We are literally surrounded by TV programs, tutorials, videos that instruct us to prepare succulent dishes, and make the most of the diversity of foods, to nourish ourselves in a healthier way. And we are led to reproduce not only the simple recipe, but also the colors, the aromas, the methods of presentation of the dishes. Well, those who start out on this path as a “chef” know that learning will not only be useful for the palate and for choosing healthier foods, favoring fruit and vegetables.
Research conducted in Australia published in Frontiers in Nutrition it shows that a good cooking course, with attention to ingredients and cooking methods, it not only promotes physical well-being and can help metabolism, but also positively affects the health of the psyche.
Seven weeks of “lessons”
The survey was coordinated by experts from Edith Cowan University who involved over 650 people in a real series of “lessons” over a prolonged period of just under two months. In addition to monitoring table behaviors and dietary habits during this period, the scholars also considered how becoming progressively better and at ease in the kitchen affected the participants’ perception of psychological well-being.
Research shows that even when the “training” period in the kitchen ends, starting from the use of healthy foods to reach healthier ways of preparing improves people’s mental health and vitality also in the controls after six months, obviously in comparison to a similar reference population. In short, becoming an expert chef is good not only for the body but also for the mind, also because it allows you to prepare various dishes in line with the most useful nutritional indications in terms of health.
Of course, the cooking classes also had a particularly positive side effect. In fact, during the learning period, all the subjects involved in the experimentation gradually learned the indications for a healthier diet, rich in fruit and vegetables and with more suitable foods to promote metabolism and limit the risks of developing diabetes, overweight and other problems. . All this, it must be said, with an eye to taste, smell and sight.
Because when we sit at the table we must always remember to use all the senses, avoiding to swallow quickly and without giving the right time to chew and to perceive the food aromas in a hurry. Finally, it must be said that, despite the fact that the female component was predominant among the “students” of good food, at the end of the course the positive effects of learning general indications for a healthy diet, attentive to the preparation of dishes, were observed both in women than men who participated in the initiative.
Furthermore, the benefits for psychological well-being have been demonstrated not only in those who were in perfect weight at the beginning of the lessons but also in overweight subjects, regardless of the caloric intake linked to the foods chosen for the preparation of the recipes. Learn to cook in short, calmly and with the right information, it can be an effective weapon to overcome the fear of not being able to prepare tasty and healthy dishes, reducing the risk of relying daily on perhaps ready and pre-cooked foods or the classic sandwich, with values nutritional and metabolic not exactly optimal.
Choose carefully
When we do the shopping, before starting to move in the kitchen, we therefore try to remember the dictates of the Mediterranean diet and above all we choose food carefully, favoring vegetables that can be prepared in a very “greedy” way but without giving up on pasta , fish, light seasonings. Above all, remember to read the labels carefully. Then, mastery in the kitchen becomes an art to feel good, even psychologically.