The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

How Eating Got Complicated

Dec 4, 2023

In this insightful conversation, Dr. Laurie Santos, a Yale psychology professor, delves into our complex relationship with food. She discusses how food has shifted from a survival necessity to a source of anxiety in modern life. The talk covers topics like the impact of diet culture on our enjoyment of eating, the disconnect between cravings and true satisfaction, and the roles of marketing in shaping our food choices. Dr. Santos emphasizes the importance of mindful eating to foster a healthier relationship with what we consume.

43:10

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Episode guests

Laurie Santos

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Highlights

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Quick takeaways

Our relationship with food has become more complicated in today's society, with advertisements and branding influencing our perception of food and leading to disconnected wanting and liking systems.

Many individuals struggle with behaviors resembling addiction when it comes to food, and a positive narrative and focus on the pleasure of food can help combat binging behaviors.

Cultural traditions and rituals surrounding food have a significant impact on our relationship with it, and reclaiming and building new traditions can reshape our relationship with food.

Deep dives

The Evolution of Food: From Pleasure to Obsession

Food was once a simple means of fulfilling our basic needs, but as society has evolved, our relationship with food has become more complicated. Ancient cultures did not prioritize pleasure in food, but rather viewed it as a means of survival. In today's hyper-palatable food environment, our wanting and liking systems have become disconnected. Advertisements, branding, and packaging play a significant role in influencing our perception of food. Restriction can also lead to binging behaviors, as our brains fixate on what we can't have. Mindful eating and paying attention to how food truly tastes can help realign our wanting and liking systems. It is important to shift our focus from diets and restrictions to enjoying food in a healthier way.

The Disconnect Between Wanting and Liking in Our Brains

00:37

The Power of Storytelling in Influencing Preferences

01:03

Does restriction make the wanting part even more mismatched with the liking?

01:03

The Evolution of our Perception of Food

01:50

Intro

3min

Reconnecting with Food: A Modern Perspective

11min

The Mindful Dichotomy: Wanting vs. Liking

14min

The Influence of Food Marketing on Consumer Desires

5min

Binge Eating and Food Restrictions

9min

Eating Through Time: Tradition vs. Modernity

6min

For our ancient ancestors food was just another thing they needed to survive - like sleep, shelter or warmth. But in the modern world, food has become a source of anxiety. Do we eat too much, or too little? And are we feeding ourself the "wrong" things?

Dr Laurie Santos has plenty of thoughts on our complicated relationship with eating and shared them on a recent episode of the PRX podcast Food, We Need to Talk. The show turned out great, so we thought we'd give you the chance to hear Laurie's chat with the hosts Juna Gjata and Dr. Eddie Phillips.

Just like The Happiness Lab, Food, We Need to Talk relies on the latest science to tackle issues like body image, nutrition, exercise and addiction. You can listen to other episodes of Food, We Need to Talk wherever you get your podcasts.

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The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

How Eating Got Complicated

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The Evolution of Food: From Pleasure to Obsession

Exploring the Link Between Food and Addiction

The Cultural Influence on Our Relationship with Food

The Disconnect Between Wanting and Liking

Embracing Mindful Eating for a Healthier Relationship with Food

The Disconnect Between Wanting and Liking in Our Brains

The Power of Storytelling in Influencing Preferences

Does restriction make the wanting part even more mismatched with the liking?

The Evolution of our Perception of Food

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts