The Dorito Effect

The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor

By: Mark Schatzker

Narrated by: Chris Patton

Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

In The Dorito Effect, Mark Schatzker shows us how our approach to the nation's number-one public health crisis has gotten it wrong. The epidemics of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes are not tied to the overabundance of fat or carbs. Instead we have been led astray by the growing divide between flavor - the tastes we crave - and the underlying nutrition.

Since the late 1940s, we have been slowly leeching flavor out of the food we grow. Simultaneously we have taken great leaps forward in technology, allowing us to produce in the lab the very flavors that are being lost on the farm. Thanks to this largely invisible epidemic, seemingly healthy food is becoming more like junk food: highly craveable but nutritionally empty. We have unknowingly interfered with an ancient chemical language - flavor - that evolved to guide our nutrition, not destroy it.

©2015 Mark Schatzker (P)2015 Dreamscape Media, LLC

It is chock full of knowledge and a great listen

My first thought was not even about The Dorito Effect, but about the narrator. I did not look prior to getting this book so I was pleasantly surprised to hear Chris Patton! I listened to his Yesterday's Gone narration and simply loved it. His voice definitely jumps out of the headphones so I was even more excited to listen to this book.

If you enjoy non-fiction and are curious about what the dorito effect entails, be prepared for a no holds barred look at what America puts into their food. It is disgusting. Or would be if we didn't crave these yummy materials so much. There is so much in this that I could talk about but one thing that really caught me off guard was "Natural Flavors". The author describes natural flavors as flavors that are actually not natural at all.

It's funny because I have been curious about what in the world they are for quite some time now. It saddens me to find out that they are these synthetic flavors that spice companies just come up with to make our taste buds crave more! With all the substances that we have to look for, you would think that this is probably the least harmful but it does not seem so. Sadly, during my last grocery shopping trip, I noticed that nearly everything has natural flavors. Thankfully there is a new health trend so there are some things that are natural and only have the few things that make up that ingredient. But these are few and far between!

The book continues to give insight about what we eat and why we still crave it even after knowing what it is. The author even talks about McDonald's and although he knows it is horrible, he eats there still! I have to admit to their fries being awesome. Once again, the taste of the food, not the substance, is what our brains think we want! And it is so hard to fight against.

Back to Chris Patton. It is interesting how he narrates. He has such a chipper, upbeat voice, that listening to the idea that companies are blatantly adding in crap to our food and making us obese, does not sound so horrifying! There are moments when he gets a bit more somber, however, for the most part he is his cheerful self. I think this book needs that bit of levity. Otherwise, the reader will wind up spiraling into a depression. There is a lot of depressing moments in this so his lending the cheerful voice helped a lot. The audio was perfect and very well done.

There is so much information in here that you may want to get the print version just to be able to highlight and write notes! I'm going to have to listen to this at least once more. It is chock full of knowledge and a great read.

Audiobook was purchased for review by ABR.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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Ajinomoto

Ajinomoto is one of the main ingredients in kimchi and most Asian foods. This magic white powder consist of Monosodium glutamate (MSG) that gives flavors and preserves meals longer. As a Korean descent, I remember my family using Ajinomoto in everything that they cook. My mom kept it in a glass jar in the pantry, as if it was table salt.

It was yummy until I got an allergic reaction from everything that I ate at the dinner table. My family had change their way of cooking by using a lot less of the Japanese seasoning and I stopped having any reaction. I still get sick when I have too much MSG when I'm dining out.

"The Dorito Effect" is my favorite book of 2015. I don't usually like to read about food, diets, or anything that deals with health or fitness. They all follow the same pattern, where the author badgers the reader over and over with their rhetoric.

Mark Schatzker uses information to inform his audience by explaining different artificial flavors in food. He also explains that natural flavors is more than enough for our taste pallets.

This book was very informative without the personal journal.

My Favorite Read in 2015.

This book makes too much sense. So many questions regarding diet, nutrition and the distinctly different flavors of foods experienced outside the U.S. all seemed to be addressed as the author connects the dots in this interesting study of the evolution of commercial food production in the U.S. I would have preferred an abridged version, but the details were interesting enough to keep me listening.

Taste is the thing

Great book, explains why garlic no longer seems to have much flavor. Narration was also excellent

Required reading for health nerds ;)

Well written and informative. Explaines the basics of what happened to sidetrack food and health.

I enjoyed this book!

The only negative thing I have to say is that the story line seemed kind of contrived and the authors writing style might not translate perfectly to audiobook.

negative out of the way-i would vote in favor of having this book be a recommended reading for high school students! I enjoyed the anecdotes- especially the chicken contests- and the flavor stories about vanalin. what a great way to spend 8 hours of my life, learning about the food that propels me. I am compelled now to try more expensive produce to see how it May differ. thank you for a mind opening month!

I've learned so much

I'll never look at food the same way again. I had no idea how far 'gone' our food industry has gone. You will enjoy this book.

FDA is bad news for health

Really sad how we've gone backwards in well being in the name of instant gratification. We need to look back on healthier and happier times and give the middle finger to corporate food and pharma.

I Had No Idea!

I heard about this book on an Underground Wellness podcast. The author interviewed well and peaked my interest. Glad I purchased it. There's lot's of information in this book, regarding how our food has changed. To my surprise, this has been going on longer than I thought!The narrator was good, and didn't put me to sleep. I've listened to this twice and have placed several bookmarks.

Diluted Food

Our food is diluted. That's why I love this time of year when my garden yields undiluted vegetables that are so full of flavour that all I add is butter or a tiny bit of salt. Tomatoes that are taste sensations! Really delicious potatoes, corn, cucumbers, etc This flavour is missing in action in our supermarkets and I want it found. The time has come and it is not hard to do. If that's what the consumer wants and demands the market will provide it. Read this book and find out how we are duped.