Study Condemns Condiments

Sometimes it’s the little things that make the difference. In the case of your diet, don’t just look at the food you eat, but what you put on it.

Condiments are often a second thought in our meal preparations, that may be putting on extra pounds. Yes, but not necessarily in the way you would think.

New research is suggesting that if you just say no to the extras on your food, like ketchup, relish, etc., you can shed some weight. But not so much because of the extra calories, even though that would help too, it’s more about evidence that shows condiments make people consume more food.

In the study of college students, when they added things like ketchup to fries and whipped cream to brownies, they ate between 25-40 percent more of the item.

There’s another twist to the findings. It’s not that the toppings make people eat more because the food is tastier with condiments. It’s that it takes your palate longer to tire from the taste of the food, which in turn makes you eat more.

Should you be eating fries and brownies enough to make this much of an issue? Does this apply for healthier items like mustard or vinegar? Otherwise, condiments do tend to be for less-than-healthy foods.

In general, a solid tip is to use about a teaspoon of a condiment, and when possible, serve it on the side and dip your fork in before each bite. You’ll be surprised to see how much less you consume.

(via: Real Age)