Sugar, salt, and fat make a food more desirable, at least when it comes to the average person's taste buds. Individually, they are dangerous. Together, they are a potent cocktail that stimulates the brain's reward system and releases dopamine, a chemical that motivates us to eat more. In other words, addiction.
The food industry has done its homework. These companies know we each have a bliss point, the spot that triggers the maximum amount of addiction in our brains. They've spent significant time and effort to learn how to hit the bliss target. Although food that accomplishes this satisfied us in the short-term, it also triggers mindless eating. While these companies benefit financially from this, our health certainly does not.
I recently read a study that fed rats a diet high in sugar, salt, and fat. Not only were the brain's pleasure chemicals activated at meal time, the researches believed the rats had withdrawal symptoms when the sugar, salt, and fat were reduced. Again, a sign of addiction. One study doesn't make a trend, but worth considering nonetheless.
It is easy to train our brains to eat too much. This happens when we overindulge in foods filled with sugar, sodium, and fat. Not only are they unhealthy on their own, but the fact that they can be addictive makes them that much worse. Furthermore, sugar and sodium can preserve food, resulting in a convenient product ready at a moment's notice to overeat. It's no wonder that obesity is an epidemic in the U.S. with rates skyrocketing.
Food industry execs, along with Madison Avenue advertisers, don't play nice either. They spend millions of dollars attempting to establish an emotional connection between you and their product. They want you to consider their product a comfort food. Have you ever watched a commercial where an overweight actor was inhaling a greasy cheeseburger? Of course not. They're always good-looking, fit people. These companies are very good at bypassing your conscious brain to make tie their product to feeling good.
I do not think it is the intent of food manufacturers to negatively impact our health, but it is a troublesome consequence. They want to increase profitability and they've found that by pumping our food filled with sweet chemicals, sugar, salt, and fat, they make tons of money. I recommend keeping such foods out of the house completely. Also, think ahead when you're traveling or running errands. Have snacks like fruits, nuts, and seeds, or even cut up veggies on hand so you don't make that quick pit stop at an unhealthy fast food joint. I highly recommend indulging in high-water content fruit, which are refreshing and typically sweet. It can solve a sugar craving in its tracks. Trust me, it works.
The food industry has done its homework. These companies know we each have a bliss point, the spot that triggers the maximum amount of addiction in our brains. They've spent significant time and effort to learn how to hit the bliss target. Although food that accomplishes this satisfied us in the short-term, it also triggers mindless eating. While these companies benefit financially from this, our health certainly does not.
I recently read a study that fed rats a diet high in sugar, salt, and fat. Not only were the brain's pleasure chemicals activated at meal time, the researches believed the rats had withdrawal symptoms when the sugar, salt, and fat were reduced. Again, a sign of addiction. One study doesn't make a trend, but worth considering nonetheless.
It is easy to train our brains to eat too much. This happens when we overindulge in foods filled with sugar, sodium, and fat. Not only are they unhealthy on their own, but the fact that they can be addictive makes them that much worse. Furthermore, sugar and sodium can preserve food, resulting in a convenient product ready at a moment's notice to overeat. It's no wonder that obesity is an epidemic in the U.S. with rates skyrocketing.
Food industry execs, along with Madison Avenue advertisers, don't play nice either. They spend millions of dollars attempting to establish an emotional connection between you and their product. They want you to consider their product a comfort food. Have you ever watched a commercial where an overweight actor was inhaling a greasy cheeseburger? Of course not. They're always good-looking, fit people. These companies are very good at bypassing your conscious brain to make tie their product to feeling good.
I do not think it is the intent of food manufacturers to negatively impact our health, but it is a troublesome consequence. They want to increase profitability and they've found that by pumping our food filled with sweet chemicals, sugar, salt, and fat, they make tons of money. I recommend keeping such foods out of the house completely. Also, think ahead when you're traveling or running errands. Have snacks like fruits, nuts, and seeds, or even cut up veggies on hand so you don't make that quick pit stop at an unhealthy fast food joint. I highly recommend indulging in high-water content fruit, which are refreshing and typically sweet. It can solve a sugar craving in its tracks. Trust me, it works.
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