and not break the bank. And thanks to something called the

[00:07:31] [SPEAKER_00]: We don't have to look very far for ways to do so. Oh, and you could just listen to this podcast

[00:07:37] [SPEAKER_00]: too for those kinds of suggestions. All right, that'll wrap up today's episode. Thank you so

[00:07:42] [SPEAKER_00]: much for listening. Thank you for being a subscriber or follower of the show. I hope you

[00:07:47] [SPEAKER_00]: have a great rest of your day and I'll see you back here tomorrow for another Friday Q&A

[00:07:51] [SPEAKER_00]: and where your optimal life awaits.