From stripping the food we eat right down to its core, Michael Mosley and James Wong have examined what it is our body needs from what we eat and how our flavour and taste sensations control what we put in our mouths.
In the final episode, Michael and James explore the effect of ‘food on the brain’. The brain is the organ that requires the greatest amount of energy to function properly. It has a habit of influencing our diet by generating the cravings we all experience.
To explore the craving our brains have for energy rich food, normally high fats, James heads off to Peru to discover the source of the food that has a most powerful hold over the brain, chocolate.
To learn more about a set of receptors on the tongue that evoke a melt-in-the-mouth feeling, Michael is in Turkey where a unique cream is made that has a very similar effect on the tongue. It’s called Kaymak and is traditionally produced from the rich milk of water buffalo.
To spice things up a little, Michael and James enter a chilli-eating competition sampling some of the hottest chilies in the world to see what the burn does to our bodies and our brains.
The Secrets of your Food, Friday, 9pm – BBC Two
