Journalist Melanie Mühl and psychologist Diana Von Kopp team up to examine universal themes concerning food choices in How We Eat with Our Eyes and Think with Our Stomach: The Hidden Influences That Shape Your Eating Habits. In our modern age, according to Mühl and Von Kopp, people have lost the carefree attitude toward food that was once enjoyed by past generations. Anxiety over diets, manipulation by supermarkets and the food industry, and an overabundance of choices have led to a relinquishment of joy and ease in our relationship to food.
Eager to re-create that carefree attitude, Mühl and Von Kopp ask why we make certain food choices and how we can liberate ourselves from external influences that work against our best interests. The answer, they write, lies in understanding why we eat with our eyes, how we savor with our ears, think with our stomachs, feast with our feelings and choose with our tongues. People are conditioned to respond to food in different ways according to their environment, the color of the plate, the music playing in the background during meals and the artistry of a dish's presentation. We are particularly susceptible to celebrity endorsements of new food products, even if the celebrity in question has no expertise in the product they are endorsing.
Mühl and Von Kopp bring a refreshing perspective to the field of food psychology with a well-curated selection of research studies. Easy to read and entertaining throughout, How We Eat with Our Eyes and Think with Our Stomach provides welcome clarity for those seeking to understand and change long-ingrained food habits. --Shahina Piyarali, writer and reviewer