From an evolutionary perspective, we only live as long as we need to replace ourselves efficiently. For example:<ul><li>Mice live 2-3 years. They divert most of their resources into reproducing rapidly and little into preserving their bodies.</li><li>Whales live hundreds of years because they're at the top of the food chain and they can live as long as they want. So they breed slowly and build a body that lasts.</li><li>We, as humans, are somewhere in between mice and whales.</li></ul>From a biological perspective, there's no maximum to human lifespan. There's nothing that says biological organisms have to die.

Aging

<ul><li>Diet: Eat healthy food. Don't overeat. Don't become obese</li><li>Exercise: Do aerobic and strength training a few times a week</li><li>Sleep: Get into a constant sleep-wake cycle</li><li>Manage your mental stress</li><li>Don't smoke because it accelerates aging</li></ul>

Tips to slow down aging

<ul><li>Eat a moderate amount of calories and eat during a shorter period during the day. You can do this through intermittent fasting and calorie restriction.</li><li>Eat plenty of leafy greens, such as broccoli, spinach, kale, or Brussels sprouts.</li><li>Reduce fruits that give you a sugar high because spiking your sugar is unhealthy in the long run. High sugar fruits include grapes, cherries, pears, watermelon, and bananas.</li><li>Limit your servings of red meat.</li></ul>

Diet

<ul><li>Fasting is one of oldest ways to improve health. We know it works, but we don't know why. Current research is aimed at figuring out what's optimal and how it works.</li><li>It's been shown that fasting activates some longevity genes, but the research is ongoing, so no recommendations can be made to the general public yet.</li><li>Results from animal studies show it's more important when you eat than what you eat. Mice that ate general food once a day lived longer than mice that ate carefully chosen food 3 times a day. But you want to focus on both — eat good food at the right time.</li></ul>

Research on fasting

It's been proven that exercise extends lifespan. People who exercise regularly have lower risk of major diseases such as heart disease.A basic routine with aerobic and strength training, done a few times a week, is enough. The main goal is for the aerobic training to reduce your heart disease risk, and for the strength training to maintain your hormone levels.However, bear in mind there are diminishing returns to exercise. Over-exercising is detrimental to your health as you wear out your joints.

Exercise

Get into a constant sleep-wake cycle.Results from studies on people who work shifts show that disrupting your sleep-wake cycle accelerates aging and increases your risk of developing certain age-related diseases.

Sleep

Do what works for you and what you enjoy. What's a long life if it's not enjoyable?

What is the best way to live longer? Here are a few factors within your control

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

longevity

Longevity

food

Food

health

Health

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

How To Live A Long Life

TIL diseases show up more often in older people because of aging. It's causation, not correlation 🤯 So if we slow down aging, we decrease the risk for many age-related diseases

David Sinclair is a geneticist at Harvard and author of Lifespan. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - Onnit: https://lexfridman.com/onnit to get up to 10% off - Clear: https://clearme.com/lexpod and use code LexPod to get 2 months free - National Instruments (NI): https://www.ni.com/perspectives - SimpliSafe: https://simplisafe.com/lex and use code LEX to get a free security camera - Linode: https://linode.com/lex to get $100 free credit EPISODE LINKS: David's Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidasinclair David's Website: https://lifespanbook.com PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ Full episodes playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 Clips playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOeciFP3CBCIEElOJeitOr41 OUTLINE: 0:00 - Introduction 1:34 - Staying young at heart 5:30 - Bringing people back to life 11:05 - Wearables and tracking health data 20:18 - How to solve aging 30:22 - Why do we age? 35:50 - Genetic reset switch that reverses aging 38:20 - AI in biology 40:52 - Health data 48:58 - Fasting 56:29 - Diet 1:04:40 - Exercise 1:10:01 - Sleep 1:18:29 - Data 1:24:00 - Extending lifespan 1:26:42 - Immortality 1:32:28 - Denial of death 1:35:45 - Meaning of life without death SOCIAL: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman - Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman - Reddit: https://reddit.com/r/lexfridman - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman

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Exercise & Fitness

David Sinclair is a geneticist at Harvard and author of Lifespan. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
- Onnit: https://lexfridman.com/onnit to get up to 10% off
- Clear: https://clearme.com/lexpod and use code LexPod to get 2 months free
- National Instruments (NI): https://www.ni.com/perspectives
- SimpliSafe: https://simplisafe.com/lex and use code LEX to get a free security camera
- Linode: https://linode.com/lex to get $100 free credit

