Many people believe that a healthy diet can lead to beauty and health. However, when it comes to specific actions, many hesitate at the threshold of healthy eating—just think of our longing in front of the cookie aisle, our fascination at the bakery door, our joy in the ice cream shop; yet, in front of the vegetable stand, the whole grains stand, have we ever felt such a thrill?
We love sweet, refined, and rich foods, and dislike bitter, coarse, and bland ones. This preference for taste is formed from a very young age. In fact, it could be said that it was formed millions of years ago during the course of human evolution.
What makes food coarse? Insoluble dietary fiber, which are the substances that help our intestines prevent cancer and constipation.
What makes food astringent? Tannins, phytic acid, and oxalic acid in food. They are all powerful antioxidants that are beneficial for preventing diabetes and hyperlipidemia.
What makes food bitter? Various glycosides, terpenoids, and polyphenols, such as naringin in lemons and grapefruits, polyphenols in tea, and polyphenols in red wine and chocolate. They are all ingredients that help prevent cancer and heart disease, and they also bring a bit of a bitter flavor to food.
What makes food have a strong flavor, and even a bad aftertaste? Thioglycosides and allyl disulfides in food, such as in radishes and garlic. They are helpful in preventing cancer.
An article in the *American Journal of Clinical Nutrition* summarized the tastes of various "health-promoting active substances" in natural foods and found that the vast majority of them are bitter, astringent, or pungent flavors. Researchers asked consumers to evaluate the taste of various foods and found that the higher the content of active ingredients, the lower the taste rating of the food.
We can't blame people for being picky, because millions of years ago, or even just thirty years ago, people's main concern was not diabetes, heart disease, or obesity, but how to avoid malnutrition. Subcutaneous fat was always too thin, and what they desired most was sugar and fat. Therefore, we are naturally fond of foods high in oil and sugar, such as butter cookies, ice cream, and cheesecake.
And those health-promoting components in bitter and coarse foods also have some side effects—when consumed in large amounts, they can interfere with the absorption of nutrients such as protein, starch, calcium, iron, and zinc. So, from an evolutionary and genetic perspective, the human body is naturally predisposed to dislike these substances, and when exposed to them, people's senses show a strong aversion.
We cannot blame our ancestors for their taste preferences, because they never experienced the days of immense food abundance in the last twenty years, nor did they suffer from the troubles of obesity and diabetes.
Similarly, we cannot blame food companies for adding 30% oil when producing whole wheat digestive biscuits, for using potato varieties with the lowest polyphenol content to make french fries, for using lemon-yellow pigment to "make up" for "corn buns" with a small amount of cornmeal, or for adding water, sugar, and flavorings to natural juice to create "fruit drinks" that contain only 10% juice.
This is because consumer choice is the company's choice. And numerous surveys and studies have found that consumer choice is mainly based on three factors: taste, price, and convenience, rather than health effects.
Foods high in fiber cannot be tasty without adding more oil. If the polyphenol content in potatoes is not reduced, potato fries will easily turn black and taste astringent. If there is too much cornmeal, the buns cannot be fluffy and the texture will be coarse... Then, consumers will shun them, and these products themselves will fade away.
In other words, those "delicious" foods usually have a lower content of health-promoting components among similar products, and at the same time, due to their high fat and sugar content, their energy content must be high.
Nutritious things don't taste good, and tasty things are not nutritious—it seems to have become a law.
Besides its health significance, human diet also involves sensory enjoyment, psychological satisfaction, and socio-cultural meaning. Gourmet food is always one of the most fascinating experiences in life. And if one can have both health and gourmet food, if one can experience the slight bitterness in natural foods and turn it into a kind of beauty and mood, that can be called the highest realm of dining.
A friend of mine's words made me believe that perhaps this dilemma between gourmet food and nutrition is not so difficult to resolve.
She said: "I used to hate the astringent taste in food. When eating walnuts, I had to remove the brown skin. Later, after you told me that the skin is rich in antioxidants, I tried leaving it on. Unexpectedly, after getting used to it, I found it very delicious. Later, I discovered that the wonderful thing about walnuts lies in the magical mix of the skin's astringency and the meat's sweetness. If the astringent skin is removed, is it still a walnut? What's the difference then from a peanut?"