Food is an essential part of our daily lives. However, everyone has a different attitude to food intake, this is especially noticeable recently: for some, food becomes a cult, food lovers post dozens of photos of their lunch or dinner, without noticing that they eat much more than their body needs. Others, on the contrary, tend to limit their food intake to a minimum, emphasizing their independence from food. Proponents of proper nutrition count calories, vegetarians make sure that nothing of animal origin gets into their dishes … In general, food is now a special area of human life that cannot be ignored. Therefore, one should not be surprised at how much of it has become given to everything that can affect food intake. For example, color, more precisely, its effect on appetite. What color causes appetite in people, you will learn from the article. So let's get started.
How appetite appears
Appetite is the desire of a person to eat. It is explained by a simplephysiological reaction and is associated with a decrease in blood sugar levels. Chemoreceptors transmit a signal about a lack of glucose to the hypothalamus, then this signal goes to the cerebral cortex, from here thoughts are born that it would be nice to eat. At the same time, the organs of the gastrointestinal tract begin to work actively: salivation increases, gastric juice is produced, so the body prepares for eating. When hunger is satisfied and the level of glucose in the blood is back to normal, the brain also receives a signal: "Enough".
Psychological appetite
But there is another kind of appetite. He is able to break out even if the level of glucose in the blood is not lowered. Such an appetite is caused by pleasant smells, memories of a delicious treat, an appropriate atmosphere, even music can affect the psychological appetite, as it is called by nutritionists and psychologists. When we experience negative emotions - fear, anger, appetite most often disappears. He is also affected by unpleasant, repulsive sights.
The effect of color on appetite
Many people already know such a thing as color therapy. Psychologists use color therapy to combat stress tendencies, depression, and other nervous disorders. Color can affect your appetite. So, the researchers found colors that cause appetite. They are recommended to be used in the design of dining rooms and kitchens, as well as to buy dishes in these colors. There are shades with the opposite effect.
One should remember the colors that cause hunger or vice versaoverwhelming desire to eat, and take this into account when organizing the space where you usually eat, as well as when preparing meals.
How to increase interest in food?
Colors that cause appetite include warm, bright shades of red, yellow, orange. Sky blue and turquoise also encourage us to eat something tasty. Maybe you even noticed that desserts are often served in turquoise dishes. It turns out that this is no coincidence - it is much more difficult to refuse a cake served on such a plate.
If you suffer from a lack of desire to eat, then remember the main colors that cause appetite. Red, yellow, orange, bright green, turquoise arouse interest in food. Surround yourself with these shades and it will help solve your eating problem.
How to reduce appetite
What colors cause hunger, we found out. But the use of one or another shade can not only increase appetite, but also suppress it. Colors that suppress hunger include cool shades of blue, green, and dark colors like brown or black, as they tend to evoke unpleasant associations.
No gray
An unappetizing color is gray and all its shades. Remember if you have ever seen gray dishes in restaurants and cafes. They try not to use gray in catering places just because it refers more to those colors that cause reluctance to eat,rather than those that whet the appetite.
White dishes - etiquette or thoughtful move?
Dishes are of great importance for appetite control. Its size, shape and, of course, color are important. According to the etiquette, serve dishes correctly in white dishes. And while we don't usually classify white as an appetizing color for people, choosing this color is really a win if your goal is to increase the desire to eat. Food on a contrasting background looks spectacular. The dish looks more aesthetically pleasing and, of course, more appetizing.
What color of dishes makes you appetize
The abundance of dishes in the modern world is sometimes surprising. It differs in purpose: there are plates for soup, for salad, dessert, in shape: square or figured mugs are not new to anyone, it’s not worth talking about color diversity. But how to choose exactly the one from which it will be most pleasant to eat? What color dishes are appetizing?
Dish served on a bright red plate will be eaten with more pleasure than food served on a dark green plate. This is because appetizing colors such as red, orange, yellow and other warm shades are relevant when choosing dishes. In addition, it is important to consider the contrast of the dishes and the dish for which it is intended. So, if black usually does not excite the desire to eat, then a black plate, if used correctly, will become an excellent device in your kitchen. For example, white rice on a black background looks much more spectacular than on a standard white plate.
Pay attention to purpose
Based on this, we conclude that the color of dishes is not so simple. If you are looking for universal plates, mugs, cups, then we advise you to choose them either in classic white color, or give preference to warm "appetizing" shades. But if you need dishes for a certain set of dishes and you know what exactly you will serve in it, then you can use colors that contrast with the main ingredient.
Kitchen color
And yet the main color that affects our appetite is the one in which the kitchen or dining room is decorated. The place where we eat is very important for its perception. If at the entrance to the room you have a pleasant feeling of warmth, comfort, then most likely you will not refuse to have lunch in this room. As a rule, this feeling appears when we find ourselves in a bright room, in the design of which warm and bright colors are used, which cause hunger. This applies to the color of walls, furniture, decor items.
