If you have a sweet tooth, blame it on monkeys.
Research shows that while foraging the jungle for food through the centuries, monkeys learned the young, tender leaves of plants were sweetest and most edible. The plant sugars in those leaves provided the best sources of carbohydrate energy. Developing a sweet tooth was a strategy for survival.
Some scientists draw a parallel to humans, at least until the dessert tray arrives.
“We have an inborn taste for sweetness and saltiness,” said Dr. Walter C. Willett, chairman of the nutrition department at Harvard School of Public Health and a professor at the Harvard Medical School.
And there starts the problem for most people. Although monkeys had the right idea by eating a plant-based diet, many Americans have strayed far from the tree.
But it is never too late to reacquaint yourself with healthy foods that still taste good-and ones you will even come to crave. The old adage that organic or natural used to mean gray or bland doesn’t hold these days. You may be pleasantly surprised at some of the foods making the “eat frequently” section of a nutritionist’s recommended list of foods.
In the final part of a quarterly Health & Family series about the cornerstones of fitness, this installment on nutrition will focus on training the palate. It’s the missing piece in most fitness plans. Diets don’t work. What’s effective is improving your eating patterns, perhaps best accomplished one food or one meal at a time.
No one said it will be, ahem, a piece of cake, though clearly you will be able to have a slice on occasion.
“The hardest thing I do is get people to change their eating habits,” said Julie Burns, who operates SportFuel nutrition consulting in Western Springs and advises the Bulls, Blackhawks and Northwestern University sports teams. “I tell clients, don’t try to be perfect. Healthy eating habits should guide you, not rule you.”
Not surprisingly, what guides most Americans about what they eat is taste. A 1998 national survey published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association indicated taste is the most influential reason that steers food selection, followed by cost and convenience.
Where’s health as a decision-maker?
A Gallup poll conducted about the same time lends insight. More than half of the respondents said eating a healthy diet was too much work. In response to another question, 36 percent said the fun is taken out of eating when good health is introduced. This group was especially prone to feel guilty when eating favorite foods.
Willett recommends finding new favorite foods. He no longer opts for his childhood meals of meat and potatoes, accompanied by a “salad” comprising iceberg lettuce slathered with mayonnaise.
“When I was growing up in Michigan, olive oil was the small bottle on the back top shelf in the pantry turning rancid,” said Willett, author of the new best-selling book “Eat, Drink and Be Healthy” (Simon & Schuster, $25). “Now it is clearly one of the best foods you can eat daily, and it makes your meals taste better.”
For Willett, olive oil is a food he craves.
“I love it with a good whole-grain bread while having a great salad with nuts,” said Willett.
Nuts are another food brimming with fats (the healthy unsaturated kind) that should be part of your diet even if you have abandoned them for weight control.
Studies have shown almonds and walnuts can help prevent heart disease and certain cancers; a Purdue study indicates a handful of peanuts an hour before a meal helps you avoid overdoing it on fats at mealtime when compared to a predinner snack of plain rice cakes.
Mix fat with protein
Just this month, a new study shows potential for a daily handful of pecans to decrease low-density lipoprotein, the LDL cholesterol that clogs arteries.
“I see people eating plain bagels with low-fat cream cheese for breakfast,” said Burns. “That is not a healthy meal, and you will be hungry too soon. Mixing fats with protein and carbohydrates at every meal and snack is the right concept. A better breakfast is a whole-grain bagel with nut butter and a cup of blueberries.”
Sounds tastier too.
Training the palate to crave less sugar and salt can be easier than it sounds. For one thing, “good” fats (also in salmon, flax seed, canola and sunflower oils among other foods) can retain flavor and richness.
For another, Burns is determined that clients don’t feel deprived of culinary treats. But she does recommend completely giving up sweets for two to three weeks to get started.
“You need the time to shake it from your system,” said Burns. “Some people have trouble with their digestive tracts caused by too much sugar. So it’s not to be dismissed as a willpower issue.”
Changing tastes
Often after just two or three weeks, people can’t go back to eating the same sugary foods and beverages, such as cereal, fat-free cookies, muffins, soda and blended coffee drinks.
“They taste too sweet,” said Burns.
Susan Allen, an Oak Park nutritionist in private practice, said some clients wean off full-strength orange juice. They choose instead to stick with her recommended half-juice, half-water mixture.
“You can wean off unwanted fats too,” said Allen. “People should be drinking non-fat milk if they choose to consume milk. Whole-milk drinkers swear they could never drink non-fat milk, that it’s worse than water. Yet if they slowly switch down to 2 percent, then 1 percent, then non-fat milk, their taste buds will go along. Pretty soon they think whole milk is awful and way too thick.”
Scale back on salt
Willett said that decreasing salt intake is possible with barely a blip on the flavor radar. He suggests trying recipes with half the salt that’s called for (you can do the same with sugar, said Allen, without altering taste) and cutting down on processed foods (soup and frozen dinners can be high in sodium).
“You will be amazed at how overly salty some foods start to taste,” said Willett.
