Modern food makes us addicted

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

It is generally accepted that the pleasure of eating triggers the work of opioids and cannabinoids, which interact in a closed circuit through complex chemical reactions that cause the effect of pleasure …

Everyone has long known that the standard American diet has dire effects on human health. What remains unknown is how the food industry uses science and psychology to create surrogate products that do not contain nutrients, but have an excess of chemical additives and dyes, which are highly addictive.

In fact, knowing how food companies get consumers hooked on their products (physically, mentally and emotionally) is a good conspiracy theory. The largest food manufacturers know very well that you can reward the customer to repeat purchases by outsmarting the body and mind, interrupting a person's natural cravings for healthy and nutritious food.

“This knowledge has been available to society and food companies for several decades - well, or at least everyone will know about it after today's meeting: sweet, salty and fatty foods are not useful in such quantities in which people now consume them. So why is there a skyrocketing (already out of control) rise in diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure? It is not just a matter of weak willpower on the part of consumers, and not in the attitude on the part of food producers, which is expressed by the phrase: "We need to give people what they want." In four years of research and development, I have found that this is a deliberate act that unfolds in laboratories, at meetings of marketers, as well as on the shelves of grocery stores, an act whose name is: hook people on the hook of products that are convenient and affordable. " Michael Moss.

It's all about physiology, psychology, and neuroscience, and three key ingredients: salt, sugar and fat. And at the root of the science that creates addiction to certain foods is our understanding of the physiology and neurochemical reactions of humans to food. Scientists have succeeded in capturing this in the simplest equation: "Food = pleasure."

The equation: Food = Pleasure posits that the brain has the ability to quantify the pleasure inherent in the experience of eating food through the action of certain dopamine neurons in the brain and the feeling of satiety in the digestive tract. When a person is faced with a choice of which food to prefer, the brain at this moment actually calculates how much pleasure can be obtained during the absorption and subsequent digestion of a particular food. The goal of our brain, gastrointestinal tract and fat cells is to maximize the pleasure obtained from the external environment, both through gustatory sensations and through a set of macronutrients (macronutrients are chemical elements necessary for the human or animal body to ensure normal life). If the food for some reason contains few calories (for example, in order to improve the body), the digestive system senses this, and the food becomes less appetizing and less tasty over time."

The task of a food engineering scientist is to figure out how this function can be bypassed by tricking the brain and body into believing that high-calorie and nutrient-poor foods will lead the body to the coveted reward of satiety and pleasure. To do this, they focus on a short list of key factors.

In a recent article on food cravings and how to overcome them, James Clear, author of The Discreet Habits: A Simple, Proven Way to Get Good Habits and Break Bad Habits, discusses six key driving forces involved in tricking people into eating unhealthy foods.

Dynamic contrast. Dynamic contrast is a combination of different sensations from a single product. According to Witherly, food with dynamic contrast has “an edible crunchy shell that hides something creamy or puree-like in consistency and creamy in taste, and this activates a variety of human taste buds. This rule applies to a number of our favorite foods, remember: a caramelized crust of crème brulee, a slice of pizza, or an Oreo cookie (Oreo is a cookie made up of two chocolate-sugar black discs with a sweet cream filling in between) … The combination of crispy crust and creamy filling is perceived by the brain as something original and exciting."

Salivation

Salivating is part of the process of digesting food, and the more saliva a food evokes in you, the more likely it will end up in your mouth, allowing you to savor it for longer using your taste buds on your tongue. Emulsified foods such as butter, chocolate, salad dressing, ice cream or mayonnaise induce salivation, which wets the taste buds on the tongue and enhances the enjoyment of food. This is why many people are so fond of dishes with various sauces and gravies. As a result, foods that cause increased salivation seem to be happily tapping the brain, and they often taste better than foods that don't contain gravy or sauce.

"Melting on the tongue" food and the illusion of low calories

Food that quickly literally "melts in the mouth" sends a signal to the brain that a person has not eaten so much, although in reality this is not the case. In other words, such food literally tells the brain that the person has not yet had his fill, although at this moment he is absorbing a lot of calories. This leads to overeating.

Specific receptor response

The brain loves variety. When it comes to food, when you taste the same taste over and over again, you begin to get less and less pleasure from this dish. In other words, the sensitivity of a particular receptor decreases over time. This process can take place in just a few minutes.

High-calorie surrogate food

(called junk foods in English) is crafted to avoid this satiety response. Unhealthy foods contain enough flavor to remain interesting (the brain never tires of absorbing such foods), but junk foods do not stimulate the sensory system enough to cause satiety boredom. This is why you can swallow a whole bag of chips and be ready to eat another one. The crunch and gustatory sensation of eating dry snacks gives the brain a new and interesting experience every time!

Satiety

High-calorie surrogate foods are created with the goal of convincing the brain that it is receiving nutrition, and not at all for real saturation of the body. Receptors in the mouth and stomach tell the brain about the mixture of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates in each food, and how good and satisfying it is. Unhealthy foods contain just enough calories for the brain to say, "Yes, this will give me a little energy," but not so many calories to make a person think, "That's enough - I'm full." As a result, a person craves such food passionately, but it takes a long time before he feels full.

Past experiences

This is where the psychology of malicious surrogate products actually works against you. When you eat something tasty (like a packet of chips), your brain registers the sensation. The next time you see this food, smell it, or even just read about it, your brain begins to reproduce the sensations that you experienced when you ate it the last time. These memories can trigger an immediate physical response in the body, such as salivation or the salivating cravings you usually experience when thinking about your favorite foods.

Conclusion

Scientists have outsmarted your taste buds and your body's natural ability to determine what foods are good for your body. Knowledge will allow you to gain in this game. After all, your health depends on it.