Fast food

Hey everyone,

So, I would assume that everyone knows that fast food (yes, even the ones that claim they are healthy) isn't good for you. Considering that we know this food isn't healthy for us, why do we still consume it? Well, the first impulse would say that it's quick, easy, cheap, and usually tasty. Or, maybe, the food is addictive. I know it sounds crazy, but science has began to back up this view. Fats and simple sugars can have similar effects to nicotine and heroin, according to some scientists. For example, John Hoebel, a psychologist from Princeton, has done experiments with rats concerning the concept of food addiction. Rats were fed a diet that consisted of 25% sugar. After being taken off the diet, rats began to suffer from apparent withdrawal in the form of chattering teeth and the shakes like those seen in people who quit nicotine or morphine. Another level was added to this research where he gave the rodents a drug blocking opioid receptors, and the rats went through the same withdrawal process as heroin addicts (this has been simplified). If you want to read this article, the address is http://banzhaf.net/docs/newsci.html. Neuroscientist Amy Kelley has found even more convincing evidence to support the addictive notion of food. Rats which were given a synthetic enkephalin (better known as endorphins) ate up to six times more fat than normal and increased amounts of salts and sweets even when not hungry. She also found that overeating tasting foods lead to long-lasting changes in brain chemistry similar to morphine addiction. Now, hopefully, you are saying "rats are not people". Yes, you are correct. These results are a generalization. However, we can't conduct research like this on people because it is unethical. If we could, we'd be able to confirm these results. However, I doubt that will ever happen, but we should seriously consider the implications of this research and eat less fast food in general.