This book explores our relationship with food and how that relationship affects every part of our lives. From overeating to undereating and everything in between it strives to help us understand why we see food the way we do.

So much fascinating science in this book. Really wonderful information on the motives behind what we eat everyday.

How can we make recipes simpler (for shopping and for preparing) so as to more actively encourage changes in eating habits? That question (plus many more) is indirectly addressed in WHY YOU EAT WHAT YOU EAT by Rachel Herz, a neuroscientist specializing in perception and emotion who teaches at Brown University and Boston College. Her new text is filled with unusual facts, details, and summaries of studies. I have ordered a copy because I think our Psych classes will be surprised at and fascinated by the findings that explore the "science behind our relationship with food." For example, did you know that eating from a red plate generally results in eating less? Or that the more often you eat a food (e.g., rice vs. potato), "the more appetite-appeasing you believe it to be – and thinking makes it so." Or how about the idea that artichokes (containing cynarin) make other foods taste sweeter so blend them with the often more bitter leafy greens in an effort to eat healthier salads?

There's an entire chapter titled "eye candy" which supports the Chinese proverb that says, "you eat first with your eyes, then with your nose and then with your mouth" and talks about how art and color influence taste and perception. Other chapters deal with "the sound and the feeling' (with experiments you can try yourself) and another on "comfort food." Herz's text is, unfortunately, a bit too jammed with numerous tasty tidbits at times – kind of like the puns in that sentence - overwhelming the reader with information, although there is much useful self-help type info, too. In WHY YOU EAT WHAT YOU EAT, Herz herself points out that "globally, more people die today from obesity-related illnesses than from starvation" and it seems critical to learn all we can about how food impacts our mood and behavior as well as how our senses and our surroundings (labels, packaging, etc.) relate to our motivation to eat.

This was fascinating. Herz uses a mix of scientific fact and anecdote to create an approachable yet detailed exploration of, well, why you eat what you eat. I found myself exclaiming aloud and wishing I had someone to share a lot of the tidbits with. I highlighted many things. I recognized a lot of my own actions and those of people I know. (Especially of interest to me were the sections about people who crave salt versus sugar and what it means about their makeup and evolution - it explained a lot about my boyfriend and I when we eat salty food in particular!) I've preordered a copy for the library and I'm pretty sure this is one I'll buy myself to reread one day and refer back to as well. Simply riveting and enlightening. Thumbs up.

The term ‘page turner’ is often used to describe a thriller; but in this case, I think that the term adequately describes “Why You Eat What You Eat”. Every page contained a nugget of information gathered from various universities’ social experiments. Food taste, texture, and smell are the determinants that come to mind when deciding what food to eat. But not as clear is the influence that experience, psychology, culture, and memory have on our food eating decisions. These and other proffered factors are greater food eating determinants than the first three primary factors mentioned. Indeed, these other factors program our reaction to the primary determinants. So, a page-turner? Yes! Every page read passed on new knowledge about eating decision-making.

In addition to drivers that shape our eating desires, the author, Doctor Rachel Herz, remarks on the influences that turn us off to eating. This isn’t a diet book, but finding ways to take advantage of eating turnoff factors will help dieters resist acting on their food cravings. These turn off drivers can be used to replace self-forbidden eating delicacies with the propulsion to eat healthier and less. My only criticism of this book is that the author did not spend more time addressing this subject.

It was interesting to note how important our early childhood was to shaping our approach to eating. Taste preferences begin in the womb base on our mother’s diet during pregnancy and continue developing based on the variety of foods offered us during infancy and toddlerhood. Scientific evidence indicates that early childhood preferences, and the experiences enjoyed during that period, are easily recalled later in life with just the odor of an early childhood favored food. I certainly can relate to this based on my experience with certain ‘comfort’ foods and others may have had similar experiences.

The food knowledge this book provided helped me understand my eating preferences. It also provided me with food eating trivia to share at family gatherings. Shared in a way to avoid singling people out or causing embarrassment, this shared knowledge helped share my new-found knowledge on ‘why we eat what we eat’.

Understanding food eating motivators is the primary benefit received from reading this book. I am now more aware of what drives me to eat certain foods and more attuned to my feeling of fullness. This new awareness has helped me deal with my overeating tendencies.

As an adult picky eater, I found the premise of this book very interesting. I tried to read it, but the book is very scientific, complex, and intensive. For me, it's not the kind of book that I can read cover to cover without getting bogged down. It seemed more like reading a textbook. However, for someone doing research on this subject or for someone who wants an indepth read on why we eat what we eat, it will be a fantastic book to use. The author is obviously very knowledgeable about the subject matter and covers a wide range of topics. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

<b><i>"Food is love and food is life. And knowledge of how our mind and body are affected by our food choices, and how our senses and psychology alter our experience of food and the consequences of eating, is power."</b></i>

We've all got eating habits that might be more or less weird - some of us are picky eaters, others just can't stop binging, another group loves indulging in so-called comfort foods. <i>Why You Eat What You Eat</i> is a scientific exploration of how and why we form those habits. I received an advanced copy of this book, so I didn't know much about what it was about beforehand, but what awaited me was a surprisingly fun and informational study of why we eat what we eat.

