A multiple choice question to get us started.
Which of the following industries produce a product that contains many harmful ingredients and is meant to fuel addiction?
a)the tobacco industry
b)the food industry
c)both a and b
d)none of the above
The correct answer is C. Recently, the American public has come to realize that the food industry is in many ways the big tobacco of this generation. While we still continue to see many health related consequences of tobacco (lung cancer, heart disease, etc) we have launched a somewhat productive battle to educate people about these hazards. Now is the time to launch a full blown educational program about the inner workings of the food industry that will hopefully enable us to reverse the current trend of obesity. Journalists such as Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser have done an incredible job of bringing this issue to the forefront with books such as "In Defense of Food" and "Fast Food Nation" as well as a powerful documentary that I highly recommend- "Food Inc." I have found that some background into this issue has helped me to understand the obesity epidemic and the manner by which I can enact personal change.
In the election year of 1970 Nixon worried that the farm vote was wobbling due a plummeting in farm income. The farmers had not planted enough crop and the cost of farming had soared. In order to combat this problem the government began to subsidize corn as a mechanism to produce more food at a cheaper price. The capability to grow a tremendous amount of corn turned this food into a commodity and the food industry was born. While this idea initially worked, many now believe that this solution has created our current problem. The World Health Organization has stated that processed foods are to blame for the sharp rise in obesity and chronic disease around the world.
Processing plants are also called wet mills. Their function is to turn one bushel of corn into the building blocks for companies like McDonald's and Coca-Cola. Chemists have learned how to break down long chains of carbohydrate molecules into 100's of different organic chemicals. Some few of the main products of the processing plants are corn meal, corn starch, corn syrup,...The prototypical processed food is breakfast cereal because for 4 cents of commodity corn it can be sold for $4/box. Corn is also in soda (100%-high fructose corn syrup), salad dressing (65%) and chicken mcnuggets (52%, along with 37 other ingredients).
Dr. Robert Lusting, an obesity expert, called processed food "toxic" because it is loaded with sugar and alters the bodies hormonal balance. Additionally, it creates an addiction to food since the high sugar content causes a spike in insulin and thus dopamine (a neurotransmitter that is associated with pleasure). One of the reasons that simple carbohydrates (white bread, white cookies, etc.) cause weight gain is that the high sugar content causes insulin spikes which essentially tells our body to store fat.
One last point to hopefully bring it home. I have read about the French paradox which asks, "how could a people eat such demonstratively toxic substances such as foie gras and triple cream cheese actually be slimmer and healthier than we are?" I think the answer is that they eat "whole" food, not processed foods.
I have come to actually enjoy when I read a label and I know (and can pronounce) all the ingredients. These are the foods I am trying to consume. Try reading the labels of everything you buy in the store, including beverages, and this will make a difference in your long-term health and well being.
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Really cool post! It's sad that our society became stingy regarding the health of it's people. I am assuming that, unlike the 70's, farmers have planted a sufficient amount of crop, so why the stinginess now? If our diet is what fuels our bodies, then wouldn't the government wonder how this might affect the health of it's people? It kind of sends the message "if it's edible, eat it". I remember having a conversation a while back about a press release that came out from Oscar Mayer that read "Sandwiches vary in style and content, but two ingredients should always be constant-good taste and simple convenience". While I agree that taste and convenience is important, what about the priority of being actual food?
ReplyDeleteI also found it interesting that studies are now linking processed food with addiction. Do you believe that food addicts are therefore usually addicted to processed food and not necessarily food, in general?
To Liz: Thanks for the comment. There has now been talk in the gov't about taxing beverages high in sugar similar to the tobacco tax. I would rather not have people pay more money for these drinks but rather educate them. Although, the taxation of cigarettes has resulted in decreased purchase and therefore number of people smoking. I think the gov't is starting to see the issues but there are many people from the food industry that have high positions at the FDA so a little bit of a conflict.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to your question about addiction, any food high in refined sugars (so I guess processed) will likely be more addictive than non-processed foods.
In regards to the discussion of "food addiction": There is some fascinating new research about the biological aspects of food addiction. At The Obesity Society conference that Greg and I attended last Fall, they presented neuroimaging studies showing similarities between substance abusers and people who binge eat. These similarities seem to be related to the reward pathways in the brain. There was specifically a study showing that rats exposed to a high sugar diet develop a physiological addiction. In addition, there is research showing that opioid antagonists (medications used to treat alcoholism and heroin addiction) are effective in treating binge-eating. To answer Liz's question, I do believe that processed foods are more addictive than non-processed foods. In my clinical experience, I have noticed that people are more likely to binge-eat on processed foods than unprocessed foods. I have rarely heard of anyone binging on fresh fruits, veggies, or meats. Usually its chips, pizza, sweets, etc... I find it interesting that "food addiction" is a term not accepted by the medical or psychological community.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments!!
ReplyDeleteWould you think some of the binging behavior could be contributed to habit and life style, and maybe not all addiction? I say this because I've realized a pattern with my own health, depending on my lifestyle at the moment. If i'm regularly excersising, I go into a habit of coming home and eating healthy, however if i'm feeling lazy or i'm going out more often and drinking alcohol, i'd rather be eating junk food and fall out of my healthy habit. During this time, I certainly feel that I crave more junk food (or I guess you could say processed food). Do you think some people are more prone to a "food addiction"??
woops! I meant attributed, not contributed...
ReplyDeleteA few comments in response Liz:
ReplyDelete1) It is easier to continue with the same unhealthy trends and put off lifestyle changes then it is to make actual changes today. For example, around the holidays it is usual well I will do this after the new year, etc.
2. Drinking alcohol and eating unhealthy usual includes simple sugars which release dopamine and insulin which cause us to crave more sugar. Also these are digested faster so we feel hungry sooner. Therefore, I think their is an addictive component.
3. If we are exercising and eating healthy maybe our body begins to feel better and we begin "craving" a healthier lifestyle. Maybe with converting to a healthier lifestyle we will begin to look forward to fruits, vegetables, etc. rather than chips and cookies based on positive reinforcement.
3.