Overview

An eye-opening exploration of the psychology of eating in today’s unprecedented North American pantry of abundance, access, and excess. In Why You Eat What You Eat, acclaimed neuroscientist Rachel Herz examines the sensory, psychological, neuroscientific, and physiological factors that influence our eating habits. Herz, who’s been praised for her “ability to cite and explain academic studies in a conversational manner” (Washington Post), uncovers the fascinating and surprising facts that influence food consumption—such as why bringing reusable bags to the grocery store encourages us to buy more treats, how our beliefs can affect how many calories we burn, why TV influences how much we eat, and how what we see and hear changes how food tastes—and reveals useful techniques for improving our experience of food, such as how aromas can help curb cravings and tips on how to resist repeated trips to the buffet table. Why You Eat What You Eat presents our relationship to food as a complicated recipe, whose ingredients—taste, personality, and emotions—combine to make eating a potent and pleasurable experience. Herz weaves curious findings and compelling facts into a narrative that tackles important questions, revealing how psychology, neurology, and physiology shape our relationship with food, and how food alters the relationship we have with ourselves and each other.

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9780393356601

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Dr Herz's latest book pulling together all the latest strands of research is called Why You Eat What You Eat and it's incredible reading. -- Candis Why You Eat What You Eat, a Freakonomics for the foodie generation, reveals not only how many aspects of psychology shape our relationship with food, but how food can also shape our relationships with each other. -- I paper ... fascinating new book... -- The Daily Mail In this factual feast, neuroscientist Rachel Herz probes humanity's fiendishly complex relationship with food from the inside out. -- Nature

"""In this factual feast, neuroscientist Rachel Herz probes humanity's fiendishly complex relationship with food from the inside out."" -- Nature ""... fascinating new book..."" -- The Daily Mail ""Why You Eat What You Eat, a Freakonomics for the foodie generation, reveals not only how many aspects of psychology shape our relationship with food, but how food can also shape our relationships with each other."" -- I paper ""Dr Herz's latest book pulling together all the latest strands of research is called Why You Eat What You Eat and it's incredible reading."" -- Candis"

There are so many reasons, besides being hungry, that we eat the food we do. Rachel Herz writes clearly and evocatively about the science behind these choices, ones dictated by all of our senses. -- Molly Birnbaum, author of Season to Taste This engaging and accessible account by a leading neuroscientist has something for everyone. -- Rachel Laudan, author of Cuisine and Empire Continuously fascinating . . . Rachel Herz sets new standards in helping readers deal with the vast range of problems that beset our eating habits. -- Gordon Shepherd, author of Neurogastronomy Rachel Herz . . . reveals how our minds and emotions influence taste, and vice versa, helping explain why there is such a thing as bacon-scented underwear, why grapefruit aroma suppresses appetite and why loud noise enhances tomato flavor. Your plate, and your skivvies, may never look the same. -- Florence Williams, author of The Nature Fix Eating can be a pleasure or a compulsion, and it can fatten, daze, energize, sicken, or kill some of us-but not others. Rachel Herz deftly and charmingly explains the latest science on the mysteries and paradoxes of this eternally fascinating human pastime. -- Steven Pinker, author of How the Mind Works and The Better Angels of Our Nature Herz . . . delivers on her promise to explain human eating habits in this research-based work on neurogastronomy. . . . Herz's book illuminates Western eating habits and offers some ways that both individuals and wider society might change in order to make Westerners eat more sanely. -- Publishers Weekly One of Herz's major strengths is her skill at creating catchy phrasing to convey complicated scientific theories and experiments. -- Kirkus Reviews A fun and compelling book that touches upon several subjects. -- Library Journal

Author Information

Rachel Herz is a neuroscientist specializing in perception and emotion. She teaches at Brown University and Boston College, and is a professional consultant. The author of The Scent of Desire and That’s Disgusting, she lives in Rhode Island.

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