You have certainly heard that phrase “we are what we eat”, and this is in fact true, since more and more, studies and analyzes of nutritional science prove the effectiveness of following a healthy, balanced diet according to our needs.
There is no denying that food is part of each person’s cultural habits. We carry, since birth, gastronomic roots and traditions and, therefore, common sense beliefs, folklore and stories, which surround ingredients and recipes, are still very much taken into account, even with scientific explanations demystifying these legends.
That is why, historically, the issues surrounding our food always come up, bringing many doubts and, of course, curiosities.
One of these curiosities concerns the color of the dish that can influence our food choices.
Much more than a beautiful presentation, the color of the dish can interfere with what we eat. Researchers at the University of Oxford, have come to the conclusion that colorful dishes make people eat less and feel more uncomfortable during a meal. Meanwhile, white and monochromatic dishes make you eat more and with a better feeling of pleasure and satiety.
This is because colored dishes, such as red, for example, instinctively turn on a “danger alert” in our brain, while white dishes are more accessible to combinations of ingredients.
Matching foods: Do you know food synergy?
Many foods combine, however, few really complement each other. This is the function of food synergy. By joining two or more ingredients, enhance not only the flavors of the dish, but also its nutritional values.
Mixing sweets with snacks, who never tried?
The harmonization of culinary flavors is an essential action to form our eating habits. However, the combination of ingredients needs much more to meet our needs. When we talk about food, the union of food must be well elaborated and widely experienced, which is why, increasingly, gastronomic science studies recipes that complement each other, not only on the palate, but also in the potentiation of nutrients for better absorption in our body.
This is called “food synergy”. Food synergy happens when we combine two or more foods, eaten together, their compounds are absorbed at the same time and circulate simultaneously at the cellular level.
Rice with beans, or cheese and guava, for example, are traditional foods that, together, add the most diverse values in a dish.
Examples of food combinations and their benefits Rice with beans:
Perfect combination of carbohydrates and proteins, provides an amino acid (Tryptophan) that increases the production of the well-being hormone (serotonin);
Cheese with guava:
Nothing better than balancing the glycemic index of a sweet including protein.
This prevents hypoglycemia. Fruits or yogurt + whole grains:
Adding fiber to food improves the digestive process. Pineapple and meat:
Adding pineapple slices after a barbecue, in roasted meat, with cinnamon or not, offers a very important enzyme in the digestion of meat, bromelain.
This reduces that feeling of a heavy stomach. Tomato + Avocado:
If you don’t go to Mexican restaurants, or don’t know the cuisine of this country, you may find the combination strange, but believe me, this union deserves to be tried.
It is a side dish for salads, sandwiches, food and appetizers. Very tasty, its composition has the power to prevent aging.
Trying to diversify is more than an option and most of the time a necessity and we are adapting and looking for alternatives all the time in all aspects of life.
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