Obesity additives in food...is it real?

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  • autumnk921
    autumnk921 Posts: 1,376 Member
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    Sugar and salt are considered addictive, aren't they?


    Yes...I have heard that Sugar is a legal drug that is just as addicting as cocaine to your body...Crazy stuff!! I love sugar & it is one of the hardest things to cut out of my diet b/c it is in EVERYTHING...UGH!!!
  • Kalynx
    Kalynx Posts: 707 Member
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    you might enjoy the book Real Food: What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck..its a little hard to read, but you learn a lot.. When I was reading it I would have to read maybe 10 pages at a time, put it down and "digest" - no pun intented - what I had read before continuing, but I got so much out of it!!
  • Lasirenn
    Lasirenn Posts: 50 Member
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    I think its just another way for people to blame anything but themselves

    Well food companies are out to make a profit. True, there's no magic ingredient out there that turns people into mindless eating drones, but we naturally crave sugar, salt or fat (with most people tending to have a preference for one of the 3) Snack foods *are* made so you can't eat just one, which is why it's usually best to just not buy them at all. You often can't beat temptation, but you can avoid it.

    But certain ingredients are definitely thrown into foods to make them more appealing to the masses. Sugar is added to just about everything for that reason.
  • schninie82
    schninie82 Posts: 502 Member
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    Well if it's true, it sure does explain a lot!!
  • ktsmom430
    ktsmom430 Posts: 1,100 Member
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    If you look at the sodium content in processed foods vs fresh it is astounding. Whether or not it is used for flavoring or as a preservative, it is an eye opener. I am trying to cut back on my sodium intake and thanks to this site, I can monitor it very easily. Things that I never gave a thought to before such as frozen skinless boneless chicken breasts vs: fresh boneless skinless chicken breasts.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
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    I don't know whether processed food is addictive or not, but food scientists make whole careers out of making food products tasty, have pleasing texture and mouth feel, satisfying, and any number of other properties like comforting and visually appealing. They monkey with the ingredients (including additives) until it is just right to sell maximum amounts of that product. So it may or may not be addicting, but it is designed intentionally to appeal to consumers, and people may interpret that as being addictive.

    From personal experience, having switched to mostly unprocessed foods and a sufficient calorie amount and nutritional profile to sustain me, I have completely eliminated cravings for junk food. So there's that...

    I would love to stop craving junk food.

    It just sort of happened for me, as a pleasant side effect of changing my diet. I usually have pizza with my dad every friday night and we order from Domino's, and they have these amazing little chocolate cakes we usually get. It was my favorite part of the meal. Last time we ordered, I ordered the chocolate cake, but ultimately didn't feel like eating it, even though I had already accounted for it in my daily calorie count and it wouldn't have put me over or anything. I mean it was there, and I just passed on it- it wasn't a test of willpower or difficult or anything. I realized that evening that treats no longer had the hold on me that they once did.
  • guppygirl322
    guppygirl322 Posts: 408 Member
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    I don't think it's a way for people to "blame anything but themselves" -- of course personal responsibility is important, but it's better to exercise that responsibility when you're fully informed :)

    ^^Yes, that^^

    Junk food is concocted to taste good, to make you want more. Everyone knows that sugar is addictive. When you are eating sugar without the benefit of other nutrients and fiber (say, a pack of Twizzlers instead of an apple) your body is looking for the extra nutrients that it didn't get. Therefore, you will crave more food and eat more than you normally would. Same thing with diet soda. Your body doesn't know the difference between fake or real. The brain thinks it has had something sweet, is looking for the nutrients that go along with it, and triggers the desire to have more. If you are unaware of these things, you will automatically reach for something else to eat, usually more junk.
  • dancingdeer
    dancingdeer Posts: 379 Member
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    Whether it's true or not - it's another reason why you should eat whole, natural foods. If it's in a package or processed - pass it up!
  • dolldreams
    dolldreams Posts: 245 Member
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    MSG is supposedly injected into lab rats to induce obesity. Scientists in Spain discovered that it increased the appetite in mice by 40% so I definitely think food additives is contributing to food cravings and addiction.

