Image credit: GuillermoVuljevas
It’s no secret that fast food is much more attractive, and chocolate attracts more than fat-free yogurt. And it has 8 valid reasons.
You are drawn to harmful food, because you are guided by the brain and instincts.
Dislike for bitter taste
The joke about the fact that children do not like broccoli is not a joke, but a physiologically grounded fact. The fact is that a subconsciously bitter taste is an alarm. After all, most natural toxins have a bitter taste of bitterness, therefore, thanks to the experience of our ancestors, who were vital to determine the danger by the very tip of the tongue, we associate any bitter food with danger.
But alas, today this superpower is more likely to play against us – most of the green vegetables that are rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals have just a bitter taste, which determines their “insipidity”.
Disgust
Disgust for raw products is another protective mechanism that saved our ancestors. Here and at us all raw fruit-vegetables are associated, as a potential danger.
Colour
Bright and attractive shades of food attract us much more than faded and uninteresting. In addition, the color of the product affects our perception of taste – therefore, a bright red tomato or golden bread, or colorful burger from fast food like us much more simple and natural products.
Smell
It is believed that the combination of taste and smell helps us to recognize the taste of products. And marketers have mastered these skills, creating a pleasant illusion of a useful product with a pleasant smell, selling us harmful and dangerous.
Strong love for sweets 
Image credit: pastel100
So, a bitter taste is a danger, and a sweet taste is energy. Our ancestors, who spent all their time searching for food, sweet taste of fruits indicated that they are nutritious, rich in carbohydrates and very high in calories – in general they give the necessary energy. The problem is that the producers of yogurt and other products use this feature, making many products sweet, with artificial sweeteners.
Manipulation
As it turned out, not only the appearance and pleasant smell allow fast food to win the battle for healthy food over and over again from time to time for our refrigerator. Scientists associate excessive use of sweets with our childhood habits. Parents often encourage children with sweet and harmful products for good behavior. And in adulthood, this logic continues. We reward ourselves with food.
Love for fatty foods
Foods high in fat: french fries, pizza, bacon, burgers, ice cream are very caloric and promise a large amount of energy in stock. They contain 2 times more calories than carbohydrates. However, because they take longer to digest, the body prefers to store them to use when there is a lack of food.
It is a habit from our ancestors, when food was scarce and store – luxury. Today, this habit is not in our favor.
Love of salty
According to recent studies, we daily exceed the required level of salt intake by almost a third. Traditionally, high-salt foods are fast food, but in addition salt is also abundant in many canned and meat products. If you carefully read the labels, you can find a small amount of salt, even in products that have a sweet taste.
As in the case of sweet, we actively react to salty foods. It seems to us that salt improves food, makes the taste more rich and bright. In addition, salt is the best source of sodium – a mineral, which is extremely important for the work of muscles and nerve cells. It is not surprising that today unsalted and healthy food is perceived by us as devoid of taste.