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Can Eating Make Us More Creative? A Multisensory Perspective

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DOI

  • Qian Janice Wang
  • ,
  • Francisco Barbosa Escobar
  • ,
  • Signe Lund Mathiesen
  • ,
  • Patricia Alves da Mota
While it is well known how food can make us physically healthy, it remains unclear how the multisensory experience of eating might influence complex cognitive abilities such as creativity. A growing body of literature has demonstrated that all human senses are capable of sparking creativity. It follows then that eating, as one of the most multisensory of all human behaviors, should be a playground for creative thinking. The present review presents an overview of how creativity is defined and measured and what we currently know about creativity as influenced by the senses, both singular and in conjunction. Based on this foundation, we provide an outlook on potential ways in which what we eat, where we eat, and how we eat might positively support creative thinking, with applications in the workplace and home. We present the view that, by offering a rich multisensory experience, eating nourishes not only our bodies but also our mental well-being.
Original languageEnglish
Article number469
JournalFoods
Volume10
Issue2
Number of pages17
ISSN2304-8158
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2021

    Research areas

  • Creativity, Multisensory, Eating experience, cognition

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