Industrially processed and packaged food is really good, and it's hard to resist. We're talking about things like sausages, chips, crackers, and similar foods; they are incredibly appealing to both kids and adults. (Almost) no one can resist them.

An experiment was conducted at Yale University. They gathered 206 participants and first showed them photos of various foods. The participants had to rate the products in the pictures and estimate the number of calories.

Then they all were served with the same products, and three hours later, they were scanned with a tomography machine (we know this as computerized tomography, CT).

After that, everyone was given the same limited amount of money they could spend on a virtual purchase of food for the next day. While choosing, their brain activities were measured. And here's where it gets interesting.

The research participants most often spent money on foods with unsaturated fats and lots of carbohydrates. In almost all cases, these were processed foods. The most shocking part was that in all participants, the reward center in the brain was activated. The more of these foods they chose, the more their brains rewarded them for the decision.

On the other hand: healthy, natural, and fresh food did not trigger any rewards in the participants' brains whatsoever.

Maybe because it wasn't in attractive packaging?!