If you feel like you can’t stop eating, constantly crave junk food, or struggle with overeating, this episode will change how you see food.
Michael Pollan, one of the world's most influential science writers, joins Professor Tim Spector to explain how ultra-processed food may drive food addiction, override fullness signals, and keep us craving more. Together, they explore why foods high in sugar, salt, and fat can feel so hard to resist, and what we can do to fight back.
Michael and Tim unpack how the modern food system changed over the last 50 years, and why many ultra-processed foods are designed around “craveability.” They explain how these foods may stimulate the brain’s reward systems, why fibre and plants help us feel fuller, and why cooking more meals at home may help reduce overeating without calorie counting.
The episode includes practical ways to regain control of your eating habits, reduce cravings, feel better and live more healthy years.
If your cravings feel impossible to control, is it really a lack of willpower, or is modern food engineered to keep us coming back for more?
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Timecodes
00:00 Intro
04:04 How monoculture changed modern food
08:52 Are we basically made of corn?
12:58 The 3 ingredients engineered to drive cravings
14:32 Why ultra-processed food keeps you hungry
15:44 Why governments subsidize junk food
18:01 How fast food changed family cooking
20:00 Is ultra-processed food destroying family meals?
21:46 What happens when you stop eating plants? 22:55 Your gut microbes are eating too
25:31 Caffeine and the world’s most used drug
26:26 Michael Pollan quits caffeine for 3 months
28:35 Is caffeine addiction actually harmful?
29:11 Coffee and heart disease risk explained
32:34 Why workplaces normalized caffeine 33:40 The simplest way to stop overeating
35:30 Did food companies convince us cooking is hard?
37:02 How to identify ultra-processed food
38:25 Michael Pollan’s famous food rule explained
40:14 Why “plant-based” doesn’t always mean healthy
42:46 The Japanese habit that may reduce overeating
44:24 How food companies engineer craveability
45:25 Are food companies manipulating your cravings?
46:41 Why eating 30 plants a week matters
47:36 Eat food, not too much, mostly plants