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According to a recent study, cooking would make you feel better physically and mentally. People who took part in the experiment observed the benefits for six months.
Want to feel better? Cook! This is the result of a study conducted by researchers from Edith Cowan University (ECU), published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition. To feel the positive effects, you don’t even need to eat, the simple act of cooking would bring confidence and satisfaction.
The aim of the researchers was to encourage people to eat healthier and cook more often instead of eating in restaurants or ordering prepared meals. “It has been reported that people with greater comfort in the kitchen are more likely to have healthier eating behaviors, include more vegetables and have a body mass index (BMI) classified in the category of healthy weight”, can we read in the study.
A program to learn how to cook healthy
To carry out their study, the Australian researchers were able to count on the partnership between their university and a program to learn to cook, The Good Foundation. Between 2016 and 2018, 657 participants took part in a seven-week program to learn how to cook healthy. Two-thirds were overweight. At the same time, specialists “measured the effect of the program on participants’ cooking confidence and perceived mental health, as well as overall satisfaction with cooking and food-related behaviors”describes the study.
Results? Volunteers who completed the program “saw significant improvements in their general health, mental health, and subjective vitality immediately after the program.” These benefits remained six months after the program ended. “IThe participants’ mental health had improved despite the fact that their diets had not changed after completing the program,” explains the study. “This suggests a link between cooking confidence and satisfaction around cooking and mental health benefits”, explains in a press release Dr. Reesprincipal investigator of the study.