Why you can’t stop eating: The science of cravings, food addiction and 5 ways to regain control | Michael Pollan & Prof Tim Spector

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