Who doesn't enjoy eating some occasional junk food?
But did you notice that once you start eating it, it is hard to stop?
According to new scientific research there may be a few reasons.
1. First, new research conducted by Paul Kenny, a neuroscientist, at the Scripps Research Institute in Florida reveals that frequent eating of foods that are high in sugar, salt and fat can begin to actually program the brain to crave more foods that are high in sugar, fat and salt, creating an actual addiction to these foods. This is the same kind of addiction that drug addicts experience. The new evidence suggests that junk food is addictive and that frequent indulgence can make you crave more . So, if you find yourself craving chips, cookies, milkshakes, candy, cake, nachos and burgers, it may not be a matter of will power, but a matter of addiction.
2. Secondly, Many women have a gene that makes their pancreas overreact when they eat carbohydrates. Research at Yale University revealed that over 40% of women have this gene. The overproduction of insulin after eating carbs causes the blood sugar to drop, thus creating a need to eat more carbs to give them more energy. That is why women with this gene are prone to crave carbohydrates, which only triggers another blood sugar drop and the desire for additional carbohydrates to give them energy.
3. Lastly, artificial sweeteners may make you crave more sweets. Artificial sweeteners may seem like the answer to a dieter's prayer because they do not have calories, carbohydrates or fat, but they can overexcite brain cells and actually increase appetite. In addition, artificial sweeteners are not a real food, they are chemicals that become toxins in our bloodstream that need to be filtered out of the bloodstream by your liver. However, your liver, which acts as a filter, may be clogged become clogged by continuous ingestion of artificial sweeteners and therefore not able to do its job of processing nutrients and fats. If the liver can't do its job, it may affect your metabolism and thus interfere with weight loss or even make you gain weight. Daily consumption of artificial sweeteners may overwhelm your liver and it will not be able to do its job, interfering with your bodies ability to lose weight.
( artificial sweeteners, hydrolyzed vegetable protein and MSG are all excitotoxins which over stimulate the brain and may cause damage to healthy cells; best to avoid them altogether)
Here's the scientific studies:
Research conducted by Paul Kenny:
In one study, the evidence was based on experiments with three variables. The first group of rats was fed healthy food, another group of rats was fed restricted amounts of junk food, and the third group was allowed to consume unlimited amounts of junk food. The results were astounding. The group that was allowed to eat as much junk food as they wanted, got to the point where they couldn't stop. They stated to binging on huge amounts of food and became obese in a very short time. The other two groups of rats ate normally and experienced no binging or weight gain.
Another experiment indicated that eating junk food elicited hormones that created pleasurable feelings. The scientists used an electronic device to stimulate the part of the brain that feels pleasure. The group of rats that binged on junk food needed more stimulation to experience pleasure than the rats that ate healthy food. In addition, in just one week of binging, it took more and more stimulation for the rats to feel pleasure. This translates that when you eat junk food regularly, eventually it takes more and more junk food to bring the level of pleasure and satisfaction.
A study at Purdue University questioned whether artificial sweeteners increased the desire for carbohydrates said,
"Our findings and theoretical framework are in closer agreement with the possibility that increased intake of no-calorie sugar substitutes could promote increased intake and body weight gain, which is consistent with recent data from prospective human clinical studies that have documented increased risk for obesity and metabolic syndrome in individuals consuming beverages sweetened with high-intensity sweeteners.
What does that mean to us? Well it means that we can become addicted to junk food and find ourselves binging to reach a level of satiation. Paul Johnson, one of the scientists at Scripps said, " This is the most complete evidence to date that suggests obesity and drug addiction have common neuro-biological foundations" He also added , " You lose control. Which is the hallmark of addiction".
When they coined the expression, " bet you can't eat just one, " they were not kidding. Because of junk food's addictive qualities, it may be really be difficult to eat just one potato chip or cookie for that matter.
So, don't kid yourself. If you turn to food that is high in sugar, salt and fat to make you feel better, you may be training your brain to desensitize and it will need greater amounts of junk food to experience the same good feelings it used to get from a lesser amount. This can set up a dangerous pattern for unhealthy eating and excessive weight gain.
It is best to be aware of these patterns and try to choose less addicting foods for snacks.
How does this pattern of eating fast food and junk food affect children?
Some facts about kid's diets: low in fruits and vegetables
- q 50 % of elementary students do not eat fruit everyday
- 1/3 of elementary students eat only 1 serving of vegetables per day.
- q French Fries account for 1/4 of the vegetables eaten by most elementary school students.
- q Over half of the snacks that kids eat are cookies, cake, chips, candy, gum and other high fat, high sugar, high sodium packaged dessert products.
- q Many kids cereal for breakfast that is laden with sugar, salt, and artificial coloring.
- Many teenagers eat a meal of burgers, shakes and fries at least twice or three times a week. ( Which has more cholesterol than they should have in a month)
This type of eating behavior tends to program the brain to have a preference and a craving for junk food. This type of eating behaviors may lead to poor performance in school and obesity. A diet packed with food that his high in sugar, salt and fat may also interfere with concentration and school work. As with any addictive substance, some students are more susceptible than others.
So, the bottom line is when it comes to foods that are overly high in addictive properties like sugar, fat and salt, like we find in junk food, it could be a losing battle. This new research documents that eating junk food regularly ( like our kids do) programs the brain to crave and want more of the product.
What is the solution ?
Retrain your brain by eating healthy food. As long as you keep eating junk food, the brain will prefer it and crave it. The only way to free yourself of an addiction is to avoid it. In this case, you have to substitute healthy foods for the overly processed, high sugar, high fat, and high salt foods. No matter how you look at it, junk food is not healthy for the entire body and may negatively affect cholesterol levels, blood pressure, sugar levels, weight ,concentration, focus, learning, etc.
Keep fresh fruit, raw vegetables, raw nuts, humus, nut butters, yogurt, air popped pop corn, juice pops etc. available for snacking. Try making homemade desserts that are low in sugar, salt and fat. Create healthy alternatives to junk food snacking.
Try this great cookie recipe for kids that is low in sugar, salt and fat.
Banana Oatmeal Cookies (no sugar and tastes great!)
Everyone in the family will love these cookies. You can whip them up in 25 minutes from start to finish. Makes a great breakfast treat as well since they are basically oatmeal, fresh banana, and raisins. .
Prepare with a spoon and a bowl. These cookies are approved by kids. They are really good!!
3 ripe
bananas or 1 and half cups chunky applesauce
1/4 cup raisins (or any dried fruit or chopped nuts)
2 cups rolled oats ( buy gluten free oats) and 2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup light olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract ( or add 1 tsp. cinnamon)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Make these simple cookies by hand:
In large bowl, mash the
bananas, stir in oats, raisins, nuts ( if desired), oil and vanilla. Mix well
and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto
ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 15-20 minutes. These are very tasty..
**You can buy gluten free rolled oats in the health food store
Try these baked French Fries; They are really tasty. Use white or sweet potatoes or both.
Ingredients:
4 large baking potatoes
3 egg whites
paprika
salt to taste
1/2 tsp. garlic powder ( optional)
Slice potatoes into wedges or strips
Mix egg whites till frothy. Place seasoning in a zip lock bag. Dip potatoes in egg white and then shake in the zip lock bag until coated.
Place potatoes on a no stick cookie sheet and bake in a 450 oven for about 35 minutes.
Potatoes should be crisp .
Variation: Substitute sweet potatoes and toss with cinnamon
For additional healthy snacks and recipes Recipes
