What "food" product do Americans spend 2.7 billion dollars on per year? Gum! This week on Let's Get Real, Erica Wides is crusading against gum. It doesn't provide nourishment, and it's filled with toxic chemicals; why are we so drawn to gum? Find out how gum has evolved in our society from being a treat to a performance enhancer. Hear about the social history of gum, and how the stigma of chewing gum has dissolved. Performance-enhancing gum cannot hydrate an athlete, and caffeine-infused gum cannot replace sleep! Learn more about the twitsted marketing of gum on this week's episode of Let's Get Real! Thanks to our sponsor, Cain Vineyard & Winery.

"Gum makes you hungrier because it stimulates your salivary glands and tells your brain that food is coming!" [8:05]

-- Erica Wides on Let's Get Real

Promoting books is hard work! Meredith Modzelewski and Robin Shulman are guests on today's Let's Eat In, and they're talking about book clubs and author events. Cathy Erway talks with Meredith, who is on today's show representing Togather, a new tool that helps authors connect directly with readers to produce better, fansourced events. Robin, author of Eat the City, will be participating in a Togather event where she will talk about her book with an interested audience! Tune in to hear Robin talk about the research involved with crafting her book, and the excitement that comes with knowing that her book is being read. You don't want to miss this episode; tune into Let's Eat In! This program has been sponsored by 360 Cookware.

"There are so many different things converging, so many people are interested in local food production, but my book tries to show that this has been a constant throughout the history of the city." [12:00]

-- Robin Shulman on Let's Eat In

This week on Let's Get Real Erica Wides takes you behind the wrapper on fake fruit and the fruit bar empire. Learn about some of the scams that foodiness may be pulling on you, dear consumer, from fake farm displays to the facade of 'healthy' fruit bars. Take a tour of the 6 Degrees of Foodiness from real apples to toaster pastries and tune in as Erica dispels the myth behind the modern panaceas of "superfruit fusions". This episode was sponsored by Heritage Foods USA.