29 October 2009
Is junk food as addictive as heroin?
Some smartypants scientists are claiming it is and have the research to back it up. Some say the food industry already knows this and are capitalizing on it as best they know how (I’d agree).
For many people, it’s not that they don’t know what’s healthy and what’s not (although admittedly some of them don’t have a clue). It’s that they physically can’t control themselves when faced with certain foods. As David Kessler says, it’s like certain food hijacks our brains.
So what can we do about it?
I say until we know more about the science of food addiction, we should be very careful about what we put in our mouths.
Kessler says, “Much of what we eat in restaurants is fat on fat on sugar on fat with salt. Pick any dish in any mid-American restaurant. What is spinach dip? Fat on salt with green stuff. Look at the average salad we’re eating. If you look at the bacon, the croutons, the cheese…it’s fats, salts and a little lettuce.”
Like a recovering addict avoids trigger people, places, and things, we should avoid situations where addictive, nutritionless food will be prevalent (whenever possible). Does this sound ridiculous? Yeah, I admit, it sort of does. But then again… read the article this post links to.
I think this is perhaps the most important and profound thing to keep in mind, again from Kessler (read the whole interview):
“In the end it’s not about regulation. Government can play a role. It’s about how we as a country view the product. What was the real success of tobacco? We changed how we viewed the product. It was a critical perceptual shift. That’s the key.”
Let’s change how we view the product, and vote with every bite we take.
