Review: Why You Eat What You Eat by Rachel Herz, PhD

Why You Eat What You Eat: The Science Behind Our Relationship with Food by Rachel Herz, PhD

We eat every day to survive (and maybe because we’re bored) but how much do we really understand about our relationship with the foods we consume? Why You Eat What You Eat explores our interactions and attractions to food. Here’s a deeper look.

Why You Eat What You Eat

Most of us go through our day thinking little about the psychological and biological relationship we have with the many foods we eat. In Why You Eat What You Eat, author Rachel Herz, PhD presents insights that bring a better understanding for our love of food.

Using facts and stories from her own research and scientific studies, we learn why diets fail, why pretty food tastes better, how price impacts taste, why food impacts moods, and much more.

  • Simply telling someone a bottle of wine costs much more than it does will make that wine taste better.
  • Exposing people to the smell of pizza for 10 minutes resulted in 43% more pizza consumed than those without exposure to the aroma ahead of time.
  • Women that like spicy foods are most likely to score high on the personality trait sensation-seeking, while men that love spicy are more likely to be sensitive to reward.
  • We’re unwilling to try foods we’ve had bad experiences with in the past because evolution has taught us to avoid eating things that may be unsafe.
  • Bringing reusable bags to the store results in more purchases of junk food, as we reward ourselves for already doing a good deed by bringing the bag.

These facts and many more are explored in Why You Eat What You Eat but it’s not simply a slathering of facts. Herz dives deeper and explores the reasoning behind each of these interesting findings.

Armed with this new knowledge, we may be better prepared to control our eating behaviors. At very least, we better understand why we may have little power to control ourselves in certain situations.

The book is an enjoyable read, keeping your attention the entire time, and not spending too much time in any single area.

Better Eating Understanding

We all eat but having better knowledge about what and why we consume may help us eat smarter. Why You Eat What You Eat is an interesting exploration of the science of food and our relationship with it, which is sure to interest anyone who has ever stopped to consider what they eat.

Order your copy of Why You Eat What You Eat by Rachel Herz, PhD on Amazon now. Thought you might want to put down the popcorn while you read.

Author: Ben Brausen

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