
Snacking on an apple before grocery shopping could lead to healthier food choices, according to a new study.©Lucky Business/Polyvore (Relaxnews) – Eating an apple upon entering the grocery store led to shoppers buying 25 percent more fruits and vegetables than those who did not in a new study from the Cornell Food & Brand Lab. “What this teaches us,” says Aner Tal, PhD of Cornell, “is that having a small healthy snack before shopping can put us in a healthier mindset and steer us towards making better food choices.” Tal and co-author Brian Wansink conducted three experiments to make their case, the first of which involved 120 shoppers. They were given at random an apple, a cookie or nothing at all as they arrived at the grocery store. Tracking their purchases, the researchers concluded that those who had eaten an apple bought 28 percent more fruits and vegetables than those who had consumed a cookie and 25 percent more fruits and vegetables than those who were not given a snack. In the second experiment, 56 participants who were given either a real cookie or a real apple to eat and then shown 20 images containing two products each. They were asked to select which one they would purchase and each image featured one healthy item and one unhealthy item, calorie count being the distinguishing factor. Results were similar to the first experiment, with the cookie eaters opting for a disproportionate amount of unhealthy items. At this point, the researchers wanted Read More …




