The Easy Trick To Make Yourself Buy Healthier Foods

Try this easy (and and delicious) step to leave the Twinkies on the shelf and basket the broccoli instead. (Photo: Getty Images)

We’ve heard it many times before—grocery shopping while your stomach is growling is a big no-no. Not only are you likely to overspend (even in the nonfood aisles), but you’re also more drawn to the high-calorie, less nutritious products the store has to offer.

However, researchers at the Cornell University’s Food & Brand Lab took this knowledge and discovered the silver — or healthier — lining. According to their latest study, which is published in the journal Psychology & Marketing, people who snacked on an apple before heading to the grocery store tossed 25 percent more fruits and vegetables into their shopping carts compared to those who didn’t eat an apple before their excursion.

In one of the three experiments, 120 study participants were handed either an apple sample, a cookie sample or nothing at all and were then instructed to hit the supermarket. After tracking their purchases, researchers discovered that the shoppers who consumed the apple bought 28 percent more fruits and veggies than those who were given the cookie, and 25 percent more fruits and veggies than those who didn’t snack on anything. In the other two trials, study volunteers were offered the same snacks and took part in a virtual shopping experience. And in both cases, the apple eaters opted for the healthier items.

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“We think it is priming,” Aner Tal, PhD, a co-author of the study, tells Yahoo Health. “Eating a food of a particular type prior to shopping activates related concepts such as healthiness in the mind. That in turn sensitizes and guides people towards healthier choices.” Tal adds that “very little” time elapsed between the munching and the shopping. “They tasted the snack, then immediately shopped,” he says.

Julie Upton, MS, RD, and co-founder of Appetite for Health, who is not connected to this study, agrees with these findings. “What is also does, and has shown consistently, is to help shoppers buy fewer impulse junk foods based on feeling hungry or having low blood sugar levels,” she tells Yahoo Health. “Studies show that when blood sugar gets low, willpower wilts.”

Related: 7 Scientifically-Proven Ways To Trick Yourself Into Eating Healthier

So could this pre-outing healthy snacking strategy also encourage someone to choose the more nutritious options when dining out? “Yes, it should work in that context too,” says Tal. “However, we haven’t studied effects in that context yet, and also do not know how long the effects last.”

Upton concurs. “Studies show that having a broth-based soup or piece of fruit or salad before the main course helps individuals eat fewer calories at that meal,” she states. “Again, it’s due to the fact that it takes the edge off of hunger so you’re less likely to overeat.”

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