EPISODE LINKS:
David's Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidasinclair
David's Website: https://lifespanbook.com

PODCAST INFO:
Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8
RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/
Full episodes playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4
Clips playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOeciFP3CBCIEElOJeitOr41

OUTLINE:
0:00 - Introduction
1:34 - Staying young at heart
5:30 - Bringing people back to life
11:05 - Wearables and tracking health data
20:18 - How to solve aging
30:22 - Why do we age?
35:50 - Genetic reset switch that reverses aging
38:20 - AI in biology
40:52 - Health data
48:58 - Fasting
56:29 - Diet
1:04:40 - Exercise
1:10:01 - Sleep
1:18:29 - Data
1:24:00 - Extending lifespan
1:26:42 - Immortality
1:32:28 - Denial of death
1:35:45 - Meaning of life without death

SOCIAL:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman
- Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman
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- Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman

Lex Fridman

David Sinclair: Extending the Human Lifespan Beyond 100 Years | Lex Fridman Podcast #189

<ul>
<li>Social cognitive theories are based on observing and learning from observing and seeing outcomes, which is by nature highly motivational.</li>
<li>We are more likely to internalize or adopt a behaviour if we believe that the outcome is positive and achievable.</li>
<li>Before-and-afters provide proof that certain outcomes are possible.</li>
<li>They are also great marketing.</li>
</ul>

The Before And After Picture: Why We Can’t Resist a Transformation

The Federal Trade Commission has strict guidelines about verbiage in these types of ads.Diets frequently fail, which is why so often you’ll see in the fine print of dramatic weight loss pictures: “Results not typical.".Facebook has also banned these pictures in advertising on its platform.WW, a company with a history of dramatically debuting the weight loss of various celebrity endorsers in big ad reveals, banned the use of before and after images in its ads in 2018.

Before-And-After Photos Are Controversial

<ul><li>Alexis Conason thinks these images are fundamentally flawed because they come from a place of self-hatred and encourage toxic dieting culture.</li><li>Erin Parks, a clinical psychologist, says, “There's no data to suggest that they help motivate people to lose weight in a healthy way.”</li><li>A good rule of thumb is that the before and after images for things you can change (e.g., teeth straightening, hairstyle, painting a room) can be inspirational. Looking at things you cannot change (body build, height, etc.) might be counterproductive.</li></ul>

Not Good For Our Psyche

People love before-and-after pictures. But do they do more harm than good?

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

Why we can’t look away from before-and-after pictures

Manuka honey is produced by bees who pollinate the flower of the Leptospermum scoparium, or manuka bush. The manuka plant is native to New Zealand, and manuka honey contains over 2,000 individual natural compounds, twentyfold more than ordinary pasture-type honeys such as clover.

Manuka honey 

The antimicrobial and wound healing effects of manuka honey are extensively studied. The honey also exhibits anti-inflammatory, immune-modulatory and antioxidant bioactivities, which work together to give manuka honey its therapeutic effects. Other compounds found in manuka honey are methylglyoxal, responsible for antimicrobial properties, and leptosperin, which may have anti-inflammatory benefits.

The potential health benefits of manuka honey

Manuka honey ranges from $2 per ounce to more than $14 per ounce, depending on its grade or Unique manuka factor level. The better the grade, the higher the price. The pant is very rare. The flower is only open for 12 days and sometimes helicopters have to be used to collect this honey.

Why Manuka is so expensive

The UMFHA serves as the leading body behind the New Zealand honey industry. Licensed Manuka honey growers must comply with regulations to receive the UMF quality label en ensure their product meets the requirements. These requirements include independent laboratory testing of product samples to confirm the presence of unique signature markers.

The Unique Manuka Factor (UMF)

Many consume manuka honey for wellness reasons. However, many just like the thicker, creamier taste of manuka honey, which undergoes a creaming process. The unique New Zealand flair has brought on an onslaught of controversy. The manuka plant goes by many other names, such as Tea Tree and Red Damask. The shrub is native to New Zealand, but other countries also seek to capitalize on this goldmine. New Zealand has taken Australia to court because New Zealand beekeepers don't want the Australian version to be called manuka honey.

Protecting the manuka honey brand

HowStuffWorks explores the world of expensive manuka honey to find out how it's different from other honeys.

