Chow. Nibbles. Grub. Food — we relate to it in a lot of different ways. It can serve as nourishment, as pleasure, as fuel for our bodies, or the glue that holds communities together. But food can also make us sick — or cause us to feel powerless over our cravings and habits. So what determines our relationship with food? In this episode, we explore that question, with stories about the rise of — and backlash against — food allergies, the connection between climate change and eating meat, and how our circadian rhythms can drive appetite.

Also heard on this week’s episode:

• A recent study found that only half of people who say they have food allergies, actually do. So what’s going on here? Is it all in our heads? We dive into the latest research to find out.
• You’ve heard of the Mediterranean diet, the Atkins diet, the Flexitarian diet — now consider the CRON lifestyle (don’t call it a diet), in which practitioners use serious calorie restriction to fight the aging process.
• University of Pennsylvania researcher Kelly Allison explains how our circadian rhythms drive the way we eat — and how timing can determine whether we gain or lose weight.
• When a bully teased Sandhya Menon’s 10-year-old daughter about the Indian food in her lunchbox, Sandhya issued a plea on Twitter: that parents talk with their kids, and correct the idea that foods from other cultures are “weird” or “gross.”
• Your stories: Listeners sent in their favorite food memories.