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.
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Processed foods, friend or foe
Hey everyone,
The cheap food that we continually enjoy today is largely processed. Almost anything you want can be packaged or canned. Various meats, fruits, and vegetables can be bought out of a can. Pasta, eggs, milk, and damn near everything else is packaged. This, in and of itself, is not a problem nutritionally. However, many of these are not the same as what they would have been even 50 years ago. For these food items to have a long self life, they have to be enhanced with preservatives. Many canned foods don't need these preservatives, but items in plastic do. However, most processed foods have been changed, none the less. Foods, now, are created to be made as cheaply and easily as possible. This has lead to the overuse of the vegetables corn and soy. If you don't believe me, look at the ingredients on the back of a package. More than likely you'll see high fructose corn syrup or soy. However, there are other corn derivatives, such as gluten, maltodextrin, natural flavorings, sucrose, and xanthan gum. I know those probably don't look familar, and that's because they are not natural. Processed food is meant to be cheap and easy to cook, but these foods contain ingredients that our bodies haven't encountered even two generations ago meaning that our doesn't know how to process them. They are also nutritionally deficient to their natural counterparts (white vs. brown rice). However, there is a simple solution. We can consume foods that are derived from whole wheat flour or is the natural product (e.g. rice, pasta, bread), or, better yet, we can make these items ourselves. Also, we can focus on foods with five or less ingredients, which becomes difficult. So, I would recommend eating food with ingredients that you recognize, if there are more than five ingredients exist. Now, it's probably difficult to not purchase all of these items, but a reduction is an excellent start. Processed food is a foe to health and diet.
The cheap food that we continually enjoy today is largely processed. Almost anything you want can be packaged or canned. Various meats, fruits, and vegetables can be bought out of a can. Pasta, eggs, milk, and damn near everything else is packaged. This, in and of itself, is not a problem nutritionally. However, many of these are not the same as what they would have been even 50 years ago. For these food items to have a long self life, they have to be enhanced with preservatives. Many canned foods don't need these preservatives, but items in plastic do. However, most processed foods have been changed, none the less. Foods, now, are created to be made as cheaply and easily as possible. This has lead to the overuse of the vegetables corn and soy. If you don't believe me, look at the ingredients on the back of a package. More than likely you'll see high fructose corn syrup or soy. However, there are other corn derivatives, such as gluten, maltodextrin, natural flavorings, sucrose, and xanthan gum. I know those probably don't look familar, and that's because they are not natural. Processed food is meant to be cheap and easy to cook, but these foods contain ingredients that our bodies haven't encountered even two generations ago meaning that our doesn't know how to process them. They are also nutritionally deficient to their natural counterparts (white vs. brown rice). However, there is a simple solution. We can consume foods that are derived from whole wheat flour or is the natural product (e.g. rice, pasta, bread), or, better yet, we can make these items ourselves. Also, we can focus on foods with five or less ingredients, which becomes difficult. So, I would recommend eating food with ingredients that you recognize, if there are more than five ingredients exist. Now, it's probably difficult to not purchase all of these items, but a reduction is an excellent start. Processed food is a foe to health and diet.
Friday, September 25, 2009
In Defense of Food: part 1
Hey all,
This is the new book by Michael Pollen and also the first book I have read by him. However, I loved it. It honestly has changed the way I eat. The food I used to eat was mainly processed, and I would cook quickly. Throw a pizza in the oven or something in the microwave and forget it. That was how I used to eat, but now I consume a plethora of vegetables, both cooked and raw. I also try to incorporate veggies into every meal. However, I should eat more fruits, but this will increase eventually. It not only changed my diet, but it also changed my view on the health labels and claims that we're supposed to believe (I did talk about this in an earlier post). We are bombarded by claims of less fat, lower sodium, lower calories, more omega 3 fatty acids, less saturated fat, no trans fats, and more vitamins. But, this should raise more questions about how processed our foods are. If foods can be modified like this, how is our food being made? I'm guessing that if we knew, we would be less likely to eat it. But, the point is: foods that make these claims should probably be avoided simply because it can be modified so much (already has). Food (real food) should not be able to be modified like this, so don't fall for the health claims and eat some food imitation because it has less fat, carbs, more vitamins, or omega 3 fatty acids. We vote three times a day simply by eating. Simple economics can make food healthier, but we have to eat healthier and buy less processed crap.