What's All the Buzz About Manuka Honey? 

Diet culture believes that appearance and body shape are more important than physical, psychological, and general well-being. Diet culture normalises labelling foods as good or bad and thinking that food is either something you earn or don't deserve depending on how you've eaten and exercised. People also label themselves as good or bad for eating certain foods. They may have a poor self-image, talk negatively about themselves, and believe that a thin person is better.

The diet culture is harmful

It is a toxic idea to think that food is only fuel and must be earned. Food is more than fuel. It is a social and cultural part of our lives. Thinking of food as good or bad fuel prevents you from enjoying food as a more meaningful part of your life. Restricting your food intake so that you do not obtain the correct amount of nutrients for optimal functioning can be detrimental to your health.

Food is more than fuel

Labelling yourself as good or bad based on the foods you eat can lead to an eating disorder, such as orthorexia, sticking rigidly to consuming food that the person believes to be the "correct" healthy diet. This obsession leads to interference with everyday life, including social, emotional and more. Examples include avoiding gluten when you're not intolerant or allergic, extreme versions of veganism, extreme low-fat or low-carbohydrate diets, detoxes, cleanses and avoiding all non-organic foods.

Diet culture as an unhealthy obsession

While it is impossible to avoid the diet culture due to its pervasive nature in all aspects of society, you can limit your exposure to diet culture and advocate against it. <ul><li>Avoid social media, forums, or online groups that make you feel like you are not good enough for the way that you look.</li><li>Practice body neutrality - the idea that you should focus on what the body can do right now, not what you want it to look like.</li><li>Educate yourself on what overall health is. It might help you understand how focusing solely on thinness and food restriction can be detrimental to your health.</li></ul>

How to combat diet culture

Diet culture is the belief that physical appearance is more important than overall well-being. It can lead to disordered eating when it becomes obsessive.

habits

Habits

What Is Diet Culture?

In the distant past, studying nutrition was a relatively simple science. Diseases such as scurvy, pellagra, anaemia and goitre were solved by developing hypotheses and running experiments until they found what was missing in people's diets. However, nutrition is no longer that simple. Today, our greatest health problems are related to overeating. People eat too many calories from too much low-quality food, causing chronic diseases like cancer, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. These diseases develop over a lifetime, and fixing them is not as simple as adding a few oranges to the diet.

Nutrition is not a simple science

The randomized controlled trial is considered the gold standard for many areas of medicine. People are randomly assigned to two groups, and the only significant difference between the groups is the treatment. But with nutrition, it's too difficult to randomly assign different diets to people and assume people will stick with the specific diets for years to find clues if certain foods caused certain diseases. Scientists can't lock people up to ensure they stick to the diet. At best, studies can only measure short-term effects.

 It's not practical to run randomized trials

Studies that track very large numbers of people who already eat a certain way can be very valuable. For example, that is how scientists learned about the dangers of smoking and the benefits of exercise. But observational studies are rife with uncertainty. These studies aren't controlled like experiments, and they're less precise and noisy. Health outcomes could also be the result of a higher income or better educated, or being more health-conscious.

Nutrition researchers have to rely on observational studies

Many observational studies rely on surveys and have subjects report on their diets. An obvious challenge is that people don't remember what they ate for lunch yesterday or if they sprinkled something over the salad or snacked afterwards. Yet, much nutrition research rests on people's self-reporting from memory of what they ate. Many people also lie about what they eat, offering more socially acceptable answers.

Many nutrition studies rely on (wildly imprecise) food surveys

Researchers discovered that different bodies have very different responses to the same food. This makes nutrition research more difficult. Israeli scientists tracked 800 people over a week, monitoring their blood sugar levels to see how they responded to the same foods. Every person responded differently to identical meals, suggesting that health and nutrition cannot be simply understood by assessing what people eat.

People and food are diverse

Nutrition science is horribly underfunded by the government, so food companies and industry groups sponsor research. Industry-funded studies tend to have results that are more favourable to the industry.

Conflict of interest

Researchers have used all these imperfect tools to learn important things over the years. Nutritional research contributed to the knowledge that folate deficiency among pregnant women causes congenital disabilities or that drinking too much soda increases the risk of diabetes and fatty liver disease.