In his book, Willett challenges the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Guide Pyramid. He said it unduly emphasizes breads, cereals, rice and pasta (6 to 11 daily servings) and dairy products (2 to 3 servings) while underestimating the health value of nuts and legumes by lumping them together with meat, poultry, fish and eggs.
It is not surprising, he writes, when you realize the USDA’s mission is to promote agricultural foods, whether whole or the more common highly processed versions.
Willett’s revamped “Healthy Eating Pyramid,” based on hundreds of research studies, figures to be more palatable. It calls for whole-grain foods and plant oils (olive, canola, soy, corn, sunflower, peanut) in abundance along with the expected generous daily helpings of vegetables and fruits.
A limit on some foods
Willett puts nuts and legumes as the next priority, then relegates dairy products to one serving per day, noting our calcium requirements can be met easily with frequent consumption of leafy green vegetables and/or a calcium supplement.
He places red meat, butter, processed grains (white rice, white bread, pasta), potatoes and sweets at the “use sparingly” top of the pyramid. Plant oils fit the same niche on the USDA model.
There are several flaws in the USDA pyramid, said Willett. The biggest is leading Americans to believe that all fats are bad by encouraging spare use of plant oils that are high in cholesterol-busting unsaturated fats.
Willett also takes exception with the USDA assumption that “protein is protein.” He argues that nuts, beans and legumes are superior choices to, say, red meat and even poultry. He sees value in consuming fish two to three times per week.
Move away from junk
For Madison, Wis.-based nutritionist and researcher Ellyn Satter, training the palate might be best accomplished with planning ahead and keeping an open mind.
“I encourage people to have regular meals prepared at home,” said Satter, author of “Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family” (Kelcy Press, $16.95). “Eating on a set schedule means you will automatically get away from junk and convenience foods.”
Satter has a simple approach to family dining that trains the palates of adults and kids alike.
“Once you put the food on the table, let people pick and choose what they like,” said Satter.
Satter doesn’t fret that children or adults will load up on one food to the exclusion of others. She said people who eat their favorite food too frequently will grow tired of it, whether it is grilled cheese sandwiches or spinach salad.
“It tastes the same and becomes less enjoyable,” she said. “Serve a variety of foods and people won’t miss out on the pleasures of foods.
“What’s important is not letting your family or yourself go on auto pilot, no matter what sorts of foods you are serving. You want enjoy the textures, smells and tastes. Food can provide a sensual reward,” she said.
Satter’s not afraid to point out that eating healthfully and enjoying your food can sometimes intersect at overstuffing yourself during a particularly flavorful or friendly meal. She said broadening the foods you eat is the fastest route to training your palate. Heading to the fast-food restaurant is not.
“Our society today is developing a strong preference for artificial flavors and fabricated foods,” she said.
On the other hand, trying new foods is frequently not a fast proposition. Landmark research performed at the University of Illinois showed infants and young children might require 10 to 12 encounters with a new food before they grow to like it.
“The researchers took photos during each tasting,” said Satter. “The babies’ faces change from sour reactions to pleasant, relaxed looks and everything in between.”
Satter said the mistake parents make–giving up on foods such as broccoli or whole grains too soon–is repeated by many adults.
Rather than make a meal featuring only new foods, she suggests pairing less familiar foods with old favorites. Another tip is not assuming one brand of, say, whole-wheat pasta is how every brand tastes.
A little at a time
“There is some trial and error in the process of training your palate to appreciate some new foods,” said Satter. “You might try a food by tasting it, feeling the texture in your mouth, then not even swallowing it the first time. Just prepare a tiny bit for sampling.”
When fitness is the mission, never underestimate the power of physical activity along with training the palate. The ultimate base of Willett’s “Healthy Eating Pyramid” is daily exercise. Julie Burns said the simple acts of drinking more water each day and finding ways to boost your physical activity create a natural momentum for the body.
“You feel healthier and want to eat healthier,” said Burns. “You actually start enjoying real foods that don’t have a long list of ingredients. You start craving foods that are good for you.”
Balance your palate
There is no slimming down of diet books; best sellers compete for reader dollars and allegiances.
Some authors tout high-protein diets with few carbohydrates and enough fat to make your daily eating plan seem downright decadent (How many strips of bacon with your eggs?). Other plans make it tough to spot any fat–or fun–in your meal plan.
Nutritionist Julie Burns isn’t about to offer a one-eating-plan-fits-all program, but she does recommend a balance of protein, carbohydrates and fats during every meal or snack.
“Don’t go too low in any category,” she said.
At snack time, for example, combining an apple with some nut butter is superior to the apple itself, she said (the nut butter adds protein and mostly healthy fat).
During meals, Burns suggests being aware of the visual clues on your plate when seeking the proper balance of macronutrients: Carbohydrates should take up twice the space of your protein source, and both foods should contain some fat.
One more thought: If you are the type of person who can go longer between meals without feeling any ill effects, it is likely you will thrive on a low-fat diet. In contrast, people who tend to get a “bit shaky,” said Burns, will need more protein and fat in their daily meals and snacks.
— Bob Condor
