Is flavour just a sensory experience? Or the secret key to eating for health? In this episode, Spencer Hyman, flavour expert and co-founder of Cocoa Runners, joins Professor Tim Spector, world-leading scientist in nutrition and gut health, to uncover how the food industry manipulates taste to make us overeat, and how rediscovering real flavour could transform our wellbeing.
Spencer reveals the fascinating science of flavour and why we “taste” with our noses, how chocolate became the world’s first hyper-palatable food, and why modern diets are full of fake flavours designed to make us eat faster. Tim explains how “big food” exploits the brain’s reward system to override fullness signals, creating products that keep us hooked - and what we can do to fight back.
For listeners curious about how to rebuild a healthy relationship with food, this episode includes a practical guide to retraining your taste buds. Spencer and Tim share tips on how to eat more slowly, savour each bite, and use flavour as a natural marker of nutrient-rich, satisfying foods.
Could learning the language of flavour be the most powerful way to eat better - without restriction?
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Timecodes
00:00 Introduction
01:10 The surprising truth about how taste really works
02:45 Why flavour matters more than nutrition labels
05:12 The ‘bliss point’: how junk food hooks your brain
07:40 How big food manipulates your taste buds
10:05 Why eating too fast damages your health
12:32 The 20-minute rule your brain uses to feel full
14:25 Why you should chew more (and talk while eating)
16:58 The simple trick to eat less and enjoy more
19:05 What chocolate reveals about human evolution
21:15 Why most processed foods are designed to deceive
23:48 How to spot hyper-palatable foods instantly
26:10 Why we’ve lost our ability to taste real food
28:55 What ‘bitterness’ really means for your health
31:40 The forgotten skill of flavour literacy
34:25 How to retrain your taste buds in one week
36:45 Why flavour is the one thing big food can’t fake
39:20 How mindful eating can rewire your brain
41:05 The shocking stats on mindless eating
43:30 What the data says about processed food risk
45:25 Why flavour could be your best health tracker
47:40 Can technology teach you to eat better?
49:30 Why enjoying food is essential for good health
51:00 The big takeaway: flavour is your superpower
📚Books by our ZOE Scientists
The Food For Life Cookbook
Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati
Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector
Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector
Free resources from ZOE
Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition
Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks
Better Breakfast Guide
Mentioned in today's episode
Savouring strikes back: healthiness, satiety, mindfulness, community, planet
How Important Is Eating Rate in the Physiological Response to Food Intake, Control of Body Weight, and Glycemia?, Nutrients (2020)
Hyperpalatability and the Generation of Obesity: Roles of Environment, Stress Exposure and Individual Difference, Current Obesity Reports (2018)
Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here.Episode transcripts are available here.