Taste Is Factor in Restricting Fat Consumption
Neither the health nor the medical communities will be successful at getting Americans to restrict fat in their diets--reducing current consumption from around 36% to the recommended 30%--unless the tastes to which consumers are accustomed are preserved, a doctor of human behavior reported recently.
In spite of recommendations from health-care agencies and the U.S. Surgeon General calling for major improvements in the way Americans eat, statistics demonstrate a feeble attempt by Americans to comply.
In a 1988 Food Marketing Institute survey, 27% of consumers queried listed fat as a nutritional concern. This figure was an 11% improvement over the 1987 result. Still, the amount of fat typically consumed by Americans dropped a mere 4%--down to 37% of calories in 1986 from 41% in 1980, according to USDA statistics.
Lack of Nutrients
Other data, including USDA’s Second Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) demonstrated a widespread failure to include protective nutrients in the diet, such as sources of fiber and calcium.
More and more, dietitians and physicians are expressing the concern that strict dietary regimens may be too difficult for Americans to follow. Dr. Barbara Rolls confirmed it.
“People eat for taste, not fat or nutrients,” said Rolls, who is director of the Laboratory for the Study of Human Ingestive Behavior at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
She discussed the role of pleasure in food decision making at a recent nutrition press conference in Costa Mesa, stating that sensory satisfaction is a predominant factor in the way people select food.
“Hunger is driven by a need for a wide range of taste, smell, touch and sight sensations,” Rolls said, “Even animals and children appear to have an instinct for variety, which helps keep them from limiting the diet to just one or two foods.”
Behavioral Studies
This, she said, was proven in behavioral studies she conducted at the university with a group of subjects ranging from school-age children to adults. In most cases, those studied demonstrated what Rolls called “sensory-specific satiety,” which means that as a food is eaten, it is judged less pleasant, while the pleasantness of other foods remains virtually unchanged.
“We should help people maximize their instincts for variety to improve the nutritional profile of the diet,” Rolls said.
For the experiment, participants were asked to rate a variety of foods. They were given a favorite food, such as M&Ms;, then asked to taste and rate all of the items again. The favorite food was among them. The participants rated sweet foods, including the M&Ms;, less appealing than at first. In this study, spaghetti and hot dogs were actually rated more pleasant by the child participants after feeding of the sweet food, M&Ms;, than at first.
This information lead Rolls to this hypothesis: Eating a varied menu will produce satiety more quickly than eating a bland diet of the same foods.
She also tested participant interest in foods based on two other factors--nutrient composition or taking in a certain number of calories--but said these two factors didn’t appear to make a difference in the way people rated pleasantness.
Sensory Properties
The only demonstrable difference was with the sensory properties of foods, said Rolls. She hypothesized that the human instinct for variety might explain why some people can eat dessert even after having an extremely large meal.
People, she said, stop eating when a menu is monotonous, but tend to find room for more when the menu is varied. This sensory-specific satiety is possibly an innate mechanism that “helps to ensure that a variety of foods is consumed.”
To demonstrate this, an experiment with adults as the control group was performed. They were given a series of savory and sweet foods to rate, in the same fashion as the M&M; experiment. They rated the pleasantness of the taste, were then fed savory items such as sausages or bread and butter, then were asked to rate the original group of foods again.
The result: The pleasantness of the savory items declined, whereas the interest in sweet foods didn’t change at all.
Rolls used this data to support the U.S. Dietary Guidelines that recommend eating a variety of foods. She explained that while the data proved that variety drives hunger, eating small portions of a balanced variety of foods would be the best method of producing satiety--quickly. She did not advocate the single-item, monotonous diets, so popular with fad dieters.
Instead, waistline watchers are encouraged to opt for an assortment of foods with varied textures to avoid the boredom typically associated with restrictive diets. Using unflavored gelatin is one way to accomplish this. It is an ideal ingredient for low-calorie diets, because it can provide the body and texture associated with rich foods without adding the fat.
ANGEL FOOD TORTE WITH
CANTALOUPE MOUSSE
1 (18.25-ounce) package angel food cake mix
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
1 teaspoon lime juice
3 cups cut-up cantaloupe, pureed
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
1/2 teaspoon rum extract
1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
Mint leaves
Bake angel food cake mix in 10-inch tube pan according to package directions. Cool on wire rack. Slice horizontally into 3 layers. Set aside.
Sprinkle gelatin over cold water and lime juice in small saucepan. Let stand 1 minute. Stir over low heat until gelatin is completely dissolved, about 3 minutes.
Thoroughly combine pureed cantaloupe, gelatin mixture, sugar, lime zest and extract. Chill, stirring occasionally, until mixture mounds slightly when dropped from spoon, about 20 minutes. Stir in whipped topping.
Alternately layer angel food cake layers with cantaloupe mixture in 10-inch tube pan, ending with cake layer. Chill until set, at least 3 hours.
To serve, run a long metal spatula around edges of pan. Unmold onto serving plate and garnish with mint. Makes 12 servings.
FROSTY CHOCOLATE SHAKE
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup nonfat milk
2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
Sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup ice cubes
Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup nonfat milk. Let stand 1 minute. Stir over low heat until gelatin is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes.
Process remaining 1/4 cup nonfat milk in blender with syrup, sugar to taste and vanilla. While processing, gradually add gelatin through feed cap and process until blended. Add ice cubes, one, at a time, processing at high speed until ice is melted. Makes 2 servings.
FRUIT JUICE BLOX
4 envelopes unflavored gelatin
4 cups fruit juice
2 tablespoons sugar or honey, optional
Sprinkle gelatin over 1 cup cold juice in large bowl. Let stand 1 minute. Heat remaining juice to boil and add to gelatin, stirring until completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Stir in sugar. Pour into 13x9-inch baking pan and chill until firm, about 3 hours. To serve, cut into 1-inch squares. Makes about 1 dozen blox.
APPLE AND TARRAGON SALAD WITH WATERCRESS
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
2 cups white grape juice
1 1/2 cups apple juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 medium apple, thinly sliced
1 cup loosely packed watercress leaves, chopped
1 cup seedless green grapes, halved
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves
Grilled or broiled boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips
Sprinkle gelatin over 1 cup grape juice in saucepan. Let stand 1 minute. Stir over low heat until gelatin is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes.
Blend remaining 1 cup grape juice, apple juice, gelatin mixture and lemon juice together in large bowl. Chill, stirring occasionally, until mixture is consistency of unbeaten egg whites, about 30 minutes.
Spoon 1 cup gelatin mixture into 6-cup ring mold. Arrange apple slices, slightly overlapping, into bottom of mold. Fold watercress, grapes, green onions and tarragon into remaining gelatin mixture and carefully spoon over apple slices. Chill until firm, about 4 hours.
To serve, unmold onto serving platter, then fill center with chicken and additional watercress, if desired. Makes about 8 servings.
