Do Colors Influence Appetite?

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Avocado on a colored dish

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Colors have a strong emotional impact on us, especially when it comes to food.

The appetite is often aroused by food styling, but did you know that it can be influenced by both the color of the food and the color of the plates? Let’s find out how!

Colors that can increase your appetite

White

Associated with innocence and purity, white plates can easily mislead you. The conclusion reached is quite surprising, namely that white encourages absent eating and therefore overeating. This color doesn’t look so innocent anymore, does it?

Green

The color of nature causes most people to associate greens with healthy eating (you instantly pictured salads, right?). This can convince you to gobble without worries or guilt feelings that you will gain weight, so it is easy to understand why green plates encourage an unstoppable appetite.

Yellow

When your brain sees yellow, it starts releasing serotonin, a hormone that makes you happy. And when you’re cheerful and well-disposed, you tend to eat some more, don’t you?

Image: Pexels

Orange

Oranges, carrots, pumpkins, mhmm, it seems like you are already craving some orange goodies… Of course, after all, this color gives you a pleasant feeling of warmth and comfort, which encourages you to keep eating.

Red

When you see red, your heart may start beating faster, and your blood pressure is probably starting to rise, which is why you suddenly feel hungry and end up eating the whole plate. Stay calm, no one will judge you, on the contrary, they will admire your healthy appetite!

Colors that can suppress your appetite

Brown

This color is often associated with burnt or overcooked food, which does not stir your appetite, of course. Unless your mind starts picturing a freshly baked bread or other homemade cakes that leave your mouth watering.

Gray

It is one of those colors that makes you think of spoiled or moldy foods and it is no longer necessary to tell you why gray plates will not appeal to you, no matter what food you put in them.

Black

Long ago, when our ancestors were hunting for food, the colors black, purple and blue were associated with something poisonous, which is why they used to stay away from them. Although considered a color that suppresses appetite, here is a different study, claiming that people undergoing an experiment had a great food intake even when eating from black plates.

Blue

By far, blue is the most appropriate color that diminishes appetite. The evocation of images such as the clear sky or a crystalline sea has a powerful soothing effect, which calms the body and slows down the metabolism, thus curbing the appetite. Apart from blueberries, cranberries and eggplants, there aren’t many blue foods available, so that blue isn’t normally associated with an increased appetite.

Purple

Just like blue, purple is a color that is rarely encountered in the food universe, which is why it doesn’t make you feel hungry.

We bet that from now on you will pay more attention to the colors of the table decorations and the dishes when you’ll eat at the restaurant. Let us know how they matched the guide we presented above!

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