Most people love a good meal overflowing with sugar, salt, and fat. What's not to like? It turns out, a lot. Each ingredient on its own is no picnic for your health, but together it is an experiment that could change your brain. Researchers believe that the three unhealthy ingredients foster the creation of dopamine, which in turn, drives the desire for more of said ingredients. Cravings relate to 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.
There is a fair amount of research on the subject. One particular study was very interesting to me. Rodents were fed meals with substantial amounts of fat, sugar, and sodium. Researchers found not only that the rodents' reward centers were activated, but that when healthier meals were reintroduced, the rodents appeared to suffer from withdrawal, which highlights the addictive nature of such food ingredients.
The decision to eat sugar, fat, and sodium consistently causes many problems. Certainly, health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity are major risks of such unhealthy eating. What's more, the combination of these ingredients can impact the brain to such a degree that one can become conditioned to unconsciously eat too much. Another factor that doesn't help the situation is that sugar and salt carry the capability to extend the shelf life of certain products, making these unhealthy foods readily available. Hopefully, this sheds some light on the massive increase in overweight adults in our country.
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.
There is a fair amount of research on the subject. One particular study was very interesting to me. Rodents were fed meals with substantial amounts of fat, sugar, and sodium. Researchers found not only that the rodents' reward centers were activated, but that when healthier meals were reintroduced, the rodents appeared to suffer from withdrawal, which highlights the addictive nature of such food ingredients.
The decision to eat sugar, fat, and sodium consistently causes many problems. Certainly, health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity are major risks of such unhealthy eating. What's more, the combination of these ingredients can impact the brain to such a degree that one can become conditioned to unconsciously eat too much. Another factor that doesn't help the situation is that sugar and salt carry the capability to extend the shelf life of certain products, making these unhealthy foods readily available. Hopefully, this sheds some light on the massive increase in overweight adults in our country.
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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