<img src="https://i.imgur.com/kx2H3x3.jpg">

Rachel Herz explains in a conversational way how our senses, mind and environment impact our experience of food as well as our motivation to eat. Some of it are just fun facts resulting from various studies she bases her theories on, like one which showed that the more hot sauce men had with their food, the higher their testosterone levels were (or the higher testosterone levels drove men to want more hot sauce, depending on how you interpret the results). It's interesting, as this shows that a hormone which is "unrelated to taste but is related to one's masculinity and personality affects one's liking for and use of hot pepper".

<b><i>"Loud noise changes our taste perception differently as a function of what the particular taste is."</b></i>

Some of the studies she uses as examples are questionable, like a survey that found out that 70 percent of people linked yellow food to happy thoughts. It's not an outrageous claim, but the fact that this study was sponsored by a company selling eggs should make you a little sceptic. She does state these things as part of her interpretation though, but it's still a good reminder that not all studies' results are to be trusted unconditionally.

There's a large part dedicated to the relation between weight and food. There are hints and pieces of advice dropped here and there and while all of it makes sense within the given contexts, I don't actually feel like the book needed those little bits where it felt like a guide to weight management. I guess it's just me though and that it is a chapter that will draw most people to this book, and it elaborates on some curiosities that I enjoyed reading about:

<b><i>"How much we eat is guided by how many calories we think we're consuming, more than by the physical sensation and energy obtained from the food we're ingesting. We don't pay all that much attention to our body's physiological signals and it takes a while before they are triggered by what we're eating."</b></i>

All in all, this was a quick and diverting read that I would recommend to people who are interested in exploring the relationship people have with food and why we form them. Food is more than just what's on the plate, after all.

When British mountaineer George Mallory was asked by a journalist, "Why did you want to climb Mt. Everest?" Mallory famously replied, "Because it's there." I feel like, for many of us, Why We Eat What We Eat might be summed up just as succinctly. Why did I finish everything on my plate, even though I wasn't hungry anymore? Because it was there. Why did I have a second cookie? Ditto. That handful of peanuts? Ditto ditto.

Rachel Herz gets more scientific in her book, and much of it you've probably heard before:

we've evolved to prefer sweet and fatty because those give the biggest caloric bang for the buck;
sugar, chocolate and spicy foods have mood-boosting, painkilling benefits;
flavors experienced in utero and early on with happy associations become preferred;
mindful eating can help us consume less and increase satisfaction;
using smaller plates makes the servings look more abundant; and
our sense of smell declines as we age, which is why, if you have the misfortune to eat at an old folks' home, the food often seems "too salty."
But there was plenty that was less familiar and quite interesting, like studies showing that we can fool our palates with aromas. Waft vanilla aroma over us, and whatever we're consuming is perceived as sweeter and creamier! Similarly, bathe us in a bacon scent, and the food will be perceived as up to 40% saltier. How has no one come up with the Aromatherapy Diet yet, if you've been told to cut back on sugar, salt, or fat?

Or how about putting the marijuana munchies to good use? Herz notes a study of severe anorexics that found the "cannabis compound dronabinol, which is also used to help patients with HIV and cancer combat appetite and weight loss, led to modest weight gain in as little as a week, and consistently increased appetite and weight gain for the four weeks that the study lasted" (loc 1146).

For the greater percentage of us, however, attempting to gain weight is not the problem, but rather the opposite. There's hope here, too. Who knew that, among rats at least, "merely sniffing grapefruit aroma can suppress weight gain"? Eating the fruit works too, a half at every meal, but they aren't the most portable of fruits, so the aroma possibility tantalizes. Same goes for the scent of olive oil. Adding olive oil aroma extract to plain lowfat yogurt was found to be "remarkably appetite-curbing"--maybe because that sounds so unappetizing that you're put off your food for a few hours... But it does seem to fool your brain into thinking you've had a fattier food, leading to increased feelings of fullness.

But say you find yourself at your desk at 3 pm, dreaming of the donuts on the conference room table. Apparently, taking a big whiff of something totally unrelated to food can bump your brain out of that track and help you resist a craving. At last--something to do with that Yankee Candle your mother-in-law gave you (unless she gave you a sweet, food flavor)!

Herz also discusses how things like sound and color, temperature and texture affect our perceptions of taste. Basically, we have very fool-able brains and should take full advantage, for our dietary benefit. Never mind labeling foods "lowfat" or "healthy" or even "organic"--that makes us more likely to overeat or to cheat elsewhere. But if we're told something is indulgent or extra-rich, our body speeds up our metabolism, whether the item really was as advertised or not.

It's a lot of info, but it would be fun to experiment with friends and family members, and Herz does offer helpful tips for various conditions like picky eaters, the eating disordered, and the smell-impaired. I would have loved some "For this outcome, try this!" charts, but that's just a quibble. If you like reading about food and our perceptions, I recommend this book!

Why You Eat What You Eat is an in-depth look at the science of eating. What causes us to crave certain foods, how do our brains process the sights, smells, and memories of food, and how can/can't we control these urges.

Rachel Herz presents numerous interesting studies that show why we struggle to much to control ourselves around food, even when we have the best of intentions.

Filled with facts and research that can be applied to our own eating, it's a well-written and intriguing read that can help everyone better understand why we eat.