From the moment we wake up, we start making decisions about food.
Tea or coffee? At home or from a drive-thru? Will breakfast be cereal — and which kind, in which bowl, with what topping? Or will we just grab a granola bar to go?
Authors Melanie Muhl and Diana von Kopp assert that we make more than 200 such food decisions every day, many subconsciously.
The pair, who live and work in Germany — Muhl as a journalist, von Kopp as a psychologist — explore the reasons behind our food choices in their book, How We Eat with Our Eyes and Think with Our Stomachs: The Hidden Influences That Shape Your Eating Habits.
The book, a bestseller in Germany, is now available in North America, after being translated into English by Carolin Sommer.
In a series of mini essays, and drawing on the worlds of neuroscience, pop culture and behavioural psychology, Muhl and von Kopp touch on more than 40 different topics, from manipulative grocery store layouts to how colour impacts flavour (yes, margarine is a specific shade of yellow for a reason).
Here are five things we learned reading How We Eat with Our Eyes and Think with Our Stomachs.
Source: 5 ways our minds play tricks with our appetites | Toronto Star
