Eat, drink and be healthier — as long as you’re willing to try new things, says a study.
People who dive in to different foods and embrace new flavors tend to have lower body mass indexes than those with finicky palates who stick to tried-and-true foods, said Brian Wansink, a Cornell University professor.
According to his latest study, published in the medical journal Obesity, those who identify as “food neophiles,” meaning they have a varied diet, tend to be slimmer, more likely to work out and more likely to connect to food in healthy ways.
“These findings are important to dieters because they show that promoting adventurous eating may provide a way for people — especially women — to lose or maintain weight without feeling restricted by a strict diet,” Wansink said in a statement.
He drew his conclusions after talking to 502 women who shared details on what kind of foods they had tried — including things like rabbit, beef tongue and seitan, a faux meat product made from wheat protein.
Picky eaters often fall into a rut of only eating the same food — which can quickly become boring, and less nutritious overall than a varied diet, the study said.