This is the new book by Michael Pollen and also the first book I have read by him. However, I loved it. It honestly has changed the way I eat. The food I used to eat was mainly processed, and I would cook quickly. Throw a pizza in the oven or something in the microwave and forget it. That was how I used to eat, but now I consume a plethora of vegetables, both cooked and raw. I also try to incorporate veggies into every meal. However, I should eat more fruits, but this will increase eventually. It not only changed my diet, but it also changed my view on the health labels and claims that we're supposed to believe (I did talk about this in an earlier post). We are bombarded by claims of less fat, lower sodium, lower calories, more omega 3 fatty acids, less saturated fat, no trans fats, and more vitamins. But, this should raise more questions about how processed our foods are. If foods can be modified like this, how is our food being made? I'm guessing that if we knew, we would be less likely to eat it. But, the point is: foods that make these claims should probably be avoided simply because it can be modified so much (already has). Food (real food) should not be able to be modified like this, so don't fall for the health claims and eat some food imitation because it has less fat, carbs, more vitamins, or omega 3 fatty acids. We vote three times a day simply by eating. Simple economics can make food healthier, but we have to eat healthier and buy less processed crap.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Eat food (mostly plants)
Hey all,
Eat food (mostly plants). This is the advice of Michael Pollen who is an advocate of whole foods and a journalist. His advice sounds simple, but food has transformed substantially in the past 60 years or even 20 years. Food has become more and more nutritionally deficient while the food industry claims that they are better for us. It's difficult to find a processed without some health claim or benefit. I was drinking a soda yesterday, and, above the nutrition label, it said: low sodium. As though this makes it healthy or even non detrimental. But, these health benefits can infused into foods, but this makes increasingly complex and full of regular, unhealthy food sources (I dare you to find a processed food made without soy or corn). As a matter of fact, I recently thought about purchasing some apple sauce because it was a tasty option for fruit. However, there was high fructose corn syrup in it. Apples are already pretty tasty, so I didn't think that delicious apples needed sweetening. Needless to say, I didn't purchase the apple sauce. Maybe this gets at the problem with food in America today. In effort to make food easier and in a quicker fashion while also being maintainable for long periods of time, we have modified it to become a complex, nutritionally deficient imitation of the real thing. It tastes better. We're told that there are excellent nutrients and health benefits from eating specific processed foods, but we continue to get larger and rates of disease continue to increase. While I don't think that nutrition deserves the sole responsibility for this, it has to change. What does everyone else think?
Eat food (mostly plants). This is the advice of Michael Pollen who is an advocate of whole foods and a journalist. His advice sounds simple, but food has transformed substantially in the past 60 years or even 20 years. Food has become more and more nutritionally deficient while the food industry claims that they are better for us. It's difficult to find a processed without some health claim or benefit. I was drinking a soda yesterday, and, above the nutrition label, it said: low sodium. As though this makes it healthy or even non detrimental. But, these health benefits can infused into foods, but this makes increasingly complex and full of regular, unhealthy food sources (I dare you to find a processed food made without soy or corn). As a matter of fact, I recently thought about purchasing some apple sauce because it was a tasty option for fruit. However, there was high fructose corn syrup in it. Apples are already pretty tasty, so I didn't think that delicious apples needed sweetening. Needless to say, I didn't purchase the apple sauce. Maybe this gets at the problem with food in America today. In effort to make food easier and in a quicker fashion while also being maintainable for long periods of time, we have modified it to become a complex, nutritionally deficient imitation of the real thing. It tastes better. We're told that there are excellent nutrients and health benefits from eating specific processed foods, but we continue to get larger and rates of disease continue to increase. While I don't think that nutrition deserves the sole responsibility for this, it has to change. What does everyone else think?
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Hunger for wholeness
Hey all,
There is a concept in regard to alcoholism called "thirst for wholeness" where the alcoholic is literally trying to fill a void. However, I don't think that this concept stops with alcohol or even drug addiction. I actually think that this applies to food as well. People may actually be eating to fill a void. I doubt that everyone who is obese is doing this, but I wouldn't be surprised if the number is higher than one might think. In this society, food is easy to come by, and unhealthy food is cheap and satisfying. If your life feels empty or meaningless, there could be a void that could temporarily filled by food which acts as a temporary pick me up, but it quickly leads to a long time problem if this behavior persists.
Personally, I feel that this is part of my problem with food. I eat and eat, not out of hunger, but out of some incessant longing for meaning in my life and dissatisfaction with my current situation. However, I have recently thought of a way to combat this problem. It's along the same lines, but it is nearly the exact opposite. Empowering Hunger is what I call it. This is a technique where I eat three square meals a day that are smaller than normal, but I don't eat after 8. When I get hungry, which I usually do, I find power and purpose in that hunger. I find strength. Instead of giving in to it, I relish it. I wait for it, and I stand at the precipice and say: "I will not give in". So far, it feels great, but I'm trying to prepare for some road bumps. Does anyone have any further advice?
There is a concept in regard to alcoholism called "thirst for wholeness" where the alcoholic is literally trying to fill a void. However, I don't think that this concept stops with alcohol or even drug addiction. I actually think that this applies to food as well. People may actually be eating to fill a void. I doubt that everyone who is obese is doing this, but I wouldn't be surprised if the number is higher than one might think. In this society, food is easy to come by, and unhealthy food is cheap and satisfying. If your life feels empty or meaningless, there could be a void that could temporarily filled by food which acts as a temporary pick me up, but it quickly leads to a long time problem if this behavior persists.
Personally, I feel that this is part of my problem with food. I eat and eat, not out of hunger, but out of some incessant longing for meaning in my life and dissatisfaction with my current situation. However, I have recently thought of a way to combat this problem. It's along the same lines, but it is nearly the exact opposite. Empowering Hunger is what I call it. This is a technique where I eat three square meals a day that are smaller than normal, but I don't eat after 8. When I get hungry, which I usually do, I find power and purpose in that hunger. I find strength. Instead of giving in to it, I relish it. I wait for it, and I stand at the precipice and say: "I will not give in". So far, it feels great, but I'm trying to prepare for some road bumps. Does anyone have any further advice?
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