I’m about half way through a fantastic book called, The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite.
Fresh and Local
So far, I’ve learned a lot of disturbing facts about fast food and chain restaurants. For instance, Kessler argues that fast food is like a drug. Why? Because food filled with fat, sugar and salt stimulate the reward center of our brain. In turn, this causes many people to develop food obsessions and overeat. The food industry has kept up with the latest research relating to food and consumption patterns. The industry continues to add more chemicals, sugar, fat and salt to food and its profit margins have increased. But so has the average waistline.
I’m looking forward to finishing up the book and reading Kessler’s chapter on diet/wellness tips. It seems like eating fresh and real food and sticking to a simple exercise routine might help people battle the urge to eat and gain control over their diets.
What do you think?
If you want to learn more, check out the book summary from Publishers Weekly…
Conditioned hypereating is a biological challenge, not a character flaw, says Kessler, former FDA commissioner under presidents Bush and Clinton). Here Kessler (A Question of Intent) describes how, since the 1980s, the food industry, in collusion with the advertising industry, and lifestyle changes have short-circuited the body’s self-regulating mechanisms, leaving many at the mercy of reward-driven eating. Through the evidence of research, personal stories (including candid accounts of his own struggles) and examinations of specific foods produced by giant food corporations and restaurant chains, Kessler explains how the desire to eat—as distinct from eating itself—is stimulated in the brain by an almost infinite variety of diabolical combinations of salt, fat and sugar.
Although not everyone succumbs, more people of all ages are being set up for a lifetime of food obsession due to the ever-present availability of foods laden with salt, fat and sugar. A gentle though urgent plea for reform, Kessler’s book provides a simple food rehab program to fight back against the industry’s relentless quest for profits while an entire country of people gain weight and get sick. According to Kessler, persistence is all that is needed to make the perceptual shifts and find new sources of rewards to regain control.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Processed food is really something else. We try to take Michael Pollan’s view on food, “Eat real food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
Chris has lost a considerable amount of weight by simply switching to “real food” and following some of the thinking from FoodRenegade.com. He mentioned the other day that he doesn’t need to eat so much to feel full anymore because what he’s eating is dense with nutrients along with calories. It’s been really fascinating to watch his progress and question our entire culture’s way of eating.
@Katie – Logan and I have been following Pollan’s advice since the beginning of the new year and it’s been great for our waist lines. It’s also caused us to rethink what we are eating.
The food renegade website sounds fascinating. I’ll have to check it out! It’s great that Chris has changed his eating habits and has lost so much weight! Awesome stuff.
Thanks for sharing!
Hugs to you…
I agree, Tammy. The more natural food we eat, the better off our bodies are. The results of the good food on what we can see of our bodies is great, imagine the benefits to what we can’t see!
I’ve been a fan of Pollan’s for a few years and have gradually switched our family to a healthier way of eating…my husband’s resistance has bordered on the addicted’s resistance to quitting anything (did I mention his dad worked for Dolly Madison when he was growing up?) and has caused me to dig even deeper to understand. We were just mentioning that the ‘better’ our food is, the less we want to eat. Obviously, the processed food is not satiating and we keep trying to get what we need, much like a pregnant woman’s cravings. I still fight Superman’s cravings, but the kids have completely changed their choices, voluntarily. Fast food is now “Subway” instead of McDonald’s and I can live with that.
@Erin – Good for you and the family! Subway is a better choice than McDonald’s. I do love a good Subway sandwich. Although, I wonder where they get the ingredients?
I think it was in The Omnivore’s Dillemma that I read about the addition of high fructose corn syrup to so many of the prepared foods. Anyway, whatever the book, it explained the chemical process that takes place in our bodies (including the brain) that prevent us from feeling full or in some cases to actually crave more food. The fewer prepackaged foods you consume, the better. I’ve also heard that if you’re buying something that your grandma could have purchased in the 1940’s, it’s probably safe to eat.
Yay! I’m so glad you picked it up. You’ll have to let me know your final thoughts when you finish it.
I do agree that a lot of our food has been processed into crap. But then again, I hardly EVER go thru drive… I, in fact, can’t even remember the last time I did. I will completely agree as long as we aren’t talking about making anything illegal. I completely believe in personal responsibility in this area.