The "Trick" to Eating Veggies

Your kids wail at the idea of eating broccoli. Your significant other wrinkles his or her nose at the idea of spinach. Quite frankly, you don’t much care for spinach either. But what if you and your loved ones could be tricked into liking healthy foods? That's exactly what false-memory researcher (Did you know there was such a field?) Elizabeth Loftus, Ph.D., distinguished professor of psychology and social behavior at the University of California, Irvine, is looking into.

Loftus's team was successful in convincing a number of young adults that they had loved asparagus as children, even though the students had previously said they detested the vegetable, by lying to them. That's right—by insinuating that researchers knew that the study participants liked asparagus as children, even when the participants knew they didn't, they were able to manipulate them into liking and even loving asparagus.

And the study went both ways: Researchers also convinced people they had extreme aversions to hard-boiled eggs, dill pickles and strawberry ice cream, and that these foods had made them sick when they were young.

We're not advocating that you lie to your family to get them to eat their vegetables, but this does suggest that persistent persuasion could get your family to live healthier lives.

We want to know: What healthy food did you hate as a child, but thoroughly enjoy now? [WebMD]