    http://www.euroresidentes.com/Blogs/2005/12/scientists-in-spain-link-additive-to.htm
  • shine_
    shine_ Posts: 150 Member
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    Used to work at Pringles in their customer service department (people get really, really upset if a few of the chips in that tube are crushed!!) and at times we'd get people calling wondering if it is true that there was some ingredient added to make people literally not be able to stop ("once you pop...") - not true, of course, and so we assured them. But if you think about it anything that the body will treat as a sugar (starch for example, like in things made out of potatoes = any crisps, not just Pringles) will trick your brain into thinking it needs more. That's not something that's forced upon us by manufacturers, that's just biochemistry, completely natural. What we can do is just choose food that does not trigger that for us. I think it's our very own responsibility. Some people are probably more sensitive to it than others. Not fair, but that's life.
  • dolldreams
    dolldreams Posts: 245 Member
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    Used to work at Pringles in their customer service department (people get really, really upset if a few of the chips in that tube are crushed!!) and at times we'd get people calling wondering if it is true that there was some ingredient added to make people literally not be able to stop ("once you pop...") - not true, of course, and so we assured them. But if you think about it anything that the body will treat as a sugar (starch for example, like in things made out of potatoes = any crisps, not just Pringles) will trick your brain into thinking it needs more. That's not something that's forced upon us by manufacturers, that's just biochemistry, completely natural. What we can do is just choose food that does not trigger that for us. I think it's our very own responsibility. Some people are probably more sensitive to it than others. Not fair, but that's life.

    Then why can I eat just one baked potato but feel compelled to eat the whole bag of chips? :devil:
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
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    Used to work at Pringles in their customer service department (people get really, really upset if a few of the chips in that tube are crushed!!) and at times we'd get people calling wondering if it is true that there was some ingredient added to make people literally not be able to stop ("once you pop...") - not true, of course, and so we assured them. But if you think about it anything that the body will treat as a sugar (starch for example, like in things made out of potatoes = any crisps, not just Pringles) will trick your brain into thinking it needs more. That's not something that's forced upon us by manufacturers, that's just biochemistry, completely natural. What we can do is just choose food that does not trigger that for us. I think it's our very own responsibility. Some people are probably more sensitive to it than others. Not fair, but that's life.

    Then why can I eat just one baked potato but feel compelled to eat the whole bag of chips? :devil:

    Probably because the chips have a far higher percentage of fat and salt in them and come in smaller discrete quantities.
  • Articeluvsmemphis
    Articeluvsmemphis Posts: 1,987 Member
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    no i think it's real. i don't *crave* "healthy" food, I like and eat it though. i have unnatural cravings for the unhealthy things.
  • dolldreams
    dolldreams Posts: 245 Member
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    Used to work at Pringles in their customer service department (people get really, really upset if a few of the chips in that tube are crushed!!) and at times we'd get people calling wondering if it is true that there was some ingredient added to make people literally not be able to stop ("once you pop...") - not true, of course, and so we assured them. But if you think about it anything that the body will treat as a sugar (starch for example, like in things made out of potatoes = any crisps, not just Pringles) will trick your brain into thinking it needs more. That's not something that's forced upon us by manufacturers, that's just biochemistry, completely natural. What we can do is just choose food that does not trigger that for us. I think it's our very own responsibility. Some people are probably more sensitive to it than others. Not fair, but that's life.

    Then why can I eat just one baked potato but feel compelled to eat the whole bag of chips? :devil:

    Probably because the chips have a far higher percentage of fat and salt in them and come in smaller discrete quantities.

    I was talking about the huge bags or like a whole can of cheetos. Salt makes me thirsty but I don't really have an appetite increase when I eat salty things. I still eat full fat everything and that doesn't do it for me either.

    There's msg in pringles. I'm pretty convinced that's the root of the problem with them.

    Here's a good page for some foods that have MSG and how you can substitute/make them at home:
    http://www.squidoo.com/msg
  • tracypk
    tracypk Posts: 233 Member
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    no i think it's real. i don't *crave* "healthy" food, I like and eat it though. i have unnatural cravings for the unhealthy things.

    Just from reading what other people have said and from my own experience this might change over time. Once you find a healthy food that makes your mouth water you might just pass up the unhealthy option.
  • iKapuniai
    iKapuniai Posts: 594 Member
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    I wouldn't doubt it at all if it was true. For companies to deliberately make their foods addictive is a sure way for them to get you to keep coming back, thus making their company more money.
  • tracypk
    tracypk Posts: 233 Member
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    bump
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    They put a chemical in it that makes you crave it fortnightly!

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