Acclaimed journalist and author of The Dorito Effect delivers a groundbreaking, entertaining, and informative work that reveals how our dysfunctional relationship with food began—and how science is leading us back to healthier living and eating.
If you have ever wondered, “How do I eat what’s good for me?” you are not alone. Innumerable diets have been tested and billions of dollars have been spent attempting to study and understand the simple act of consuming food. So, why aren’t we getting healthier? Why does the dysfunctional relationship between eating and overeating, prevent us from living well? What if the key to unlocking a new path to nutrition and health lies not in overcoming our destructive urges, but understanding them?
Now, science writer Mark Schatzker explores these key questions and the future of eating by focusing on the way our brain’s powerful instinct to eat has been turned against itself. he takes us on a lively journey from the mountains of Italy to the Old South and inside brain scanning laboratories, to reveal new and fascinating information that will upend the way we see eating, craving, and body weight, including:
—Our brains control body weight as effectively as it does body temperature, blood oxygen levels, and heart rate—tracking the energy we consume and burn with greater precision than even scientists can
—We are not programmed to crave endless calories, but rather to crave what we need
—Our ability to sense sugar and fats has been altered due to technologies like artificial sweeteners, artificial fats, synthetic starches, and flavorings
—This “mismatch” between the way food tastes and the nutrients it delivers has created an unnatural and heightened desire to eat
—Ultimately, by “fortifying” our food with certain vitamins, as we do with livestock, we have supercharged the caloric potential of what we eat and have unwittingly enabled obesity
Blending conventional wisdom, historical research, and cutting-edge science, The End of Craving reveals a new and radical truth: our natural urges are not primitive. Nor are they harmful. Only by restoring the relationship between the flavor of food and the nutrition it provides can we hope to change our eating habits and overall health, leading to longer and happier lives.
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