What is “Gastrophysics”?
It is the science behind a good meal: all the sounds, sights, and tastes that make us like what we're eating—and want to eat more.
Gastrophysics can be defined as the scientific study of those factors that influence our multisensory experience while tasting food and drink. The term itself comes from the merging of “gastronomy” and “psychophysics”: gastronomy here emphasizes the fine culinary experiences that are the source of inspiration for much of the research in this area, while psychophysics references the scientific study of perception.
Gastrophysical topics of interest include investigations of the raw materials of food, the effects of food preparation, and quantitative aspects of the physical basis for food quality, flavor, appreciation and absorption in the human body.
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13 Easy Tips on How to Lose Weight Naturally and Fast
These are some key recommendation from Gastrophysics scientists for anyone who wants to feel more satisfied while consuming less (i.e., to eat more healthily):
13) Eat with chopsticks rather than regular cutlery, or try eating with your non-dominant hand, or else with a smaller spoon or fork. Do anything, basically, that makes it more difficult for you to get the food into your mouth.
Along much the same lines, artists and designers from thirty-five countries were recently tasked with making tableware that challenged eating norms and so encouraged slower, more mindful eating, at an Amsterdam supper club. Though you’d best watch your teeth if you ever try eating with the nail-filled spoon that one eager contributor created for the event.
12) Set the scene for slower eating. Dim lights and listen to relaxing music to set the tone for a more leisurely meal. Taking your time while eating increases enjoyment and decreases portions. Remember to chew your food slowly, put down your fork between bites, and sip water (room temperature water, not ice-cold) to make your meal last longer.
11) Eat from red plate ware. In this context, red plates seem to trigger some kind of avoidance motivation.
10) Eat from smaller plates. This technique is especially effective when people serve themselves. The numbers here are pretty staggering: if you eat from a plate that is twice as big, for example, you are likely to consume as much as 40% more food.
9) The more food sensations you can muster, the better. Stronger aroma, more texture—it all helps your brain to decide when it has had enough.
In a research study illustrating this point, people consumed far more calories when drinking apple juice as compared to apple puree, and when eating pureed apple as compared to apples. Exactly the same food in all three cases; all that differs is the textural cues the brain receives about how much it has consumed (and how much chewing is needed).
This is much the same reason why you should never use a straw to drink. It eliminates all the orthonasal olfactory cues that are normally such a large part of the enjoyment.
Be sure to inhale the aroma of your food frequently; after all, this is where the majority of the pleasure resides. Whatever you do, don’t drink iced water with your meals. It numbs the taste buds, plain and simple! Some researchers have even gone so far as to suggest that the North American preference for more highly sweetened foods may, in part, be linked to all the iced water they drink at mealtimes.
8) If you happen to be fond of junk food, why not eat in front of a mirror, or else off a mirrored plate? Research suggests it can help reduce desire for, and consumption of, foods such as chocolate brownies. There is at least one famous actress who would apparently eat naked in front of a mirror. It would be interesting to see whether customers at those naked restaurants that have been popping up recently also eat less. Try to eat slowly and mindfully. And yes, that does mean turning the TV off!
7) Limit mealtime distractions. Turn off the Telly and put your mobile phone away while you eat. Based on a scientific research, it was found that people who watched television during meals tended to consume more than those who ate without any distractions.
If you are in the office eating. Consider taking your lunch break away from your desk—in an American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study, people who played computer solitaire while having lunch felt less full at the end, and went on to eat more food later in the day than those who didn't play the game.
6) Middle-aged and older adults should try drinking lots of water before every meal—half a liter thirty minutes before breakfast, lunch and dinner ought to do the trick. In one study, this led to a reduction in consumption at mealtimes of roughly forty calories. Plus all those extra bathroom breaks will no doubt help increase your physical activity!
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5) Hide food—you will be more tempted to snack if you can see the cookies in the jar than if they are in an opaque container. It really is a case of out of sight, out of mind. In fact, anything that you can do to make it more difficult to get your hands on food in the first place is likely to help too. This kind of nudge approach has often (not always, mind) been shown to be effective in helping reduce consumption.
4) Eat less—Obvious, I hear you say! But not everyone does it. Stop eating mindlessly and start eating mindfully.
You can add vegetable fillers to your meal. Bulking up your meals with veggies is one easy way to cut calories while filling you up fast. Spinach, for example, can be used as a sandwich-topper or can add fiber and nutrients to pasta and stir-fries.
3) Don't eat from the bag or box. When you sit down with a bag of your favorite potato chips, do you really know how many you're eating? Scientist from Cornell University sought to answer this vital question in a scientific study and found that people ate 50% more chips when they were given no visual cues as to how large a portion should be.
So if you buy a bag of potato chips, pretzels or tin of nuts that contains 8 servings, divide the contents of the container into 8 smaller baggies ahead of time.
2) Oh!, and one excellent tip from Yogi Berra: “You better cut the pizza in four slices because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.”
1) Bowl food—eat from a heavy bowl without a rim, and hold the bowl in your hands while you eat; don’t leave it sitting on the table. The weight in your hand is likely to trick your brain into thinking that you have consumed more, and you’ll feel satiated sooner.
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References:
Barham, Peter. 2013. "Physics in the kitchen". Flavour. 2 (1): 5. doi:10.1186/2044-7248-2-5.
McGee, Harold. 2004. On food and cooking: the science and lore of the kitchen, (Completely rev. and updated. Ed.). Scribner. ISBN-10: 0684800012
Mouritsen, Ole G. 2012. "The emerging science of gastrophysics and its application to the algal cuisine". Flavour. 1 (1): 6. doi:10.1186/2044-7248-1-6.
Mouritsen, Ole G; Risbo, Jens. 2013. "Gastrophysics-do we need it?". Flavour. 2 (1): 3. doi:10.1186/2044-7248-2-3.
Spence, Charles. 2017. Gastrophysics: The New Science of Eating. Viking. ISBN-13: 978-0735223462
Vilgis, Thomas A. 2013. "Texture, taste and aroma: multi-scale materials and the gastrophysics of food". Flavour. 2 (1): 12. doi:10.1186/2044-7248-2-12.
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