The Placebo Effect of Your Fork

What you think about what you eat matters almost as much as what you eat.

Note: A version of the following will appear in the Friday, March 6, 2026, edition of the Estes Park News.

When I was trying to get my nutrition class last month to really believe me when I told them carbs are not, in fact, evil, as so many of us have been led to believe over the years (nor is fat or protein, for that matter), I said to them:

"What you eat matters, yes, but so does what you believe about what you're eating. The mind is a powerful thing."

To convince them of this, I shared with them two poignant examples.

First, I shared a scientific study completed back in 2011 (because everyone wants "proof" even though nobody can understand a word of scientific literature).

Researchers had participants consume two different shakes a week apart.

For one shake, participants were told it was a "sensible," low in fat, and 120-calorie Greek yogurt-based drink. For the other they were told it was "indulgent," high in fat, and contained a whopping 620 calories. It was labeled as a "milkshake."

Unbeknownst to the participants, the two shakes were exactly the same.

Still, the participants had two completely different physiological responses depending on which shake they believed they were eating.

In other words, it was mind over milkshakes (funnily enough the name of the study, published in Health Psychology). What the participants thought about the shake affected how their bodies responded.

For my other example, I summarized multiple anecdotal reports of psychiatric patients with multiple personality disorder who suffer from allergic reactions to substances for only select personalities.

Take "Timmy," for example, who the New York Times wrote about in June of 1988. Timmy could drink a glass of OJ no problem. But if one of the other personalities was up to bat? Hives. Timmy stepped up to the plate again? Hives dissipated.

Now while you may not officially have multiple personalities (despite what your husband may joke), this still applies to you.

And that’s exactly the point I wanted my nutrition class to understand: Yes, the food on your plate matters—but so does how you feel and what you think about it.

(Here my lawyer would advise me to note that if you, in your single-personality self, are truly allergic to shellfish, for example, and have had reactions in the past, don’t go trying to tell yourself you can eat the shrimp and not die of anaphylactic shock. Your mind is powerful, but it’s not an actual magician.)

If you tell yourself you’re “bad” for eating a slice of cake at the party, you’re going to feel bad—mentally and physically—after. 

But if you tell yourself it’s okay to have a treat now and then, that your body knows exactly what to do with it and will handle it just fine? Completely different experience. Figuratively and literally.

Now, I’m not suggesting you lie to yourself and try to pass off that pint of Ben & Jerry’s as a health food (your mind and body know when you’re lying). But I am saying lay off all the guilt and shame associated with eating dessert.

Is that free rein to go hog wild? Also, no. The body has its own built-in tools to respond to what you put in your stomach. And eating more than you need (whether that’s from carbs, fat, protein, or a combination thereof), you will pack on the pounds. 

But it is time to let go of old stories about food that are negatively affecting your meals and your health. 

Take just one story you’ve been telling yourself about food being “bad”—whether it’s ‘fat makes you fat,’ as the ‘80s headlines purported, or ‘chocolate will make your skin break out’ like your Great Aunt Brenda always said—and sit with it for a moment.

How can you change the language around it, even if only slightly, to change what your mind and body do with that food?

Hit reply and let me know. I have so loved hearing from so many of you in response to my emails lately!

Re-writing old stories & cooking with gas,

Chazz