Men\'s Health Malaysia - Jun 2017

72 JUNE 2017

Hamburgers

Tastebuds love

complexity. Towering

fast-food burgers often

have a dozen or more

competing flavours,

all of which combine

to light up your brain’s

pleasure centres.

High-glycemic,

processed buns spike

your insulin, causing

you to overindulge in

empty calories.

Bottled Coffee

These liquid pick-me-

ups contain the

triumvirate of taste:

salt, sugar and umami,

a Japanese concept

translating to “pleasant

savory taste”. Those

flavours, combined

with a smooth mouth-

feel, deliver a sensory

experience that’s far

more rewarding than

black coffee.

Doughnuts

The high-fat, high-

sugar combo is hard to

resist. That’s because

both fat and sugar are

energy-dense and

can tax your brain’s

opioid receptors.

This overload can

trigger a flood of

the pleasurable

neurotransmitter

dopamine. Hence the

sugar “rush”.

Oreo Cookies

Contrast adds intrigue

bite after bite – and

Oreos have it all.

Visually, they offer

both light and dark.

Texturally they are

simultaneously soft

and crunchy. And

flavour-wise, they offer

a sweet, sucrose-

based fill ing between

a pair of just-salty-

enough wafers.

Ice Cream

Casein, one of the

main proteins in milk,

creates morphine-

like molecules called

casomorphins during

digestion. And don’t

underestimate the

intense power of

nostalgia. Because

sometimes it’s just

that simple: eating

junk food makes you

feel like a kid again.

Junk Food

Science

Comfort foods –

and drinks – trick

you into coming

back. Here’s why

you find these five

so hard to resist.

http://www.mens-health.com.my 73

8 Ways Snack

Food Labels Can

Mislead You

Beware of snacks masquerading as your gym buddy. The number of new food

products featuring health- and nutrition-related claims has nearly doubled in

the past decade. Watch out for these fuzzy buzzwords and sneaky sales tactics

“Protein!”

But how much? If you

see the exact phrase

“high protein”, then

the snack must meet

20 percent of the

recommended daily

value. If you don’t,

then... who knows?

A snack with at least

15 grams of protein

and fewer than 250

calories is best.

“Gluten-Free”

If you do not have

celiac disease, gluten-

free snacks are no

healthier than snacks

with gluten, a 2015

study found. And if you

see apples and celery

marketed as gluten-

free, point and laugh.

They never had gluten

to begin with!

Clear Packaging

Seeing those seeds,

grains or chocolate

could tempt you to

consume more.

People ate 58 percent

more candy from

transparent packaging

than from opaque

wrappers, a 2013

Journal of Marketing

study found.

The Colour Green

It doesn’t always mean

“go”. People in a

Cornell study deemed

an item healthier when

the calorie label had a

green background

than when it had a red

or white background,

even when calorie

counts were identical

on both.

“Fitness”

Chronic dieters

consume about 60

more calories’ worth

of packaged trail mix if

the word “fitness” and

a picture of running

shoes appear on the

front of the packaging,

according to

researchers at Penn

State University.

Plus Sign

Last year, the FDA

asked the snack

brand Kind to stop

using the “+” symbol

on its packaging of

four bar flavours to

avoid misleading

consumers into

thinking that

those bars had

been fortified with

additional nutrients.

“Healthy”

In a 2015 study,

people ate twice as

much popcorn when

it was described as

healthy than when

it was presented

as unhealthy. That

may be because we

equate “healthy” with

“less filling”, says

study author Jacob

Suher, Ph.D.(c).

Empty Claims

The FDA doesn’t

regulate the language

on the front of the

packaging (though

one of its initiatives is

to change that), but

it does have rules

for the nutrition facts

panel. Always flip the

package over and

check the back first.

ILLUSTRATIONS

ULI KNÖRZER

Mike Roussell, Ph.D.,

is the author of The Six

Pillars of Nutrition

and a nutrition advisor

for Men’s Health.

I love a bowl of cereal

as a late-night snack.

Is that a bad idea?

• LARRY
  Nah, that’s okay. A
  late-night cereal fix isn’t a
  vice. In fact, con suming
  carbohydrates in the
  evening can help you
  relax, because carbs
  help your body produce
  serotonin, a feel-good
  neurotransmitter. In
  an Israeli study, peo ple
  who took in most of their
  daily carbs at din ner
  dropped more weight
  and felt fuller than those
  who ate their carbs
  throughout the day. Plus,
  the protein in milk can
  help your muscles
  recover and rebuild as
  you sleep. So enjoy – but
  stick to one bowl, Larry.

Nutrition

Know-

It-All

YOUR QUESTIONS

ANSWERED BY

MIKE ROUSSELL

I’ve heard that if I chug

water at a meal, I’ll eat

less. Really? Is my

brain that stupid?

• TIM
  No, your brain isn’t that
  stupid. Hydrating is
  important, but chugging
  H 2 O at mealtime will not
  help you eat less,
  research shows. You’ll
  need to be sneakier. To
  combat hunger with out
  overeating, go with a
  salad. You’ll still be
  ingesting water from
  vegetables, but the salad
  also requires you to chew,
  activating your brain’s
  satiating effect. Plus,
  those greens contain
  fibre, which fill you up –
  and keep you satisfied
  until your next meal.