Welcome to Brain Stuff, a production of iHeartRadio.

Hey, Brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here with a classic episode from the podcast's archives.

In this one, we discuss the psychology and physiology behind a strange food phenomenon.

How hot food can seem more satisfying than cold food, even when both are delicious and

filling?

Hey, Brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here?

Even though that ravenously hungry feeling you get after going swimming, it feels like

you could go to an all-you-can-eat buffet and make them rethink their business strategy.

But although a salad or a granola bar, or even a nice smoothie, would probably satisfy

you, a voice echoing out of the deepest recesses of your brain commands you to feed it something

warm, an entire pizza, perhaps, or two giant bowls of fuh, extra brisket, please.

There could be a lot of reasons why we crave warm foods when we're especially hungry,

but one of them probably has to do with the link between smell and taste.

We spoke with Dr. Steven Secker, an associate professor in the University of Alabama Department

of Biological Sciences, who studies the physiological design of digestive systems.

He said, hot food emanates much more airborne particles than cold foods, and since a large

part of our taste sensation also involves smell, hot food would therefore provide positive

reinforcement in its selection.

Just consider how quickly the smell of smoke from a barbecue can make you feel hungry,

or how, no matter how tasty it will be, a cold gazpacho simply doesn't stimulate the

senses like a warm chili.

So even though we intellectually know that cold soup is going to be good and fill us

...