What tickles your taste buds?
Everyone knows that it’s important to have a regular routine regarding meals, but it’s also true to say that it’s often impossible to ignore hunger pangs outside regular mealtimes, when we give in 5 to temptation of one type or another and indulge ourselves. We wanted to hear what can trigger people’s appetites – when and why they succumb to temptation. Here are some contributions from different readers. Can you relate to any of these?
A Picture the moment. You’ve had a really filling meal of dumplings and tender chicken casserole, and you’re chilling out on the sofa watching an hour or so of mindless TV to let your dinner go down and forget the day’s 15 issues. It’s a police series, nothing too exciting. But then, oh no – the detective goes into a fish and chip shop. Your senses are suddenly on full alert. You can smell the vinegar, hear the chips sizzling in the fryer, and your stomach 20 rumbles. The policeman bites into the fish, and your mouth starts to water. What do you do? Well, what I do is head for the kitchen, rustle up what I’ve just seen on the screen – and then feel awful afterwards. I can’t resist the 25 foodie delights I see on TV. The saltiness of the fish, the feeling of greasy chips on my fingers. Irresistible! Pictures in a book or magazine or online don’t do it for me, but moving visuals do. It’s useless trying to ignore the pangs, I’m 30 afraid. I’m a lost cause.
B I’m usually careful to avoid the temptations that lead to snacking between meals. But, unfortunately, when boredom sets in, the healthy habits waver. Some of my friends 35 maintain that it’s stress or anger that leads them straight to the crisp packet or a slice of gooey cream cake. They say that comfort eating helps them cope with whatever situation it is that they’re facing. I have no 40 such excuses. My hunger pangs strike when I’m between activities. Work’s done, but I have an hour to kill before meeting up with friends, and more likely than not, I’m fed up with trawling through social media. 45 My brain thinks, ‘What shall I do now?’ And my stomach kicks in with, ’Well, I’ve got an idea! Remember that box of chocolates you got for your birthday?’ And before I know it, the box is beside me, half empty …50 And, unlike my friends – I don’t feel better afterwards – I’m just too full!
C We’re continually being bombarded with information, advice, warnings and threats relating to healthy eating, but then the shops 55 and supermarkets sabotage everything. I could be walking down the street to the bus stop without a thought of food in my head – when the smell of freshly baked bread wafts out of the baker’s and stops me 60 in my tracks. I’m sure most people would agree that smells like this have the uncanny ability to communicate directly with our stomachs, completely bypassing the brain. So, then I devour a gooey chocolate cake and feel really guilty. The supermarkets are even worse. They’ve researched the smells that trigger food responses in us, and they purposely release them in certain aisles to encourage us to buy. For me, smell is a very powerful sense and it can take me back to a childhood walk in the country, or, in the case of bread, chocolate and coffee – straight into a café or a shop!
Questions:
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1. What happens to people outside regular mealtimes according to the introduction?
It’s often impossible to ignore hunger pangs outside regular mealtimes, when we give in to temptation of one type or another and indulge ourselves.
2. In Paragraph A, what meal had the person just finished before watching TV?
You’ve had a really filling meal of dumplings and tender chicken casserole.
3. What triggers the person’s appetite in Paragraph A while watching TV?
The detective goes into a fish and chip shop. Your senses are suddenly on full alert. You can smell the vinegar, hear the chips sizzling in the fryer, and your stomach rumbles.
4. Why don’t pictures in a book or magazine affect the person in Paragraph A?
Pictures in a book or magazine or online don’t do it for me, but moving visuals do.
5. In Paragraph B, what do the person’s friends say causes their comfort eating?
Some of my friends maintain that it’s stress or anger that leads them straight to the crisp packet or a slice of gooey cream cake. They say that comfort eating helps them cope with whatever situation it is that they’re facing.
6. When does the writer in Paragraph B usually get hunger pangs?
My hunger pangs strike when I’m between activities. Work’s done, but I have an hour to kill before meeting up with friends.
7. What food does the writer in Paragraph B remember when boredom strikes?
Remember that box of chocolates you got for your birthday? And before I know it, the box is beside me, half empty …
8. In Paragraph C, what suddenly makes the writer stop while walking to the bus stop?
The smell of freshly baked bread wafts out of the baker’s and stops me in my tracks.
9. According to Paragraph C, how do supermarkets encourage people to buy more food?
They’ve researched the smells that trigger food responses in us, and they purposely release them in certain aisles to encourage us to buy.
10. Which sense does the writer in Paragraph C describe as the most powerful in triggering appetite?
For me, smell is a very powerful sense and it can take me back to a childhood walk in the country, or, in the case of bread, chocolate and coffee – straight into a café or a shop!
