If eating trash makes us sick, why do we keep eating it?

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  • Mudler
    Mudler Posts: 45 Member
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    Poor food, poor health, poor diet is killing more people than Cocaine

    But my 'We're programmed" point. Apologies to the ones who escaped all the advertising over the years. Nice one, not me, they got me.

    When I was a kid, the adverts on TV, never liked them but now 40+ years later I can still remember the taglines...

    "A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play" ......Never liked Mars but I remember it
    "MilkyWay, the sweet you CAN eat between meals without ruining your appetite"

    Brilliant and not blaming the companies, they're just doing there jobs.

    And yeah, ultimately it is down to the individual to take the blame but they (we) need better educating from day one.

    Go to the supermarket, Apples or Chocolate cookies, which looks best, which looks most fun and nicest.
    Poor old apple, LOL, he's got no chance

    Not saying, don't eat food that is less nutritious. I love the fast foods, Chocolate, potatoes chips (my personal favourite) and Cola. Don't sit there eating Apples all day like Billynomates, But yeah, original point, In Moderation.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    Once you figure out the healthful foods can also be prepared in such a way as to be decadent and delicious, you will change your tune. "junk" food tastes pretty much like *kitten* to me these days.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Once you figure out the healthful foods can also be prepared in such a way as to be decadent and delicious, you will change your tune. "junk" food tastes pretty much like *kitten* to me these days.

    Ditto. I don't generally crave junk foods at all. The idea of most of them kinda grosses me out now. And I lived on it.

    For me, it was a matter of breaking the habit, going "cold turkey" for a few weeks, and introducing new, improved delicious snacks in their place.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Mudler wrote: »
    But my 'We're programmed" point. Apologies to the ones who escaped all the advertising over the years. Nice one, not me, they got me.

    brilliant... thats your excuse for why you can't lose weight but its not your fault!!!

  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    Eating cherries and pomegranates also make me feel sick, I still eat them. Because I enjoy the food.

    And as the first 3 posters said, my sickness from cherries and pomegranates is from eating too much of them. I actually only get sick from eating sugary food in excess. I can eat and eat savoury food no problem. So like... moderation.
  • Mudler
    Mudler Posts: 45 Member
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    LOL, I can and have lost weight and it's not an excuse, it's a reason.
    I was a kid, saw the advert, "eat this" I went to the shop, ate it. Simple
    I then did it over and over all through my life till now.
    And it's now I find out, maybe it wasn't such a good idea

    OK, if it makes you feel better, yes, it was all my own fault, no one or nothing else it to blame but me. There, sorted.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    Once it's in the garbage can, why would I go back in to eat it?

    Now, any of this "junk" you're talking about, what's the problem with eating it in moderation? I'm having fast food tonight, as I can't eat until 9:30, and it's something I look forward to every week. I've cut down on going any other time, though, such as after an early shift at my job when I get off at lunchtime. And I have ice cream 3-5 times a week, but smaller, weighed out servings than I used to.
  • DapperKay
    DapperKay Posts: 140 Member
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    Trash food as you call it has existed for centuries. Humans discovered the joys of comfort and sugary foods ages ago. We're not living in an age of decadence and excess, we are living in an age of consumerism in general, and food is just one of the many outputs of that consumerism. It's not all one big conspiracy to make us eat more junk food - heck they don't care if we spend all our money on kale and quinoa instead. What they want is your buck.

    Now - I'll be honest, I was for a long time just like you. Actually I was much worse - I ate junk food with no remorse whatsoever and gained 50kg. Then one day I woke up and lost it all (over 18 months that is).

    These days I eat junk food reasonably. I generally have something sweet in the morning with coffee (in the form of a biscuit or two). After lunch I have another coffee with something similar. And after dinner I will keep some calories put aside for something nice and sweet. It accounts to maybe 20-30% of my daily intake. The rest is clean food to the best of my efforts. The key as everyone mentioned is finding something that works for you. Something that gives you a good feeling and yet doesn't make you feel like you are destroying yourself. Allocate yourself allowances and stick to them, but make them generous enough to actually give you the dopamine your brain is yearning.

    I think its deceptively simple - I don't know why folks over complicate things. Cutting things out cold turkey never works. The solution is always personal - make it work for you. What worked for others almost never works for me - we are all different...
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    edited November 2014
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    Mudler wrote: »
    LOL, I can and have lost weight and it's not an excuse, it's a reason.
    I was a kid, saw the advert, "eat this" I went to the shop, ate it. Simple
    I then did it over and over all through my life till now.
    And it's now I find out, maybe it wasn't such a good idea

    OK, if it makes you feel better, yes, it was all my own fault, no one or nothing else it to blame but me. There, sorted.
    I still remember those "part of this nutritious breakfast" ads for the sugary cereals. Where there's a bowl of oddly colored things called cereal, and then a grapefruit and a glass of milk. And of course, no one had the grapefruit and glass of milk with their cereal (and milk). They just had the bowl of colored sugar.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,950 Member
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    herrspoons wrote: »
    Mudler wrote: »
    Moderation is the big word to stick to but there is science to it as well
    Food companies are selling us drugs, sugar and salt.
    They know that they can sell more and more.
    The whole world is getting fat and ill as a result.
    We crave them and we crave foods that contain them

    I'm the worst, i love those foods and give me them all the time. I'm trying desperately to break the cycle but struggling and do give in to it occasionally.

