Pizza, chips, gummy worms and wings — these are a few of Tai’s favourite things! He just can’t get enough of their sugary, fatty, salty goodness, even though he knows they’re not exactly good *for* you. But why does he find those foods so irresistible in the first place? In this episode, Tai unravels the science behind our food cravings and how companies use it to formulate products that hook us in.

In this episode Tai talks to:

URBANA, Ill. – Sodium is an essential micronutrient, but the amount we need is small. Three slices of bread or one teaspoon of table salt will do it, and chances are your daily sodium intake is far greater. More than 90% of Americans consume too much sodium, which can lead to hypertension, high blood pressure, and increased risk of heart disease and stroke.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — While scientists have broadly agreed that a fraction of the alcohol people consume is broken down before it reaches the bloodstream in a process called first-pass metabolism, they have been uncertain whether this process occurs in the stomach or the liver.

Published online in the journal JAMA Network Open, a new study of alcohol metabolism in women who underwent sleeve gastrectomy and peers who had not had weight loss surgery indicates that this process occurs in the stomach.