Obesity, Junk Food & Addiction
Our overconsumption of sugar-loaded, high-carbohydrate
food stems from ferocious cravings that are triggered by
low levels of a key neurotransmitter or chemical messenger
in the brain called Serotonin
- the feel good hormone that affects mood
The body instinctively knows that eating junk food will cause
the brain to produce a burst of this feel good hormone
Junk food acts like a psychoactive drug for this widespread
mild depression. That is why it is commonly referred
to as mood food, comfort food, or emotional eating
The Obesification of America [Source]
Contrary to what Americans have been led to believe, the epidemic rise of excess weight gain and obesity in this country is not the result of overeating fat laden foods.
The obesification of America is the direct result of a mild depression that causes people to savagely crave, and then overeat, junk food carbohydrate (sugar).
Junk food is the trillion dollar food industries legal drug for this mild depression and, although it’s been very profitable for the food companies, it’s been devastating for the health of the American public.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 368,000 Americans died last year from obesity related illnesses. In comparison, fewer than 14,000 Americans die annually from all the illegal drugs combined. This epidemic is an ominous threat to our country’s future.
America’s overconsumption of the chips, bagels, sodas, pastries, sweets, fries, etc., stems from ferocious cravings that are triggered by low levels of a key neurotransmitter or chemical messenger in the brain called Serotonin. Serotonin is the feel good hormone that affects mood and cravings.
Depleted levels of Serotonin are caused by the contemporary lifestyle factors of stress, poor nutrition, exploitatio and the lack of quality sleep.
It is estimated that over 80% of the U.S. public suffers from low Serotonin and thus, record numbers of prescriptions are being written for the anti-depressants like Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, etc.
These mind drugs, called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (aka SSRI’s), attempt to alleviate this unhealthy, low Serotonin condition.
Unfortunately, SSRI’s are now the number one selling prescription drugs.
Dr. Diana Schwarzbein, the highly reputed author of The Schwarzbein Principle and founder of The Endocrinology Institute of Santa Barbara, CA, says, “These hormone depleted cravings can be more powerful than the cravings experienced by drug users for illegal street narcotics.”
The body instinctively knows that eating junk food will cause the brain to produce a burst of this feel good hormone. Junk food acts like a psychoactive drug for this widespread mild depression and, that is why it is commonly referred to as mood food, comfort food, or emotional eating.
In addition to low Serotonin, the food flavoring agent High Fructose Corn Syrup promotes junk food carbohydrate craving and also blocks the body’s ability to feel full. Tests have shown that even healthy people consume more food when it contains HFCS.
Most Americans are unaware that corn syrup was banned as a food additive in 1906 by Dr. Harvey Wiley, the Father of the Pure Food and Drugs Act. Wiley was a sugar research expert and the first head of the Bureau of Chemistry (now the FDA).
He banned corn syrup because it was the only sweetener causing diabetes in all of the test animals. Dr. Wiley accurately predicted that if we ever allowed corn syrup to be used as a food additive, we would become a nation of diabetics.
Today, because of food politics, HFCS is in over 98% of all the food sold in America and nearly 21 million Americans have diabetes with an annual cost to the taxpayers of $132 billion.
Eating junk food causes blood sugar levels to skyrocket. Excess blood sugar is toxic and therefore the body is forced to overproduce insulin in order to shuttle the excess blood sugar (glucose) into fat cells.
This process protects the brain and eyes from sugar toxicity. Diabetics must constantly check their blood sugar and self inject insulin if blood sugar levels are too high in order to prevent diabetic coma or blindness.
Insulin acts like an automatic gate opener to your fat cells. The primary function of insulin is to store body fat.
During the late 50’s, in response to the growth of coronary heart disease (CHD), a researcher by the name of Ancel Keyes forwarded what is referred to as the lipid hypothesis.
The lipid theory was that there was a direct relationship between the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet and the incidence of CHD. Although there were many health professionals that disputed this theory, food politics trumped solid science and the low-fat, low-cholesterol mania was born.
Four food companies that had a vested interest in the demise of saturated fats began promoting and funding additional research that supported the lipid hypothesis.
Those with opposing views were afforded little, if any, publicity and the nation was misled into a war against fat and cholesterol.
Our National Institute of Health and the medical community bought into and endorsed the low-fat, low-cholesterol movement.
In response to this ill fated notion, the giant food industry began to produce entire product lines of low-fat, fat-free food.
Americans were advised to eliminate saturated fat and cholesterol containing foods from their diets even though nature’s perfect food, mother’s milk, contains copious amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol.
For years, the Medical community has referred to The Framingham Heart Study as the basis for their food recommendations.
However, the director of the study, which began in 1948, said, “In Framingham, Mass., the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower the persons serum cholesterol...
We found that the people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat, ate the most calories, weighed the least and were the most physically active.”
His statement certainly didn’t support the Keyes lipid hypothesis.
Dr. Mary Enig, a world renowned lipid (fat) biochemist from Baltimore, MD, clearly states that “Cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease but rather a potent antioxidant weapon against free radicals in the blood, and a repair substance that helps heal arterial damage.”
And, Dr. Walter Willett, the noted epidemiologist from Harvard, calls it scandalous that “Not one government agency has changed its primary food guideline to fit the results of the 1990’s scientific findings which demonstrate that total fat, including saturated fat, has no relation to heart disease.”
So, eating healthy fat doesn’t make you fat, overeating junk food carbohydrate (sugar) does. Americans are eating less fat than ever and fat is essential for the production of Serotonin.
Eating healthy fat (not fried or hydrogenated) with meals slows the time (transient time) it takes for food to be converted into blood sugar. Fat doesn’t provoke an insulin response and it is impossible to store fat without the presence of insulin.
Even today, effective propaganda by the food-industry has many people, including doctors, believing that eating saturated fat and cholesterol is the cause of excess weight gain and coronary heart disease.
In a recent survey, 53% of the doctors polled were still under the impression that saturated fat was unhealthy. There are many doctors who know very little about nutrition because it wasn’t incorporated into the medical curriculum until 1994.
It should be noted that at the most recent convention of the American Medical Association, over 66% of the doctors in attendance were either overweight or obese.
This epidemic has given rise to a booming weight loss industry that promises fast, easy solutions. Most of these companies offer stimulant laden products that suppress the appetite.
This ill-conceived approach results only in the temporary loss of bone, muscle, or water weight and not long term, successful fat loss. Because Americans are attracted to the quick fix, they have fallen prey to these diet scams.
It’s time we recognize that it’s about depleted brain chemistry and blaming overweight people for a lack of discipline or willpower is misguided and wrong.
This has become an important social issue. The food conglomerates have placed profits ahead of health and we must address this epidemic before it is too late.
Americans made it a priority to protect the water, air, and soil and we should consider protecting the most precious resource we have, the citizenry. It is time to reverse the obesification of America.
Indeed one of the most important part played in besity is junk food. Avoid
junk food and avoid obesity.
