The end of craving : recovering the lost wisdom of eating well

Acclaimed journalist and author of The Dorito Effect delivers a groundbreaking, entertaining, and informative work that reveals how our dysfunctional relationship with food began—and how science is leading us back to healthier living and eating. For the last fifty years, we have been fighting a losing war on food. We have cut fat, reduced carbs, eliminated sugar, and attempted every conceivable diet only to find that eighty-eight million American adults are prediabetic, more than a hundred million have high blood pressure, and nearly half now qualify as obese. The harder we try to control what we eat, the more unhealthy we become. Why? Mark Schatzker has spent his career traveling the world in search of the answer. In The Dorito Effect, he revealed the startling relationship between flavor and nutrition. In Steak, he was one of the first authors to recognize the critical importance of regenerative agriculture. Now, in The End of Craving, he poses an even more profound question: What if the key to nutrition and good health lies not in resisting the primal urge to eat but in understanding its purpose? Acclaimed journalist and author of The Dorito Effect delivers a groundbreaking, entertaining, and informative work that reveals how our dysfunctional relationship with food began--and how science is leading us back to healthier living and eating. If you have ever wondered, How do I eat what's good for me? you are not alone. Innumerable diets have been tested and billions of dollars have been spent attempting to study and understand the simple act of consuming food. So, why aren't we getting healthier? Why does the dysfunctional relationship between eating and overeating, prevent us from living well? What if the key to unlocking a new path to nutrition and health lies not in overcoming our destructive urges, but understanding them? Now, science writer Mark Schatzker explores these key questions and the future of eating by focusing on the way our brain's powerful instinct to eat has been turned against itself. he takes us on a lively journey from the mountains of Italy to the Old South and inside brain scanning laboratories, to reveal new and fascinating information that will upend the way we see eating, craving, and body weight, including: --Our brains control body weight as effectively as it does body temperature, blood oxygen levels, and heart rate--tracking the energy we consume and burn with greater precision than even scientists can --We are not programmed to crave endless calories, but rather to crave what we need --Our ability to sense sugar and fats has been altered due to technologies like artificial sweeteners, artificial fats, synthetic starches, and flavorings --This mismatch between the way food tastes and the nutrients it delivers has created an unnatural and heightened desire to eat --Ultimately, by fortifying our food with certain vitamins, as we do with livestock, we have supercharged the caloric potential of what we eat and have unwittingly enabled obesity Blending conventional wisdom, historical research, and cutting-edge science, The End of Craving reveals a new and radical truth: our natural urges are not primitive. Nor are they harmful. Only by restoring the relationship between the flavor of food and the nutrition it provides can we hope to change our eating habits and overall health, leading to longer and happier lives The international bestseller from award-winning writer Mark Schatzker that reveals how our dysfunctional relationship with food began—and how science is leading us back to healthier living and eating. For the last fifty years, we have been fighting a losing war on food. We have cut fat, reduced carbs, eliminated sugar, and attempted every conceivable diet only to find that eighty-eight million American adults are prediabetic, more than a hundred million have high blood pressure, and nearly half now qualify as obese. The harder we try to control what we eat, the unhealthier we become. Why? Mark Schatzker has spent his career traveling the world in search of the answer. Now, in The End of Craving , he poses the profound question: What if the key to nutrition and good health lies not in resisting the primal urge to eat but in understanding its purpose? Beginning in the mountains of Europe and the fields of the Old South, Schatzker embarks on a quest to uncover the lost art of eating and living well. Along the way, he visits brain scanning laboratories and hog farms, and encounters cultural oddities and scientific paradoxes—northern Italians eat what may be the world's most delicious cuisine, yet are among the world's thinnest people; laborers in southern India possess an inborn wisdom to eat their way from sickness to good health. Schatzker reveals how decades of advancements in food technology have turned the brain's drive to eat against the body, placing us in an unrelenting state of craving. Only by restoring the relationship between nutrition and the pleasure of eating can we hope to lead longer and happier lives. Combining cutting-edge science and ancient wisdom, The End of Craving is an urgent and radical investigation that "charts a roadmap not just for healthy eating, but for joyous eating, too" (Dan Barber, New York Times bestselling author of The Third Plate ). "For the last fifty years, we have been fighting a losing war on food. We have cut fat, reduced carbs, eliminated sugar, and attempted every conceivable diet only to find that eighty-eight million American adults are now pre-diabetic, more than a hundred million have high blood pressure, and nearly half now qualify as obese. The harder we try to control what we eat, the more unhealthy we become. Why? Mark Schatzker has spent his career traveling the world in search of the answer. In The Dorito Effect, he revealed the startling relationship between flavor and nutrition. In Steak, he was one of the first authors to recognize the critical importance of regenerative agriculture. Now, in The End of Craving, he poses an even more profound question: What if the key to nutrition and good health lies not in resisting the primal urge to eat, but understanding its purpose? Beginning in the mountains of Europe and the fields of the Old South, Schatzker embarks on a quest to uncover the lost art of eating and living well. Along the way, he visits brain scanning laboratories and hog farms, and encounters cultural oddities and scientific paradoxes--northern Italians eat what may be the world's most delicious cuisine, yet are among the world's thinnest people; laborers in southern India possess an inborn wisdom to eat their way from sickness to good health--that reveal how decades of advancements in food technology have turned the brain's drive to eat against the body, placing us in an unrelenting state of craving. Only by restoring the relationship between nutrition and the essential joy of eating can we hope to lead longer and happier lives. Combining cutting-edge science and ancient wisdom, The End of Craving is an urgent and radical investigation that will fundamentally change how we understand both food and ourselves." -- inside book jacket Science writer Mark Schatzker explores key food habit questions and the future of eating by focusing on the way our brain's powerful instinct to eat has been turned against itself. Blending conventional wisdom, historical research, and cutting-edge science, Schatzker reveals a new and radical truth: our natural urges are not primitive. Nor are they harmful. Only by restoring the relationship between the flavour of food and the nutrition it provides can we hope to change our eating habits and overall health, leading to longer and happier lives. Residence: Toronto, ON. Print run 50,000.