From a young age, many of us have been drawn to unhealthy, highly processed foods, thinking that unhealthy foods were tasty, and healthy foods were not. But what if this preference is less about the food itself and more about what we’ve been conditioned to crave? In actuality, taste and nutrition are closely connected, and our perception that healthy food isn’t flavorful stems more from our modern food design and culture rather than from a lack of flavor in nutritious options.

Taste isn’t actually just about the pleasure of eating—it has a biological purpose. Like many animals, humans have a natural inclination to crave certain tastes that fulfill our nutritional needs. For instance, when we’re low on sodium, we may crave salty foods, or when our bodies need energy, we tend to reach for something sweet. In this way, taste serves as a natural guide to health, steering us toward foods that support our biological needs.

But the process of taste is not simple at all. The flavor we experience is beyond what we perceive on our tongues, and also involves smell, texture, and temperature. Smell, often underestimated, is particularly essential to our ability to fully experience flavor, as taste and smell work together to shape our overall perception of food. So far, researchers have reached the consensus that our taste buds can identify five basic flavors—sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savory (umami)—each tied to specific chemicals found in food. Interestingly, spiciness isn’t a true taste but a pain response triggered by compounds such as capsaicin. All these sensory inputs help us distinguish between foods that nourish us and those that may be harmful. Additionally, changes in taste, whether from illness, aging, or lifestyle, can shift our preferences and affect our desire for more nutritious foods.

However, the experience of taste is often deceptive with processed foods. These foods are designed to be hyperpalatable, using artificial additives and excessive sugar to create intense flavors. For example, a strawberry-flavored snack might imitate the taste of the real fruit, but it lacks the vitamins and antioxidants that fresh strawberries actually provide. This disconnect between taste and nutrition, shaped by our bodies’ conditioning to sugar-filled processed foods, can make whole, natural foods seem less satisfying. In fact, regularly consuming these ultra-processed options can alter our taste receptors over time, making it more difficult to enjoy the natural flavors of nutritious foods. Still, while processed foods offer instant gratification, they don’t provide the lasting health benefits that whole foods do.

The appeal of processed foods isn’t just about taste—it also involves how they affect the brain. Filled with sugar, fat, and salt, processed foods trigger a sharp spike in dopamine—the neurotransmitter linked to pleasure. Unlike healthier foods, which provide a gentler, more balanced sense of satisfaction, junk food offers an immediate and intense reward, which encourages us to keep eating. This rapid dopamine release fuels a cycle of cravings, making it harder to stop eating once we’ve started. Over time, the brain associates junk food with pleasure, reinforcing the desire to consume more. Although processed foods may provide temporary satisfaction, they often leave us feeling unwell afterward with stomach aches or energy crashes, serving as a reminder, once again, of the difference between short-term indulgence and long-term health.

But it’s not just the chemical composition of food that shapes our eating habits—sometimes, we “taste” with our eyes, influenced by the appearance of food rather than its true nutritional value. If we don’t fully engage with the eating experience, we may overlook the real qualities of the food we’re consuming. Mindful eating encourages us to reconnect with the flavors, textures, and emotions that food evokes, helping us shift our preferences toward choices that better support our health. Ultimately, taste and nutrition don’t need to be at odds—they can work together to guide us towards smarter and more satisfying food choices.