Thinking More = Eating Less

Research finds that the more of a food item you actually imagine eating, the less you will actually eat it. Group 1 imagined eating 33 M&Ms. Group 2 imagined putting 33 quarters into a clothes dryer. Then they gave each group a bowl of M&Ms. Not surprisingly, Group 1 ate fewer M&Ms.

Colors Nutritional For Trees

Research shows that fall's bright red leaves deliver more nutrients to trees than if they were not so colored.

Trees in nutrient-poor soil produced more red pigment, backing a 2003 discovery that blocking red pigment production makes leaves ultra-sensitive to sunlight, causing less nutrients to be delivered to the plant.

This means that when the soil is poor, making the red pigment keeps those leaves working longer.

Want Tastier Food? Add Calcium

Aside from molecules that trigger specific taste buds (salty, sweet), other substances have no flavor of their own but enhance flavors they are paired with - known as "kokumi" taste. Calcium is now believed to be a kukomi element.

Calcium, as well as calcium channels (which sense and regulate calcium levels), on the tongue are the targets of compounds that can enhance taste.

Calcium channels are closely related to the receptors that sense base flavors and kukomi ingredients are enhanced when they interact with calcium channels. During tests, those molecules that induced the highest activity in calcium receptors also elicited the strongest flavor enhancement. Moreover, blocking calcium channels reduced flavor experience.

Maybe mom was on to something when she made sure you finished your milk!