The article states that “industrial processed food that is made in a plant rather than grown on a plant is biologically addictive.” What do you think it is about industrial processed food that can be addictive and why don’t people binge eat on the healthy snacks, such as carrots? Does this mean that all obese people are addicted to food? What kinds of things are influencing food addictions, and what are some steps we can take to prevent it?
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Food Addiction
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
The article states that “industrial processed food that is made in a plant rather than grown on a plant is biologically addictive.” What do you think it is about industrial processed food that can be addictive and why don’t people binge eat on the healthy snacks, such as carrots? Does this mean that all obese people are addicted to food? What kinds of things are influencing food addictions, and what are some steps we can take to prevent it?
The article states that “industrial processed food that is made in a plant rather than grown on a plant is biologically addictive.” What do you think it is about industrial processed food that can be addictive and why don’t people binge eat on the healthy snacks, such as carrots? Does this mean that all obese people are addicted to food? What kinds of things are influencing food addictions, and what are some steps we can take to prevent it?
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As the article poses, sugar is a huge culprit in making processed food highly addictive. In addition, the article states that there may be plenty more due to the fact that the food companies refuse to reveal how they make their food. I actually disagree with most of this article. How can industrial processed food (or food-like substances, as I like to call them) be highly addictive when foods that humans consumed through evolution cease to be tasteful? The problem is advertising and the repeated feeding of these terrible foods to young children. They grow up accustomed to these foods and develop a taste for them. Also, people watch a lot of television and visit many websites every day. Advertisements for industrial processed foods are shown through these, and people cannot resist. Not to mention, healthy foods cost significantly more than processed foods, which is partly because of Big Food's effective interest groups in national government. Families then choose what's cheaper and they develop a craving for these harmful foods. If people would only eat healthy, whole foods, they would develop a craving for them instead.
ReplyDeleteI guess jmnemeier is making some interesting points here.Most of the industrialised processed food have very high amount of sugar content and the "tongue" is always in demand for sweet things and this might cause the individual to search for processed food all the time.Food grown on a plant are eaten in their raw stste and they might not taste good as compared to the industrialised processed food. Packaging and advertisement easily catches the eye of the customer which makes people place high demand for industrialised processed food relatively.People should be eduacated about the adverse effects of too much sugar and other additives.Most of these indstrialissed food contains high volumes of fat which makes them obessed, thus obessed people take high amount of such food hence they can termed as being addicted to food.
ReplyDeleteAs shown in the article, people have the tendency to eat junk foods compulsively without regard to their health or to the innate harmfulness of these foods. In my opinion, there are various reasons as to why this happens. A huge reason as to why these foods may be so compelling is the social aspect of them. When you are out socializing in public places and need a quick snack, most likely, the first think you are going to see is some sort of vending machine. As we all know vending machines tend to carry the same unhealthy sugary snacks containing high fructose corn syrup and various other harmful ingredients. Why do we eat these snacks? Well, because everyone is doing it. Though it is so clique to say, it is extremely true. Another aspect, in my opinion, of this problem of food addiction has to do with the actual ingredients put into the food. Companies want you to keep consuming their product, therefore, they are going to put the extra chocolate in their cookie or extra fudge in their brownie because they know that you, as their buyer, will be inclined to keep eating because it will taste sweeter or more fulfilling. This, in turn, corresponds to what Prince mentioned about the "tongue" always being in demand for sweet things. When someone has a sweet craving they are most likely not going to go to the fridge for the grape or strawberry but to the pantry for the cookie or candy. Therefore, I believe that these unhealthy snacks can most certainly be extremely addictive.
ReplyDeleteI think that the notion that artificial and processed foods are always unhealthier, and in this case more addictive, than those that aren't, like vegetables, is false. Foods could be artificially produced that don't have any sweetener in them and could contain artificially constructed compounds that are healthy and even identical to the ones found in nature.
ReplyDeleteAnd while industrially processed foods may typically be ‘sugar-, fat- and salt-laden,’ I don’t think this makes them dangerously addictive, though I still think they're dangerous. In his book Darwin’s Dangerous Idea Dan Dennett says, ‘… sugar molecules […] are intrinsically valuable to energy-needing organisms, so evolution has arranged for organisms to have a built-in and powerful preference for anything that tickles their special-purpose high-energy detectors. That is why we are born with an instinctual liking for sweets.’ So I think that saying that anybody who has sugar cravings is therefore addicted to sugary foods is an oversimplification. Maybe our cravings for sugar can become more intense, and maybe our body can become used to functioning with excess amounts of sugar, but the basic impulse to eat sugary foods seems to be present in everyone, not just sugar junkies.
I agree with Tyler in his idea that not all processed foods are addictive or extremely unhealthy. Athletes consume power bars all the time for a quick snack or extra boost. While, Lindsey is correct about most people eating from vending machines, I do not think that that is why there are so many obese people in this country. Unhealthy processed food is satisfying to most people which is why it is heavily consumed. I think it is possible that someone could be addicted to it, but it is hard to draw the line between someone who is addicted and someone who just overeats. Is it right to say that everytime we put something in our mouths, there is a possibility that one could become addicted?
ReplyDeleteIn response to Samantha's question, I really don't think that everything you eat can become addictive. In my opinion, I think that an addiction to food is just as psychological as it is physical. I think the reason people become addicted is because they like the comfort feeling they get when they eat. Addiction comes in when the comfort feeling is necessary to bring that specific person satisfaction. Also, I think there is a bigger difference between someone who is addicted to food and someone who simply overeats. Someone may overeat for the same reasons as a food addict, because they like the comfort feeling, but still function normally with normal amounts of food. I think it's very possible to overeat on healthy food too. This is more on the other extreme, in which people who are extremely health concious may overeat too much healthy food and possibly lack certain nutrients in their diet.
ReplyDeleteI completely believe that proccesed foods are addictive. I remember that Lays chip's slogan is "I bet you can't eat just one," and I completely agree with that. If you like chips sit down with a bag and try to eat just one chip. It doesn't happen because they make foods in plants that make you feel good when you eat them. Is that the whole reason people in America are obese, no, but it is definitely a big part of it. Also just think about how readily available these foods are to all Americans, and they are so much cheaper than healthier foods. When people are short on time they are just going to run through a fast food place and get something quick and cheap instead of taking the time to go home an make a healthy meal. That is just our culture.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the processed foods are addictive because of the certain chemicals and how they make the body feel. But, not every food or processed food causes an addiction. I think there is also a thin line between addiction and obsession of food
ReplyDelete