    No. People get fat and ill because they don't pay attention to what they're eating, are largely ignorant of their calorie limits and nutritional needs, and lack the personal accountability to ensure they don't go massively overboard.

    Until people stop blaming external factors and accept that it's their own problem then things will not change.
    I kind of agree with both sides.
    Salt and sugar do have addictive properties, it has been proven. So that adds an element of difficulty to breaking the cycle. You can even see it with our pets - they crave the salty treats and foods we give them over the more nutritious kinds. I found a lot of pet owners have to mix the two together to get their dog/cat to eat healthier kibble. My cat even used to eat Pilsbury danishes or poptarts if we let him.

    That being said, it's self inflicted - for many reasons some of which are possibly inattention, ignorance, lack of accountability. The addiction is not as hard as breaking other addictions such drug abuse. So it can be done, but it must be consciously done. A person simply has to take responsibility and just stop eating foods that make them feel sick.

    I do know what you mean by fast food. I used to be able to eat maybe 2 chicken nuggets or half a hamburger or half of fries from any fast food establishment and my stomach would be in pain for a day. I stopped eating it for years... now I eat it and don't have nearly as bad problems. I question why I started eating it again. Probably because I moved out and got lazy.


  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    Mudler wrote: »
    Moderation is the big word to stick to but there is science to it as well
    Food companies are selling us drugs, sugar and salt.
    They know that they can sell more and more.
    The whole world is getting fat and ill as a result.
    We crave them and we crave foods that contain them

    I'm the worst, i love those foods and give me them all the time. I'm trying desperately to break the cycle but struggling and do give in to it occasionally.


    Wut?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Mudler wrote: »
    LOL, I can and have lost weight and it's not an excuse, it's a reason.
    I was a kid, saw the advert, "eat this" I went to the shop, ate it. Simple
    I then did it over and over all through my life till now.
    And it's now I find out, maybe it wasn't such a good idea

    OK, if it makes you feel better, yes, it was all my own fault, no one or nothing else it to blame but me. There, sorted.

    you got to 50 odd years old before you had any thought for personal responsibility? just blindly doign what every tv advert told you to... right!

  • rprussell2004
    rprussell2004 Posts: 870 Member
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    I've wondered the same thing.

    Why on earth did I ever consider a donut a "treat" when it would make me lethargic immediately and give me the farts for hours?

    A moment on the lips...
  • SpockAdventures
    SpockAdventures Posts: 103 Member
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    Because ingredients in the junk food, like high fructose corn syrup, are actually way addictive and you have to go cold turkey for three to four days to break the physical addiction (like tobacco) and after that is all about the psychological addiction. We like the way junk TASTES, just not how it makes us feel. It took me three weeks of no junk (with two days exception - cheat days) before I stopped craving the junk, but I don't want any of that now!
  • johnnylakis
    johnnylakis Posts: 812 Member
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    Because it tastes good!
  • TheBeerRunner
    TheBeerRunner Posts: 2,777 Member
    edited November 2014
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    adowe wrote: »
    Food and cocaine (hard drugs) are not comparable.

    Science begs to differ. forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2013/06/29/what-food-addiction-looks-like-in-your-brain/

    I could certainly dig up the research mentioned in the article if you still doubt it.
  • rprussell2004
    rprussell2004 Posts: 870 Member
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    adowe wrote: »
    All that ****ty food activates the pleasure center of the brain, and it triggers addictive tendencies, a lot like cocaine or other hard drugs. Lots of people obviously have a hard time dealing with it and go nuts all the time on it, hence why we're a nation of ticking obese diabetic time bombs.

    Food and cocaine (hard drugs) are not comparable.

    Yes, they utterly are 100%.
  • JenAndSome
    JenAndSome Posts: 1,893 Member
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    Sounds like a personal problem to me. Maybe you should consider cutting back on the amount you're eating rather than blaming the food and calling it names.
  • TheBeerRunner
    TheBeerRunner Posts: 2,777 Member
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    adowe wrote: »
    All that ****ty food activates the pleasure center of the brain, and it triggers addictive tendencies, a lot like cocaine or other hard drugs. Lots of people obviously have a hard time dealing with it and go nuts all the time on it, hence why we're a nation of ticking obese diabetic time bombs.

    Food and cocaine (hard drugs) are not comparable.

    Yes, they utterly are 100%.

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    B)
  • HealthyBodySickMind
    HealthyBodySickMind Posts: 1,207 Member
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    I thought this was going to be about dumpster diving.