Eddie, have you ever thought about this question? Why do you eat what you eat? What do you mean? I eat for

energy to do the stuff I want to do. Also, because it tastes good. I do actually love food.

Okay, but Eddie, let me ask you another question. Do you truly think that you have full control

over what you eat? What do you mean? Well, how many times does this happen to you? You are at work. This happens to me at work. Like literally, my work has the best stuff, you guys. On the counter, they'll have like pastries from really good bakeries, like fancy bakeries. Only the best. Only the best. And it's like, I see them and I'm like, yeah. Not today. Not today. I don't need it today right I don't even I black out then I'm sitting at my desk I'm like three fours through the brownie like I don't even know what happened or I opened a bag of what was it the other day I opened a bag of like these Frito wannabes from Trader Joe's I forgot what they're called but they but they're basically Freeto's. And I was eating it with guacamole.

Maybe that's a good name for them.

Frito Wannabes.

And I was like, all right, like, I'm just going to have like whatever the portion

size of it was like, I don't know, 18 chips, something like that. And I was like, I'm just going to have like a little bit, whatever. and then like I blink, half the bag, gone.

All right, what is it you're saying?

Let me get this straight.

Are you saying that my brain is making decisions that I'm really not consenting to?

And... All right, what is it you're saying? Let me get this straight. Are you saying that my brain is making decisions that I'm really not consenting to?

Eddie, that is exactly what I'm saying.

We are not truly in control of what we eat.

And that is exactly what we're going to talk about in today's episode.

This guest today was a suggestion from one of our members.

They went to a talk that she gave and they were so impressed. They said you would love her on her podcast because her research really focuses on ultra processed foods, which we talk about all the time on this show. And her main question has been, why you eat what you eat, which you would think is a straightforward answer, and it turns out

it's really not. So on today's episode, who is actually making the decisions, how do cheesecake

and chips affect your brain, and how can you rewire your brain to make the decisions you

actually want it to make? I'm Unayyadjata, and I'm Dr. Eddie Phillips, Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School.

And you're listening to Food We Need to Talk, the only health podcast that has been scientifically

proven to outsmart your snack craving one neuron at a time and give you an existential

...