If the design of your kitchen is made in cold and dark colors, then most likely you will not want to eat in such a room. To make a blue or gray kitchen means to guarantee yourself to eat much less than usual. Great way to lose weight - perfect for dieters.
Design Tips
Of course, you should not, having learned that yellow is able to increase your appetite, apply it where and as soon as possible. EvenIf your kitchen is not decorated in an appetizing color, then using some bright details will definitely help to arouse the desire to eat. They are not striking, but they catch the eye. That is, it is not necessary to use all the colors that cause appetite in the interior. It is enough to focus on one or more objects. Let it be a scarlet tablecloth or a bright green vase with sunflowers, even a yellow clock on the wall will attract attention, drawings, prints or all kinds of little things depicting products, those from which most people salivate will become especially relevant when decorating a dining room or kitchen. flow. If the picture above the table shows off a still life with bright juicy fruits: orange peaches, red strawberries, green apples, then requests for supplements will not keep you waiting.
About combination
The combination of colors also matters. When you look at the red-green walls, you won’t want to eat, although both of these colors can have a beneficial effect on our appetite. The thing is that these two colors contradict each other, look unaesthetic and cause dissonance in our minds, a person begins to feel psychological discomfort. And in this state, will we really think about a delicious dish?
Therefore, it is not enough to know what color causes appetite. It is important to use shades together correctly, to avoid two or more aggressive, bright colors in the same room. In general, you should be careful with bright colors. They can play a cruel joke and, instead of increasing appetite, cause an uncomfortable feeling of pressure. So know the measureafter all, the eating behavior of not only yours, but also your household depends on the design of the kitchen or dining room.
Colorful food
Since ancient times, people have used food coloring to make food look more attractive. In ancient times, dishes were colored with the juice of berries and vegetables. Now, in order to give food a bright color, it is not necessary to contrive so - the food industry has adopted a variety of dyes, both natural and artificial. The color palette of modern food dyes is very diverse, because bright food looks much more appetizing. Colored dishes are especially popular with children. So, if your child has problems with appetite, try, for example, cook multi-colored pasta for him instead of simple pasta and evaluate the result. Eating these will be much more interesting for your child.
Of course, colored food attracts not only children, but also adults. Even the simplest dish will look much more spectacular if you add a couple of drops of dye to it. This is especially true when preparing a festive table. Without a doubt, your culinary skills will be appreciated by an order of magnitude higher if the food you cook is not only tasty, but also beautiful.
About food coloring. Choose natural
Manufacturers have adopted this as well. There is no doubt that when choosing the same cake, the hand will reach for a brighter copy. But here you need to focus not only on a bright color that causes appetite, but on the nature of this or thatother dye. It is better if it is natural or at least identical to natural, since an allergic reaction can occur to artificial additives, children are especially susceptible to it. Natural dyes such as curcumin - a yellow-orange dye, alkine and carnin will give the dish a red tint, green is achieved with the help of chlorophylls, they are obtained from edible plants: spinach, nettle, broccoli.. Do not be afraid if you found carotenes, lycopene, annatto extract, anthocyanins in the composition of the product.
How about restaurants?
It would be strange if all the listed factors that can arouse the desire to eat would be ignored by restaurateurs. In modern cafes, everything is thought out to the smallest detail so that the guest wants to eat as much as possible and so that his meal causes him maximum pleasure, because then he will return again and again. Whatever the style of the restaurant, its specialization or prestige, there are general rules of organization that all owners try to adhere to. The same applies to the color scheme of the place. Often in restaurants, you can notice exactly the colors that cause appetite. Red napkins, orange curtains, yellow cushions on the chairs - all these design solutions are well thought out in terms of arousing the desire to eat. It is also important for restaurateurs that all visitors are satisfied, because of this they prefer neutral colors, those that rarely cause rejection. caramel beige,peach pink - even the names of these colors sound as appetizing as possible! If you don't know how to decorate your dining room, then take a look at the nearest restaurant, pay attention to its decor and take a couple of design solutions into your arsenal.
Auto-suggestion or physiology?
Why is a person so influenced by color? Is this a consequence of stereotypes that have developed in society, or is it a given, due to physiology? How do appetizing colors work? Of course, the opinion of the majority that some colors are "appetizing" and others are not has weight in determining how a given shade affects one's own appetite. However, not everything is so simple.
It turns out that the biological factor also takes place here. Orange color makes the brain work more actively, because of which a person begins to feel hungry. And red is able to increase blood pressure, excite the nervous system and, accordingly, cause appetite. No wonder scarlet is considered the color of passion and desire. Green is a shade associated with benefits, he alth, so what is green is good for the body. Well, yellow is just the color of joy and optimism.
Choose your favorite colors, because the main thing is that you feel comfortable in your kitchen, regardless of whether you want to increase or decrease your appetite.