Nutrition science isn't futile

<ul><li>Always consider all the available research on a question, not just single studies. Meta-analyses or systematic reviews are helpful.</li><li>Different types of studies on a question, such as clinical trials, observational data, and lab studies, should all point toward a common conclusion.</li><li>Paying attention to the source of funding behind the research is key. Research funded by independent government agencies or foundations tends to be more credible.</li></ul>

What nutrition science to trust

I asked 8 researchers why the science of nutrition is so messy. Here’s what they said.

Many people are self-conscious about not being able to afford fancy brands of healthy food.Let go of any embarrassment you might feel about your budget. Healthy eating exists at every price point.

Embrace frugality

Companies use buzzwords to embellish their food products:<ul><li>organic</li><li>non-genetically modified organisms</li><li>low sugar</li><li>low fat</li></ul>While these descriptions may be useful to customers, they are also marketing terms that paint an inaccurate picture that some foods are substantially healthier than others.

Beware of buzzwords

<ul><li>Check out the weekly sales at nearby stores.</li><li>If you're regularly shopping at the same store, become a part of its membership program to get further discounts.</li><li>Download the store's app to check for discounts before you head there or at least before you check out.</li></ul>

Look for discounts

Food should not be an awards system where you either "win" or "lose" the right to eat certain dishes. And you shouldn't have to spend money on a pricey cleanse or meal prep system.Look for ways to make favorite foods more fulfilling and nutrient-dense. Including protein or fiber-rich add-ons to your favorite foods can help make these dishes more nourishing and filling. For protein, beans, tofu, and chicken are tasty, healthy additions. For fiber, carrots or peppers are easy toppings to a lot of dishes.That way, you don't have to cut something out of your life completely.

Add, don't subtract

Depending on where you get your health tips, you may think that vegetables are only good if they come in a bottle of cold-pressed juice. Of course, different variations may matter to people who want to support certain businesses or have different tastes.But vegetables are vegetables, no matter what. Anyone who tries to tell you something different is probably selling something. So, if you're hoping to stock up your pantry or fridge with usable vegetables that you can easily add to your meal, don't overlook fruits and vegetables in the canned or frozen section.

Don't snub canned or frozen fruit and vegetables

Most dietitians will tell you not to go to the grocery store while you're hungry. But you also shouldn't go without a list.When you shop without a plan, it's really easy to buy more food than you need, or purchase ingredients you already have, leading to waste. Plus, you'll inevitably forget things you do need. Developing a routine to eat healthy and maintain a budget will be easier if you come to the store with an idea of what you're getting and generally how much it will cost.

Plan ahead and make a list

Everyone should know the basics of cooking

Minding your budget while eating the foods that nourish you takes a little planning — but it's possible. Dietitian Shana Spence shares her tips to help you shop and keep your fridge stocked without breaking the bank. This episode first aired in October 2020.

5 steps to cooking healthy food on a budget

Wherever you are in the world, food is used to influence affective states – whether it’s a soothing bowl of congee or chicken soup when you are unwell, or a piece of chocolate when you are feeling miserable. The question is, how deep is food’s potential to affect how people feel? Can food improve your mood in a significant or lasting way – and, if so, how? Might we eventually be able to prescribe nutritional interventions to help people feel better?

Food And Your Mood

Emerging and accumulating evidence indicates that modifiable features of our lifestyles that influence our immune systems - including nutrition - are important factors in our vulnerability to, severity, and recovery from depression.

The Right Diet To Help With Depression

<ul><li>We tend to eat habitually, choosing foods and flavour profiles that are familiar.</li><li>We need to approach changes to your eating with openness and patience</li><li>It's best to try new foods when you are in a good mood and to approach them with a sense of curiosity.</li><li>Prepare to form some new, manageable habits.</li><li>The most important factor when it comes to building new eating habits is repetition.</li><li>To make repetition achievable, your new behaviours should be small enough that they are manageable even at your most tired.</li></ul>

Changing Your Eating Habits

<ul><li>A whole-food, plant-heavy, fibre-rich diet might reduce depression risk through its anti-inflammatory qualities, through its effects on gut microbes and via other pathways.</li><li>Approach changes to your eating with openness and patience. Give healthy new additions to your diet a few chances if needed, and experiment with different ways of preparing the food. Prepare to form some new, manageable habits.</li></ul>

Eat Real Food, Unpolished and Unprocessed

<ul><li>In the context of an overall healthy diet, there are limits to the health benefits of supplementation.</li><li>Therefore, it would be best to try to increase our consumption of plant foods, whole grains and oily fish.</li><li>There might be a role for the targeted use of supplements to help protect brain health and support mood.</li></ul>

