Mike Carruthers

Thank you for taking the time to listen today.

So if you're craving something salty or sweet and you don't want to give in to that temptation, here's a strange but effective trick.

Look at a picture of that food you're craving first.

Research suggests that just seeing images of a food can take the edge off your craving.

That's because your brain starts to simulate the experience, imagining the taste, the texture, even that first satisfying bite.

And here's the surprising part.

Even if you decide to indulge and have some of that food, when you first mentally consume it,

you may actually eat less of it.

In experiments, people who repeatedly imagined eating a specific food ended up eating less of it afterwards.

It's as if your brain gets a preview of the reward before you even start to eat it, so when you do indulge, you feel satisfied sooner.

What's interesting is people think that looking at pictures of food makes you hungrier, but actually, it could help you eat less.

And that is something you should know.

And even negotiating to keep you healthy.

Most of it is happening without you ever noticing until something goes wrong.

So what exactly is your body saying and how should you respond?

Well, here to explain it is Dr. Julia Enders.

She's a resident physician in internal medicine and gastroenterology.

And she is star of the Netflix show, Hack Your Health.

She's author of a book called Organ Speak, What It Really Means to Listen to Our Bodies.

Hi, Dr. Enders.