We are bombarded by babble. Every day, we are inundated with information we don’t digest: diets chosen by appetite, not anatomy; quick fixes that promise to override our operating system. Keto. Vegan. Paleo. The latest injections that silence our hunger with a shrug. All of them compete for the privilege of telling us what to eat. But the more we chase these streams of validation rather than knowledge, the more we lose the ability to hear the one voice that actually matters: the body’s.
No one understands this biological static better than Dr. Sara Farnetti, a world-leading authority on nutrition. In her latest book, “A Tavola con i Food Wizards,” she attempts to tune it out. Though written for children (and co-authored with the actress Luisa Ranieri), the book is an urgent eye-opener for adults who have become illiterate in the language of food.
Farnetti’s argument is simple and radical: we have been approaching nutrition entirely backward. For decades, the conversation has been dominated by calories, grams, and the moral theater of “good” and “bad” foods. But in Farnetti’s view, this is a dialogue with the body stuck on mute. The real question isn’t “What should I give up?” but “What is my body trying to say?”
In this issue, Dr. Farnetti reframes eating as a biological conversation. She introduces what she calls “physiological nutrition”—the idea that every bite we take functions as a piece of data. Information that dictates hormonal response, energy levels, and cognitive function.
From the chemistry of a drizzle of olive oil to the hidden metabolic pitfalls of popular weight-loss drugs, Farnetti offers a fundamental reset in how we fuel our lives. This is not a diet. It is a lesson in the most essential language we never learned to speak: food. And like any language, the earlier we begin to understand it, the better.
Today we hear a lot about drugs like Ozempic®. According to your approach, what would be the body’s physiological and lasting response to correct nutritional “information,” as an alternative to solutions that suppress appetite?
Weight management is not simply calorie reduction or hunger suppression. Body weight is regulated by complex biological systems involving hormones, energy metabolism, insulin sensitivity, inflammation, and the microbiota. When the body receives coherent nutritional information—balance between macronutrients, glycemic stability, adequate protein and functional fat intake—physiological self-regulation mechanisms activate.
Insulin sensitivity improves, metabolic flexibility increases, compensatory hunger decreases, cellular energy becomes more efficient, and chronic inflammation tends to reduce. The result isn’t external force, but lasting internal rebalancing. High-dose weight-loss injections eliminate the feeling of hunger, but they don’t teach you how to nourish yourself. If we eat poorly during the therapy, we end up damaging our metabolism and reducing the drug’s efficacy.
What is the first fundamental shift in perspective a person must make to move from seeing food as “rigid rules” to seeing it as an ally for their personal well-being?
The most important change isn’t about what we eat, but how we think about food. As long as we remain trapped in the logic of “permitted or forbidden,” we remain locked out of the biological process. The turning point arrives when we start asking: What effect will this food produce in my organism? Every bite activates precise responses—insulin secretion, leptin modulation, satiety signals, inflammatory response. When we understand this, we stop fighting food and start using it as the body’s language. It’s not discipline; it’s a biological relationship.
What are the first signs our body sends us to let us know that a certain food, even if universally considered “healthy,” is not suitable or working well for us at that moment?
Nutrition is not static; it is dynamic and individual. A food considered healthy may not be functional in a specific metabolic or physiological phase. The body communicates through precise, if often discreet, signals: drowsiness or reduced clarity after meals; early hunger or sugar cravings; abdominal bloating; slow digestion or acidity; mood swings; altered sleep quality. These signals often reflect unstable glycemic response, inefficient digestion, or suboptimal hormonal modulation. Listening to them is the essence of personalization, and personalization is the heart of modern nutrition.
The impact of food on children’s brains and behavior.
In your view, how can the correct “chemical function” of foods support a child’s concentration, mood, and energy balance throughout the day?
A child’s brain requires stable, continuous energy and is extremely sensitive to glycemic swings. Rapid peaks and crashes affect attention, behavior, emotional stability, and learning ability. Functional nutrition supports neurotransmitter synthesis and the brain’s energy balance. The fundamental principle is to avoid isolated carbohydrates.
Meals that combine proteins, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates ensure a steady energy release, better concentration, a more stable mood, and less fatigue. The brain doesn’t require fast sugars; it requires metabolic stability.
For those approaching your teachings for the first time: where do you recommend they begin this journey?
Every journey begins with observation. For one week, don’t count calories or quantities; instead, listen to the responses: energy, hunger, mental clarity, sleep, mood. Then, apply a simple and biologically powerful rule: do not consume isolated carbohydrates, and do not fear using quality extra virgin olive oil, both raw and in cooking.
This modifies the glycemic response, stabilizes energy, reduces compensatory hunger, and increases metabolic awareness. Becoming a Food Wizard means developing a relationship with your own body: not control, not rigidity, but an understanding of how it works. The body possesses an ancient and precise biological memory: when it receives coherent signals, it spontaneously finds its balance, energy, and direction.
Through your work and this book “A Tavola con i Food Wizards” we discover, “Food has a chemical function in our body.” Can you give us a practical example of how combining foods (or their sequence in a meal) can radically change their action on the body?
Consider a common breakfast: bread and jam eaten alone. From a physiological standpoint, this generates a rapid spike in blood sugar, followed by an intense insulin response. This leads to an early energy crash, increased hunger, and a possible craving for sugars in the following hours.
If, however, we modify the sequence and combination—adding functional proteins and fats, like bread with extra virgin olive oil or a scrambled egg—the metabolic response changes. Blood sugar rises more gradually, insulin is modulated, satiety is more stable, and cognitive function is more efficient. We aren’t changing the food; we are changing the biological signal.
In your methodology, how do you reconcile the pleasure of taste with the therapeutic function of food? Can you suggest a “small gesture of love” to bring to the table?
In human physiology, pleasure is not the antagonist of health. Taste activates neuroendocrine pathways that improve digestion, absorption, and the feeling of satiety. Eating with satisfaction promotes a parasympathetic response that optimizes digestive and metabolic function.
A simple but powerful gesture is to start the meal with seasonal vegetables, well-dressed with quality extra virgin olive oil. The fibers modulate carbohydrate absorption, the polyphenols act as antioxidants, and the fats improve metabolic response. But beyond the biochemistry, this gesture communicates attention and care toward your body—and the body always responds to care.
Beyond personal health, Luisa hints at a positive impact on the planet. How can conscious food choices aimed at our physiology also contribute to greater environmental sustainability?
When we eat according to physiology, we spontaneously choose essential, seasonal, less processed food. Excess, waste, and unnecessary resource consumption are reduced. An efficient metabolism tends toward sobriety, and sobriety is sustainable. Taking care of your own biology also means reducing environmental impact through food choices that are more consistent with natural rhythms.
Dishes by Michelin Star Chef Davide Guidara
Photography by Franco Puliafito