Those Supplements Pills Don't Work As Thought

Supporting a healthy and diverse gut microbiome is likely to be beneficial to mood regulation. The primary food for the population of gut microbes is fibre, acquired by the consumption of a broad range of wholegrains and plant foods – nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, legumes, fruits and vegetables.If we consume insufficient dietary fibre, the balance of microbes becomes perturbed and the protective mucus lining of the gut is depleted, leaving the gut cells vulnerable. In this condition, the junctions of the gut lining can slacken, permitting the transfer of gut bacteria into the bloodstream.

Focus on Fibre, a Key Food for Gut Microbes

Your gut microbiome benefits from a diverse range of plant foods. While there are 300,000 edible plants on the planet, we eat just a tiny fraction of these, around 200. Recent <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5954204/">research</a> suggests it would be good to aim for 30 different plant foods per week. This might sound daunting, but remember that fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, wholegrains, herbs, and spices count as plant foods. And yet more than half of our calories come from just three plants: corn, rice and wheat. Clearly, there is some work to do.

Mix a Variety of Plant Foods Into Your Diet

There is an even faster way to increase the diversity of your gut inhabitants: fermented foods. Fermented products – foods and drinks that have undergone bacterial fermentation – have been a feature of traditional diets around the world for thousands of years. They include kimchi, kombucha, kvass, boza, togwa, kefir,  cheese, yogurt and dozens more. Originating as ways to preserve the harvest and supply nourishment through long, cold winters, these foods are now understood to play a beneficial role in gut-microbial diversity and, by extension, our health.

Eat Fermented Foods

A Western-style diet – high in added sugars, refined carbohydrates, processed meat, fried/fast foods and saturated fats – is associated with increased depression risk in adults and more inflammation and depression in adolescents. There is also evidence that a Western-style diet can impair memory function and appetite control within just a week.Adolescents are prime consumers of sugar-sweetened soft drink, which is of concern in light of research showing that, within just three weeks, moderate consumption of these products increased inflammation in healthy males.

Beware Of The Burger And Coke Diet

Alcoholic beverages can, in excess, be detrimental to mood, and research <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21382111/">indicates</a> a relationship between excessive alcohol consumption and major depression. Try to stay within or below national recommendations for healthy consumption. If you struggle to control your alcohol intake, contact your GP to find out about support services in your area.

Limit Your Alcohol Intake

Your mood and the food you eat are connected.

Depression and low mood are not separate from the rest of your bodily health: the right diet can help reduce your risk

mentalhealth

Mental Health

How to use food to help your mood | Psyche Guides

Curcumin, a distinctive yellow-orange chemical extracted from the rhizomes of turmeric, may help fight osteoarthritis and other diseases. Curcumin is increasingly being added to cosmetic products that claim to help treat acne and eczema, prevent dry skin, and even slow down the ageing process. Other health claims include relieving allergies, preventing cancer, and improving heart health. However, the proportion of curcumin in turmeric is just 3% by weight, and doses of curcumin needed to give health benefits are very high.

Curcumin has potential health benefits

Studies found that curcumin could inhibit angiogenesis, which all tumours need to sustain themselves. However, curcumin has poor bioavailability, making it nearly impossible to get sufficiently high concentrations of curcumin into the blood through oral supplementation alone. Research shows that combining curcumin with piperine - a compound found in black pepper - can enhance its absorption into the blood. However, piperine inhibits a variety of enzymes that aid in metabolising drugs. Although there is evidence of the benefits of curcumin, further research is necessary.

Advances in drug-delivery techniques

Clinical trials show that curcumin, present in the spice, may help fight osteoarthritis and other diseases, but there’s a catch – bioavailability, or how to get it into the blood

Does turmeric’s reputation translate into real health benefits?

Dialing in a perfectly flavored cup begins even before brewing—in the careful consideration of roast degree. A light-roasted coffee will taste fruity, tea-like even, as its sugars don’t get inordinately caramelized during roast.Dark roasted beans are, as you might imagine, aggressively toasted—which might comes across as cozy in a hot cup, but just tastes bitter, acrid on ice. Any of the nuanced flavors that once existed in the coffee are muddied.

