Brain training with healthy food may make it more appetizing. It always feels like diets make us crave the sweets we can’t have. But a new study out this week indicates the opposite might be true. Obese participants were randomly assigned to either a low-calorie, high-fiber-diet and education group or one with no intervention. The education program “taught them to devalue cravings for high-calorie foods and enhance their preference for more satisfying foods with higher protein and fiber.” After six months, MRI brain scans found “areas of the brain reward center associated with learning and addiction showed increased sensitivity to healthy, lower-calorie foods, indicating an increased reward and enjoyment of healthier food cues. The area also showed decreased sensitivity to the unhealthy higher-calorie foods.” This indicates that time away from unhealthy food and intensive education about what we should be eating can have profound effects on the way our brain finds reward in the foods we eat.

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