適口性是指特定食物本身在經食用者食用時產生的感受,未食用者帶來的滿足與愉悅程度,換句話說就是食物「好吃」的程度[1]。食物的適口性並非固定的食物屬性[2],而是代表是食物本身滿足食用者腦中享樂回饋的程度,所以當個人處於飢餓狀態時,食物的適口性通常較高,反之則較低。適口性和腦內的犒賞系統有關,並會造成和生理需求無關的飢餓感,所謂的享樂式飢餓(hedonic hunger)。[3]

大腦機制

食物的適口性高低,是受到食用者大腦中犒賞機制影響[4]伏隔核與大腦的獎賞、快樂、成癮有關,且注入鴉片類藥物會增加對食物的慾望[5]
個體攝取食物時,與食物適口性有關的「喜歡吃(liking)」某食物、與生理性需求驅使的「想要吃(wanting)」某食物的機制不同[6]

適口性及飽足感之於整體進食量的影響

人們在用餐後會產生飽足感進而抑制進食慾望,亦即對於食物的渴望會隨著攝入量的增加而降低[7]。然而,相較於一般常見食物,此現象在人們各自偏好、適口性高的食物中較不明顯,導致人們傾向攝取更多的該類食物;反之,某些適口性低的食物會降低人們對於該食物的攝取慾望[8],舉例而言,香菜對於帶有特定基因OR6A2的人而言適口性極低,以致於其在香菜上的攝取量會比其他不具此基因的人少[9]

食慾受到正回饋及負回饋的調控,正回饋與適口性食物的刺激相關,而負回饋則與飽足感有關[10]。由於在食物攝入之前,大腦會先對此做出評估及判斷,因此以往攝食經驗、餐具的外觀及大小等因素也會影響食慾,如紅色餐盤會抑制食慾,也可被視為一種節食減肥的方法[11]

參考資料

  1. ^ Pandurangan M, Hwang I. Systemic mechanism of taste, flavour and palatability in brain. Appl Biochem Biotechnol. 2015 Mar;175(6):3133-47. doi: 10.1007/s12010-015-1488-3. Epub 2015 Jan 21. PMID 25733187.
  2. ^ Yeomans, Martin R. Taste, palatability and the control of appetite. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 1998-11, 57 (4). ISSN 0029-6651. doi:10.1079/PNS19980089 (英语). 
  3. ^ Lowe MR, Butryn ML. Hedonic hunger: a new dimension of appetite? Physiol Behav. 2007 Jul 24;91(4):432-9. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2007.04.006. Epub 2007 Apr 12. PMID 17531274.
  4. ^ Wassum KM; Ostlund SB; Maidment NT; Balleine BW. Distinct opioid circuits determine the palatability and the desirability of rewarding events.. PMID. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A . 2009 Jul 28;106(30):12512-7. [2023-03-27]. doi:10.1073/pnas.0905874106. (原始内容存档于2023-03-27). 
  5. ^ C Davis; C Zai; R D Levitan; A S Kaplan; J C Carter; C Reid-Westoby; C Curtis; K Wight; J L Kennedy. Opiates, overeating and obesity: a psychogenetic analysis. PMID. Int J Obes (Lond) . [2023-03-27]. doi:10.1038/ijo.2010.276. (原始内容存档于2023-03-27). 
  6. ^ Graham Finlayson; Neil King; John Blundell. The role of implicit wanting in relation to explicit liking and wanting for food: implications for appetite control. PMID. [2023-03-27]. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2007.06.007. (原始内容存档于2023-03-27). 
  7. ^ Blundell, JE; Rogers, PJ. Hunger, hedonics and the control of satiation and satiety. Friedman, MA (编). Chemical senses, volume 4: Appetite and nutrition. New York: Marcel Dekker. 1991: 127–148 [2023-03-28]. (原始内容存档于2023-03-28). 
  8. ^ Yeomans, M. R.; Lee, M. D.; Gray, R. W.; French, S. J. Effects of test-meal palatability on compensatory eating following disguised fat and carbohydrate preloads. International Journal of Obesity. 2001-08, 25 (8) [2023-03-28]. ISSN 1476-5497. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0801653. (原始内容存档于2023-03-28) (英语). 
  9. ^ Eriksson, Nicholas; Wu, Shirley; Do, Chuong B.; Kiefer, Amy K.; Tung, Joyce Y.; Mountain, Joanna L.; Hinds, David A.; Francke, Uta. A genetic variant near olfactory receptor genes influences cilantro preference. Flavour. 2012-11-29, 1 (1). ISSN 2044-7248. doi:10.1186/2044-7248-1-22. 
  10. ^ Smith, Gerard P. The direct and indirect controls of meal size. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 1996-01-01, 20 (1) [2023-03-28]. ISSN 0149-7634. doi:10.1016/0149-7634(95)00038-G. (原始内容存档于2023-09-18) (英语). 
  11. ^ Spence, Charles. On the psychological impact of food colour. Flavour. 2015-04-22, 4 (1). ISSN 2044-7248. doi:10.1186/s13411-015-0031-3. 

外部連結