The Beans: Go For Medium Or Light

1. Grind.Grind your beans for your preferred brewing method (powder-fine for espresso, medium-fine for pourover, medium for drip, coarse for French press).2. Fill Your Brewing Carafe With Ice.Remember, ice is iced coffee’s necessary evil; work with, not against, its dilutive powers. For pourover and drip, fill your brewing carafe halfway with ice; the brewed coffee will be chilled immediately upon drip.3. Halve The Water. That's simple.4. Brew On Ice.Brew the coffee using your chosen method—right over the ice with pourover and drip, or as usual with espresso and French press.

How To Make Iced Coffee

1. Coarse-Grind Your Beans.Given the extended brew time, a coarse grind is fine enough to allow extraction, but not so fine that the cold brew emerges unpleasantly bitter. For cold brew, Abella estimates 1 cup grounds to 7 cups room temperature water.  2. Combine & Let Sit.Combine the ground coffee and water in a large sealable jar or French press and stir well. Let sit for anywhere between 12-24 hours before fine-straining or plunging. (Any longer, and you risk an overextracted, bitter brew; any shorter, and it will be weak and flavorless.) Drink straight, on ice, or with a splash of milk.

How To Make Cold Brew

How to Make Iced Coffee

The choices we make before and during eating food, and the ways in which we engage with it can be crucial to our health.What our meals look and smell like, whether we eat them with forks or fingers – even the music we’re listening to while eating or food shopping can all play a role in how healthily we eat. The following techniques will help you “trick” your brain into making better decisions for your body.

How We Eat Matters

Many of us now know that serving meals on a smaller plate can control how much we eat, because our brains believe there to be more food there than there actually is. This has a profound effect on satiety (how full you feel), yet the brain can also be fooled by the tools we use: heavier cutlery enhances our appreciation of it, as does eating with our hands, which engages our senses and makes us more mindful.

Use Heavier Cutlery or – Better Still – No Cutlery at All

Anything you can do to pay more attention and eat more slowly, to be more mindful in the moment, will likely enhance the sensations associated with eating and mean that you are satisfied with less. Not only will this affect satiety, it could also help you make healthier choices – and enjoy those choices more. If it’s true that 75%-95% of what we taste, we really smell, then the aroma is really important. Yet many of our food behaviours are not optimised for that. If you’re drinking coffee from a takeaway cup with a lid, you’re missing a key part of the experience.

Make Eating as Sensory an Experience as Possible

We eat first with our eyes, and that dictates much of our experience. Indeed, by shaping our expectations, the appearance of foods has even been shown to influence what we taste when we eat them; so a big, beautiful salad boasting a variety of leaves and colours and textures won’t just look better than a handful of spinach; it will taste better, too. We should also remember that we eat with our eyes when it comes to premade food, particularly when it’s something asymmetrical (or without a uniform appearance).

Cook – and Eat – with Your Eyes

There’s a reason the first bite of a chocolate bar tastes better than subsequent bites; the first bite is novel, then our taste buds become habituated. Even when the flavour of each bite or slurp is slightly different, if it looks the same our brain tends to assume that the taste also remains the same. The flipside of that is that we can use this reaction to our advantage and reduce the quantity of unhealthy food we consume by packing as much of it as possible into that first mouthful. This is harder to do at home but it is coming into play in the design of readymade foods.

Front Load Your First Mouthful

People will drink about 30% more if the music is fast and loud. There is emerging evidence to suggest loud noises trigger less healthy food behaviours which might be because there’s so much noise, you can’t really taste what you’re eating. Genre matters too: listening to jazz and classical music increases people’s preferences for healthy savoury foods more than American rock, for example, which leads us more towards burger and chips; something to bear in mind if you’re listening to music while shopping.

Choose Your Music Carefully – and Turn Down the Volume

It is true that we tend to eat more in the company of others but one doesn’t want to recommend eating alone at least, not habitually. There are ways to enhance the sensory experience of a communal meal and encourage diners to focus on the food as well as the conversation. One is to get people involved in the process: serving up in dishes so they can help themselves or encouraging them to customise their plate with, say, herbs or seasonings. It elicits the so-called Ikea effect. They feel ownership for what they’re eating

Make Shared Meals as Engaging and Memorable as Possible

Ditching the cutlery, scoffing a big first bite and discussing the carrots can help rewire our brains and make us more mindful of our meals

How to trick your brain into better eating habits

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